PsychologiCALL

On body schema plasticity in dyspraxia, with Marie Martel

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Marie Martel is a cognitive neuroscientist at Royal Holloway, University of London, who specialises in understanding how the brain controls imagined and real movements performed with the hand or a tool, and how this develops with age. During this podcast she chats to Lou about a piece of work looking at how children with Dyspraxia / Developmental Coordination Disorder use tools to perform movements and how this interacts with the representation they have of their body.

If you want to know more about Marie’s research, you can follow her on Twitter @Martel_MF or have a look at her website.

Do not hesitate to get in touch if you want to collaborate!

The paper discussed in this episode is:
Martel, M., Boulenger, V., Koun, E., Finos, L., Farnè, A., & Roy, A. C. (2022). Body schema plasticity is altered in Developmental Coordination Disorder. Neuropsychologia, 166, 108136.

On access to support for children with developmental disabilities, with Suzi Sapiets

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Suzi Sapiets is a postdoctoral research associate at the Tizard Centre, University of Kent, who specialises in autism, learning disabilities and improving access to support. During this podcast Suzi chats with Lou about her PhD research looking at access to early support for young children with suspected or diagnosed developmental delays, autism and learning disabilities.

To find out more about Suzi and her research, you can follow her on Twitter @suzijsapiets, or read her blog post for the Mental Elf on neurodivergence and mental health.

Suzi also spoke at the Embracing Complexity Special Interest Research Group webinar on neurodivergence and mental health, find the recording and resources here.

We also mentioned Cerebra's toolkit on accessing public services: https://cerebra.org.uk/download/accessing-public-services-toolkit/

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The paper discussed in this episode is:
Sapiets, S. J., Hastings, R. P., Stanford, C., & Totsika, V. (2022). Families’ access to early intervention and supports for children with developmental disabilities. Journal of Early Intervention, 0(0).

You can also find a related narrative review here:
Sapiets, S. J., Totsika, V. & Hastings, R. P. (2021). Factors influencing access to early intervention for families of children with developmental disabilities: A narrative review. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 34(3). 695-711.

On striatal myelin in children with developmental language disorder, with Saloni Krishnan

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Saloni Krishnan is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist at Royal Holloway who specialises in the neural basis of developmental language disorder. During this podcast she talks to Lou about her new finding of reduced myelin in children with developmental language disorder (DLD).

You can follow Saloni on Twitter @salonikrishnan, check out her lab website, or read about the project to find out more about her research.

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:

Krishnan, K., Cler, G. J., Smith, H. J., Willis, H. E., Asaridou, S. S., Healy, M. P., Papp, D., & Watkins, K. E. (2022). Quantitative MRI reveals differences in striatal myelin in children with DLD. eLife 11:e74242

On the sensory experiences of autistic adults in public spaces, with Keren MacLennnan

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 10:00:00 +0000

Dr Keren MacLennan is an Assistant Professor in Neurodiversity, in Department of Psychology, at Durham University. Her research interests are related to mental health, autism, and sensory reactivity differences, and her research is conducted using open science frameworks and co-production approaches. During this podcast episode she chats to Lou about a participatory piece of research investigating the sensory experiences of autistic adults in public spaces.

You can follow Keren on Twitter @KerenMacLennan to find out more about her research, and you can view the Sensory Street website about the overall project here.

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:

MacLennan, K., Woolley, C., @21andsensory, E., Heasman, B., Starns, J., George, B. & Manning, C. (2022) “It is a big spider web of things”: Sensory experiences of autistic adults in public spaces. Autism in Adulthood.

On ADHD in the classroom, with Emily McDougal

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Dr Emily McDougal is a developmental psychologist, currently based at University of Surrey, who specialises in neurodiversity and cognition in the classroom. During this podcast episode she chats to Lou about a project looking at understanding and supporting ADHD in the classroom, from the perspective of children with ADHD and their teachers.

You can follow Emily on Twitter @mimsiemcd to find out more about her research, and you can view the EPIC project page here.

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:

McDougal, E., Tai, C., Stewart, T. M., Booth, J. N., & Rhodes, S. M. (2022). Understanding and supporting attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the primary school classroom: Perspectives of children with ADHD and their teachers. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

On diagnosis and treatment decisions for care-experienced young people, with Rosie McGuire

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0100

Rosie is a post-doctoral researcher at UCL specialising in the mental health of care-experienced young people. During this podcast she chats to Lou about a piece of work looking at potential biases mental health practitioners may have in the diagnosis and treatment of mental health difficulties for young people in care, as well as a connected post-doc project, which is an active implementation trial investigating the facilitators and barriers to using trauma-focused CBT with care-experienced young people.

TW: for this episode, as we discuss PTSD in care experienced children and trauma-focused therapies.

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You can follow Rosie on Twitter @rosie_mcguire to find out more about her research, and the progress of the active implementation trial.

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:

McGuire, R., Halligan, S. L., Meiser-Stedman, R., Durbin, L., & Hiller, R. M. (2022). Differences in the diagnosis and treatment decisions for children in care compared to their peers: An experimental study on post-traumatic stress disorder. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61(4), 1075-1088.

On inclusive and participatory research, with Sue Fletcher-Watson

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0100

Sue Fletcher-Watson is a Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Edinburgh, and Director of the Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre. Sue is also the creator of the PsychologiCALL podcast, and hosted both Season 1 and 2!

During this podcast she chats to Lou about a review paper, co-authored with autistic contributors, that outlines key considerations for developing inclusive research. This paper serves as an introduction to participatory research. Sue and Lou also chat about a second paper, which reports on the outcomes of a UK seminar series focusing on participatory research, which was co-produced by autistic and non-autistic people.

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You can follow Sue on Twitter @suereviews, and you can find out more about Sue and her research here.

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The papers discussed in this podcast are:
Fletcher-Watson, S., Brook, K., Hallett, S., Murray, F., & Crompton, C. J. (2021). Inclusive practices for neurodevelopmental research. Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 8(2), 88-97.

Fletcher-Watson, S., Adams, J., Brook, K., Charman, T., Crane, L., Cusack, J., ... & Pellicano, E. (2019). Making the future together: Shaping autism research through meaningful participation. Autism, 23(4), 943-953.

The season 3 advice episode

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 07:00:00 +0100

For the final episode of season 3, Louisa brings you a brief overview of the episodes from this season.

At the end of every episode, the guest gets asked if they have advice for students and early career researchers. In this season finale, you can find all of this advice in one handy place.

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To keep up to date with PsychologiCALL, to find out when the next season is coming out, or if you'd like to be a guest yourself, you can follow Louisa on Twitter @ljthomas1991 and you can find her contact details on her website.

On social vulnerability and social interaction style in neurodevelopmental conditions, with Ellen Ridley

Mon, 04 Apr 2022 14:00:00 +0100

Ellen Ridley is PhD student in the Centre for Neurodiversity & Development at Durham University. The aim of her research is to better understand the factors that impact on social vulnerability in children and young people with Williams syndrome (WS). During this podcast she chats to Louisa about a piece of work which takes a cross-syndrome approach to exploring social vulnerability and social interaction style in neurodevelopmental conditions, including WS.

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You can follow Ellen on Twitter @ellenridley, and you can find out more about Ellen and her research on her webpage at Durham. You can also follow the lab group on Twitter at @DurhamDevDis.

The ECR Developmental network that was mentioned in this podcast can also be found on Twitter @ECR_DevNetwork.

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:
Ridley, E., Riby, D. M. & Leekam, S. R. (2020). A cross-syndrome approach to the social phenotype of neurodevelopmental disorders: Focusing on social vulnerability and social interaction style. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 100, 103604

Click here for an open access version.

On helping employers to make tailored adjustments for their autistic employees, with Beatriz López

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0100

Beatriz López is a Reader in Developmental Psychology at the University of Portsmouth, who specialises in the double empathy problem in autism, heterogeneity in autism and employment. During this podcast she chats to Louisa about an evaluation of a set of employment profiling tools to enhance employment opportunities for autistic people.

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You can follow the Centre for Interaction, Development and Diversity on Twitter @UoP_CIDD to find out more about ongoing related research. You can also check out the webpage for the Autism Centre for Research and Employment where you can find more about the ongoing projects and services offered.

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:
López, B., Kargas, N., Udell, J., Rubín, T., Burgess, L., Dew, D., McDonald, I., O’Brien, A. & Templeton-Mepstead, K. (2021). Evaluation of the ACE employment programme: Helping employers to make tailored adjustments for their autistic employees. Advances in Autism, 7(1), 3-15.

On play-based inventions and mental health in autism and developmental language disorder, with Gill Francis

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 11:00:00 +0000

Dr Gill Althia Francis is a Research Fellow in Cognitive Psychology and Children's Play at the University of York, who specialises in researching how play impacts development for both neurodiverse and neurotypical children. She is a holder of a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship Award. During this podcast Gill chats to Louisa about a piece of work looking at the impact of play-based interventions on the mental health of autistic children and children with developmental language disorder.

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You can find Gill on Twitter @gillalthia, and you can find out more about her work by visiting her staff page at York.

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Gill has also been featured in a children's book as a 'Play Researcher', and you can find the book here.

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:
Francis, G., Deniz, E., Torgerson, C., & Toseeb, U. (2022). Play-based interventions for mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis focused on children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and developmental language disorder. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments.

On visual motion processing in dyslexia, with Cathy Manning

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Dr Cathy Manning is a lecturer at University of Reading who researches sensory processing and decision-making in typically developing, autistic and dyslexic children. During this podcast she chats to Louisa about a new study looking at how children with dyslexia perceive and make decisions about visual information.

You can find Cathy on Twitter @CManningPhD, and you can find out more about the work we discuss in this episode in this summary article in The Conversation.

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:
Manning, C., Hassall, C. D., Hunt, L. T., Norcia, A. M., Wagenmakers, E-J., Snowling, M. J., Scerif, G., & Evans, N. J. (2022). Visual motion and decision-making in dyslexia: Reduced accumulation of sensory evidence and related neural dynamics. Journal of Neuroscience, 42 (1) 121-134.

On contagion of temporal discounting preferences in autism, with Louisa and Jasmine Virhia

Mon, 07 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

This week is a slightly different format, because we've flipped the script. During this podcast episode, Louisa is interviewed by Jasmine Virhia, a postdoctoral researcher in the inclusion initiative at LSE. They talk about a paper that came out of Louisa's PhD, which explored contagion in autistic and non-autistic participants.

You can find more about Jasmine and her work by checking out her website, and you can find her on Twitter @JVirhia.

You can also find out more about Louisa's research on her website, and you can find her on Twitter @ljthomas1991.

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:
Thomas, L., Lockwood, P. L., Garvert, M. M., & Balsters, J. H. (2022). Contagion of temporal discounting value preferences in neurotypical and autistic adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52(2), 700–713.

On curiosity-driven learning in dyslexia, with Saloni Krishnan

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Saloni is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist trying to understand how to help children with communication disorders. During this podcast, she chats with Louisa about her recent work on intrinsic motivation, and its links to learning. This episode also includes a discussion about work life balance in academia.

You can find more about Saloni and her work by checking out her N-CoDe Lab at Royal Holloway, and you can find her on Twitter @salonikrishnan.

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:
Garvin, B., & Krishnan, S. (2022). Curiosity-driven learning in adults with and without dyslexia. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 75(1), 156–168.

On facial expression recognition in autism, with Connor Keating

Mon, 21 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Connor Keating is an experimental psychologist at the University of Birmingham who specialises in emotion perception and production in autism. During this podcast, he chats to Louisa about a piece of work investigating facial expression recognition in autistic and non-autistic individuals. Connor and Louisa also chat about some pilot data exploring differences in facial expression generation between autistic and non-autistic individuals.

If you want to hear more about the idea that a mismatch in facial expressions may result in bidirectional emotion recognition difficulties for autistic and non-autistic individuals, you can find a paper here, or a summary article here.

To stay up to date with Connor's research, you can find him on Twitter @ConnorTKeating and also his wonderful supervisor @Jennifer_L_Cook.

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:
Keating, C. T., Fraser, D. S., Sowden, S. & Cook, J. L. (2021). Differences between autistic and non-autistic adults in the recognition of anger from facial motion remain after controlling for alexithymia. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

On exploration during adolescence, with Alex Lloyd

Mon, 14 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Alex Lloyd is a developmental psychologist at University College London who specialises in cognitive development and mental health. During this podcast, they chat to Louisa about a paper examining the positive sides of adolescents' novelty seeking tendencies and why exploration may be beneficial during this point in the lifespan.

You can find Alex on Twitter @Alex_Lloyd93 and you can watch his TEDx talk about youth justice here.

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:
Lloyd, A., McKay, R., Sebastian, C. L., & Balsters, J. (2020). Are adolescents more optimal decision-makers in novel environments? Examining the benefits of heightened exploration in a patch foraging paradigm. Online preprint.

On the impact of sensory processing differences for autistic pupils, with Liz Jones

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Liz Jones is a developmental psychologist at Durham University who specialises in sensory differences in autism. During this podcast they chat to Louisa about a piece of work looking at the the impact of sensory differences at school for autistic pupils.

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:
Jones, E. K., Hanley, M., & Riby, D. M. (2021). Distraction, distress and diversity: Exploring the impact of sensory processing differences on learning and school life for pupils with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 72, 101515.

On linking brain and behaviour using network analyses with Joe Bathelt

Mon, 31 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Dr Joe Bathelt is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist who investigates how brain and behavioural differences interact as young people grow up. During this podcast, he chats to Louisa about a piece of working looking at the network approach to understanding brain and behaviour.

You can find more about Joe and his research here, and you can find him on Twitter @JoeBathelt

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:
Bathelt, J., Geurts, H. M., & Borsboom, D. (2021). More than the sum of its parts: Merging network psychometrics and network neuroscience with application in autism. Network Neuroscience, 1-33.

On adventurous play in school-aged children, with Rachel Nesbit

Mon, 24 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Dr Rachel Nesbit is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow based in the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Research Collaboration at the University of Exeter. She specialises in play and mental health in children and young people. During this podcast she chats to Louisa about her recent review looking at the factors that might help or hinder schools in providing children with opportunities for adventurous play*.

*Adventurous play has been defined as exciting or thrilling play where children are able to take age-appropriate risks (e.g., climbing trees, jumping off rocks).

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Another paper of potential interest is The British Children's Play Survey - the largest study of play in Britain to date: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/8/4334

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You can find out more about Rachel's research here.

You can also find Rachel on Twitter @rachelnesbit.

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The paper discussed in this podcast is:
Nesbit, R. J., Bagnall, C. L., Harvey, K. & Dodd, H. F. (2021). Perceived barriers and facilitators of adventurous play in schools: A qualitative systematic review. Children, 8(8), 681.

On children’s perceptions of the risks and benefits of social media, with Beatrice Hayes

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Beatrice is a social developmental psychologist at Royal Holloway, University of London who specialises in children and adolescents' use of online digital technologies as well as students' use of online learning tools. During this podcast, they chat to Louisa about their recently published paper looking at primary school children's perceptions of the risks and benefits of social media use and to what extent their parents and teachers may mediate these perceptions.

You can find out more about Beatrice's research here.

You can also find Beatrice on Twitter @drbeatricehayes and on LinkedIn

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The paper discussed in this podcast is
Hayes, B., James, A., Barn, R., & Watling, D. (2021). "The world we live in now": A qualitative investigation into parents', teachers', and children's perceptions of social networking site use. The British journal of educational psychology. Advance online publication.

On the sensory experiences of autistic adults, with Keren MacLennan

Mon, 10 Jan 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Dr Keren MacLennan is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Reading, who specialises in sensory reactivity, mental health, and autism. She has key interests in examining how the sensory world impacts autistic people, but also why autistic people are at greater risk of developing mental health conditions, such as anxiety. During this podcast, Keren chats to Louisa about a piece of recently published work, co-produced with autistic individuals, that looks at autistic adults' experiences of having sensory reactivity differences.

You can find Keren on Twitter @KerenMacLennan and on Instagram @theanxiousscientist

If you'd like to find out more about the Sensory Street project we mentioned in today's episode, you can find out more here!

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The paper discussed in this podcast is
MacLennan, K., O’Brien, S. & Tavassoli, T. (2021). In our own words: The complex sensory experiences of autistic adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

PsychologiCALL season three taster, and a new host!

Wed, 22 Dec 2021 17:00:00 +0000

PsychologiCALL is back for season three, with a new host!

Louisa is an autistic academic working at the university of Reading. In this trailer episode, she talks to Sue about the podcast so far, the podcast handover, and her plans for season three.

You can find out more about Louisa and her research here, and you can find her on Twitter @ljthomas1991

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The blog post we mentioned in today's trailer episode contains advice on starting a PhD, and you can find it here.

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Tune back in for the first episode of season three of PsychologiCALL on 10th January 2022!

On early trauma and neurodevelopment, with Helen Minnis

Fri, 23 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0100

Helen Minnis is a Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Glasgow. Professor Minnis spent time working as an Orphanage Doctor in Guatemala in the early 1990s prior to training in Psychiatry, and this stimulated an interest in the effects of early maltreatment on children's development. Her research focus has been on Attachment Disorder and she is now conducting intervention research for maltreated children including a randomised controlled trial of an infant mental health service for young children in foster care.

You can find out more about Helen's work on her academic profile page or by following her on twitter.

The paper discussed in this episode is:
Dinkler, L., Lundström, S., Gajwani, R., Lichtenstein, P., Gillberg, C., & Minnis, H. (2017). Maltreatment‐associated neurodevelopmental disorders: a co‐twin control analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 58(6), 691-701.

Many thanks to Naomi Meiksin for editing the transcript for this episode.

On pattern learning in autism, with Sebastian Gaigg

Fri, 16 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0100

Sebastian is a psychologist at City University's Autism Research Group, where his research focusses on two main topics; mental health in autism with a particular focus on anxiety, and understanding learning and memory processes across the autism spectrum. During this podcast he chats to Sue about a recent piece of work that sought to establish whether individual differences in aspects of implicit learning might play a role in the varying degrees of language impairments that are seen across the autism spectrum.

You can find out more about Sebastian's work on his profile page and here you can find out more about the wider work of the Autism Research Group at City

The paper discussed in this podcast is
Gaigg, S.B., Krug, M.K., Solomon, M., Roestorf, A., Derwent, C., Anns, S., Bowler, D.M., Rivera, S., Wu Nordahl, C. & Jones, E.J.H. (2020). Eye-tracking reveals absent repetition learning across the autism spectrum: Evidence from a passive viewing task. Autism Research, 13, 1929-1946.

Many thanks to Naomi Meiksin for editing the transcript for this episode.

On children's creative ideas, with Sarah Rose

Fri, 09 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0100

Dr Sarah Rose is a developmental psychologist and Course Leader for the Psychology and Child Development Undergraduate degree course at Staffordshire University. She specialises in children's creative development, and external influences on this such as screen time. In this podcasts she chats to Sue about a piece of research looking at where children get their ideas of what to draw.

You can find out more about Sarah's work by following her on twitter.

The paper discussed in this episode is:
Rose, S. E. & Jolley, R. P. (2020). Children’s creative intentions: where do the ideas for their drawings come from. Journal of Creative Behaviour, 54, 712-724

Many thanks to Naomi Meiksin for editing the transcript for this episode.

On theta waves and information processing, with Emily Jones

Fri, 02 Apr 2021 06:00:00 +0100

Emily is a developmental psychologist who works at the Birkbeck Babylab in London and specialises in understanding early neurodevelopmental pathways to conditions such as autism and ADHD. During this podcast she chats to Sue about a piece of work looking at how changes in early brain activity may predict later cognitive skills in neurodiverse cohorts.

You can find out more about Emily's work by checking out the BONDS project pages and the Birkbeck Babylab site, and you can follow her on twitter here.

The paper discussed in this episode is:
Jones, E. J. H., Goodwin, A., Orekhova, E., Charman, T., Dawson, G., Webb, S. J., & Johnson, M. H. (2020). Infant EEG theta modulation predicts childhood intelligence. Scientific reports, 10(1), 1-10.

Many thanks to Naomi Meiksin for editing the transcript for this episode.

On primary to secondary school transition, with Charlotte Bagnall

Fri, 26 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Dr Charlotte Bagnall is a developmental psychologist at The University of Exeter who specialises in school transition research. During this podcast she chats to Sue about a piece of work looking at Year 7 parents', children's and Year 6 and 7 teachers' retrospective experiences of primary-secondary school transition using focus group methodology and how these stakeholders feel this period can be improved. This research has made a unique contribution to the field of primary-secondary school transition, both in terms of the findings and the analytical method used, as Charlotte describes.

You can find out more about Charlotte by following her on twitter here.

The paper discussed during this podcast is:
Bagnall, C. L., Skipper, Y., & Fox, C. L. (2019). ‘You're in this world now’: Students’, teachers’, and parents’ experiences of school transition and how they feel it can be improved. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(1), 206-226.

More related papers from Charlotte and her colleagues are:
Bagnall, C. L. (2020). Talking about School Transition (TaST): an emotional centred intervention to support children over primary-secondary school transition. Pastoral Care in Education, 38(2), 116-137.
Bagnall, C. L., Fox, C. L., & Skipper, Y. (2021). When is the ‘optimal’ time for school transition? An insight into provision in the US. Pastoral Care in Education, 1-29.

Many thanks to Naomi Meiksin for editing the transcript for this episode.

On early life experiences and long term outcomes, with Louise Marryat

Fri, 19 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Louise Marryat is a quantitative sociologist at the University of Dundee who specialises in using routinely collected data from health and education records, as well as birth cohort studies, to explore the pathways that children take throughout childhood and how services can support them to reach their full potential.

You can find out more about Louise's work by following her on twitter here.

The paper discussed in this episode is:
Marryat, L, and Frank, J. Factors associated with adverse childhood experiences in Scottish children: a prospective cohort study. BMJ Paediatrics Open 3.1 (2019).

Many thanks to Naomi Meiksin for editing the transcript for this episode.

On spatial cognition and STEM success, with Emily Farran

Fri, 12 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Emily Farran is a developmental psychologist at the University of Surrey. She directs the Cognition Genes and Developmental Variability (CoGDeV) Lab with co-director Katie Gilligan-Lee. Emily specialises in the typical and atypical development of spatial cognition. During this podcast she chats to Sue about the typical development of spatial cognition and its relationship to the development of STEM expertise.

You can find out more about Emily's work by checking out her research profile here or following her on twitter here. Parents and teachers might also be interested in the practical tips covered in this blog post.

The paper discussed in this podcast is:
Farran, E. K. Spatial ability as a gateway to STEM success. Impact: the Journal of the Chartered College of Teaching, 18, 19.

Many thanks to Naomi Meiksin for editing the transcript for this episode.

On sensory integration and autism, with Kirsty Ainsworth

Fri, 05 Mar 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Dr. Kirsty Ainsworth is a psychologist and lecturer at University of Glasgow who specialises in autism and sensory perception. During this podcast she chats to Sue about a piece of research on multisensory integration in autism.

You can find out more about Kirsty's work by checking out the site for her former lab in MicGill here, and you can follow her on twitter here.

The paper discussed in this episode is:
Ainsworth, K., Ostrolenk, A., Irion, C., & Bertone, A. (2020). Reduced multisensory facilitation exists at different periods of development in autism. Cortex, 134, 195-206.

Many thanks to Naomi Meiksin for editing the transcript for this episode.

On sensory reactivity and anxiety in autism, with Teresa Tavassoli

Fri, 26 Feb 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Since 2017 Teresa Tavassoli has been working at the University of Reading, first as a Lecturer and since 2019 as an Associate Professor. Her research is dedicated to deepening our understanding of sensory reactivity in autism and its variation across the population. Her work is using multidisciplinary approach to identify reliable ways to measure sensory reactivity as well as to elucidate underlying mechanisms, and examine links to mental health symptoms.

You can find out more about Teresa's work by checking out the Centre for Autism's webpages and you can follow her on twitter here.

The paper discussed in this episode is:
MacLennan, K., Roach, L., & Tavassoli, T. (2020). The relationship between sensory reactivity differences and anxiety subtypes in autistic children. Autism Research, 13(5), 785-795.

Many thanks to Naomi Meiksin for editing the transcript for this episode.

On language development and longitudinal research, with Courtenay Norbury

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Professor Courtenay Norbury is a psychologist and speech-language therapist at UCL who specialises in language, cognition, and social interaction across a range of neurodevelopmental conditions.

You can read more about Courtenay's work at her lab website here and follow her on twitter here.

During this podcast she chats to Sue about SCALES, a 10-year longitudinal study that has been tracking the development of a large cohort of young children from school entry to Year 9.

The following is one paper from the study discussed in the podcast:
Norbury, C. F., Vamvakas, G., Gooch, D., Baird, G., Charman, T., Simonoff, E., & Pickles, A. (2017). Language growth in children with heterogeneous language disorders: a population study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 58(10), 1092-1105.

Many thanks to Naomi Meiksin for editing the transcript for this episode.

On Talking Walls and schools-based research, with Laura Crane

Fri, 12 Feb 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Laura Crane is an academic researcher at the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE) whose work focuses on improving educational experiences and outcomes for autistic young people.

During the podcast, she chats to Sue about her research with Norah Richards, a practitioner-researcher from Prior's Court School, on the development and initial evaluation of a 'Talking Wall' to meaningfully elicit the voices of autistic young people with complex needs.

You can find out more about Laura's work at her online profile, and follow her on twitter here.

The reference for the paper being discussed in this podcast is:
Richards, N., & Crane, L. (2020). The development and feasibility of a multimodal ‘Talking Wall’ to facilitate the voice of young people with autism and complex needs: a case study in a specialist residential school. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50, 4267-4279. doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04476-6

Many thanks to Naomi Meiksin for editing the transcript for this episode.

On language and phonological memory, with Sue Gathercole

Fri, 05 Feb 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Sue Gathercole is a cognitive psychologist with interests in memory, learning and language. Until 2018 she was the Director of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (CBU) in Cambridge and is now based in Developmental Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.

In this podcast Sue talks about a classic paper in which she examined how memory for words was affected in children with language disorders and whether this might provide an explanation for those language problems. She reflects on the paper's influence and how developmental psychology research has changed since it was published.

You can find out more about Sue's work at her online profile.

The full reference for the paper being discussed in this podcast is:
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (1990). Phonological memory deficits in language disordered children: Is there a causal connection?. Journal of memory and language, 29(3), 336-360.

Many thanks to Naomi Meiksin for editing the transcript for this episode.

On early years screening for autism, with Professor Tony Charman

Tue, 25 Aug 2020 08:00:00 +0100

Tony's main research interest is development in autism and the clinical application of this work via screening, diagnostic, epidemiological, intervention, and family studies. During this podcast he chats to Sue about a piece of work looking at outcomes from an autism early screening study that taught him a lot about the value of sample, cohorts and methods.

You can find out more about Tony's work at his online profile. You can follow Tony on Twitter here.

The paper being discussed in this podcast is:
A screening instrument for autism at 18 months of age: a 6-year follow-up study. Baird G, Charman T, Baron-Cohen S, Cox A, Swettenham J, Wheelwright S, Drew A. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2000 Jun;39(6):694-702. doi: 10.1097/00004583-200006000-00007.

On social compensation in autism, with Dr Lucy Livingston

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 08:00:00 +0100

Dr Lucy Livingston is a psychologist and Lecturer at Cardiff University in the Wales Autism Research Centre, who specialises in neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorder. During this podcast, she chats to Sue about a piece of work looking at compensatory mechanisms in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.

You can find Lucy's lab group pages here and follow her on twitter here.

The article discussed in the podcast is:
Livingston, L. A., Colvert, E., Social Relationships Study Team, Bolton, P., & Happé, F. (2019). Good social skills despite poor theory of mind: exploring compensation in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60(1), 102-110.

On boosting mind-mindedness, with Professor Liz Meins

Tue, 11 Aug 2020 08:00:00 +0100

Elizabeth Meins has been studying how parents interact with their infants for 30 years. Her research has shown how “tuning in” to your child (so-called mind-mindedness) has a positive impact on parenting and children’s development. During this podcast she chats to Sue about her recent work in developing a smartphone app that has proved effective in boosting parents' mind-mindedness.

You can follow Elizabeth on twitter here.

The paper discussed in this episode is:
Larkin et al. (2019) Proof of concept of a smartphone app to support delivery of an intervention to facilitate mothers’ mind-mindedness. PLOS One, 14(8): e0220948

On growing up in noisy households, with Dr Sam Wass

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 13:00:00 +0100

Dr Sam Wass is a developmental psychologist at the University of East London who specialises in investigating how early development is affected by the environments we grow up in, and by people around us. He talks to Sue about why children exposed to noisy and chaotic home environments show such widespread patterns of impairment during later life - affecting both academic performance, and long-term mental health outcomes.

You can see Sam's website here and his lab site here. You can also follow him on Twitter.

The paper we discussed in this podcast is:
Wass, S. V., Smith, C. G., Daubney, K. R., Suata, Z. M., Clackson, K., Begum, A., & Mirza, F. U. (2019). Influences of environmental stressors on autonomic function in 12‐month‐old infants: understanding early common pathways to atypical emotion regulation and cognitive performance. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60(12), 1323-1333.

On prosociality and language, with Dr Umar Toseeb

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 23:12:37 +0100

Dr Umar Toseeb is a Lecturer in Psychology in Education at the University of York. He is interested in children's mental health and wellbeing, specifically children with developmental differences such as developmental language disorder and autism spectrum conditions. During this podcast he chats to Sue about his recent paper on how prosocial behaviours (helping, sharing, caring etc.) develop during childhood and how they are related to mental health and wellbeing in children at risk of developmental language disorder.

You can follow Umar on Twitter here.

The paper discussed in this episode is:
Toseeb, U., & St Clair, M. C. (2020). Trajectories of prosociality from early to middle childhood in children at risk of Developmental Language Disorder. Journal of communication disorders, 105984.

On interoception, with Dr Jenny Murphy

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 17:52:40 +0100

Dr Jenny Murphy is a psychologist at Royal Holloway University of London who specialises in interoception and social perception. During this podcast she chats to Sue about a piece of work looking at the relationship between interoceptive attention and interoceptive accuracy.

You can follow Jenny on Twitter here.

The paper discussed in this episode is:
Murphy, J., Brewer, R., Plans, D., Khalsa, S. S., Catmur, C., & Bird, G. (2020). Testing the independence of self-reported interoceptive accuracy and attention. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 73(1), 115-133.

On transdiagnostic development and learning, with Dr Joni Holmes

Sun, 14 Jun 2020 21:09:28 +0100

Joni is a cognitive developmental scientist at the MRC Cognition & Brain Scientist, University of Cambridge. She specialises in learning difficulties and developmental disorders. During this podcast she chats to Sue about a piece of work exploring how communication, behavioural and cognitive difficulties interact and co-occur in children with and without traditional diagnoses of learning-related disorders.

You can follow Joni on Twitter here.

The paper discussed in this episode is:
Mareva, S., & Holmes, J. (2019). Transdiagnostic associations across communication, cognitive, and behavioural problems in a developmentally at-risk population: a network approach. BMC pediatrics, 19(1), 452.

On learning new words while reading, with Dr Holly Joseph

Wed, 27 May 2020 10:01:13 +0100

Holly Joseph is a developmental cognitive psychologist at the University of Reading who specialises in reading development and difficulties. During this podcast she chats to Sue about a piece of work looking at how children learn new words they encounter during reading, and how some children find this more difficult than others.

You can follow Holly on Twitter here.

The paper discussed in this episode is:
Joseph, H., & Nation, K. (2018). Examining incidental word learning during reading in children: The role of context. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 166, 190-211.

On autism, friendship and romance, with Dr Felicity Sedgewick

Tue, 19 May 2020 19:19:01 +0100

Felicity is a developmental psychologist at the University of Bristol who specialises in autism, relationships, and gender. During this podcast she chats to Sue about a piece of work looking at the friendships and romantic relationships of autistic women, and the ways in which they are both similar and different to the experiences of non-autistic women.

You can follow Felicity on Twitter here.

The paper discussed in this episode is:
Sedgewick, F., Crane, L., Hill, V., & Pellicano, E. (2019). Friends and lovers: The relationships of autistic and neurotypical women. Autism in Adulthood, 1(2), 112-123.

On pretending and friendship, with Dr Jenny Gibson

Thu, 14 May 2020 13:42:37 +0100

Jenny is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Education at the University of Cambridge. She leads a team of research staff and postgraduate students investigating topics related to play, social development, and language development in children. During this podcast she talks to Dr Sue Fletcher-Watson about her study investigating how children's pretend play with their friends and classmates could contribute to their social development.

Jenny's lab group page is here and you can follow her on twitter here.

The paper is discussed in this episode is:
Gibson, J. L., Fink, E., Torres, P. E., Browne, W. V., & Mareva, S. (2020). Making sense of social pretense: The effect of the dyad, sex, and language ability in a large observational study of children’s behaviors in a social pretend play context. Social Development, 29(2), 526-543.

On maths and learning disability, with Dr Jo Van Herwegen

Thu, 14 May 2020 11:44:11 +0100

Dr Jo Van Herwegen is a developmental psychologist at UCL Institute of Education who specialises in improving educational outcomes for children with learning difficulties. During this Podcast she chats to Dr Sue Fletcher-Watson about a piece of work looking at mathematical development in children with Williams syndrome and Down syndrome and what this research can tell us about mathematical development for typically developing children.

You can follow Jo on twitter here and her lab group account here.

The paper discussed in this podcast is:
Van Herwegen, J., Ranzato, E., Karmiloff‐Smith, A., & Simms, V. (2020). The foundations of mathematical development in Williams syndrome and Down syndrome. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities.

And here is a link to the maths games mentioned in the podcast - you can also find these on twitter by looking for #maths@home

On learning profiles and brain networks, with Dr Duncan Astle

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 14:49:17 +0100

Duncan is a developmental psychologist at the University of Cambridge whose research explores how cognitive development relates to neural structures, networks, and processes. During this podcast he chats to Sue Fletcher-Watson about a piece of research that shows that for any specific learning profile there are many underlying possible brain networks.

You can follow Duncan on Twitter here.

The paper discussed in this episode is:
Bathelt, J., Holmes, J., Astle, D. E., Gathercole, S., Astle, D., Manly, T., & Kievit, R. (2018). Data-Driven Subtyping of Executive Function–Related Behavioral Problems in Children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 57(4), 252-262.

On sibling relationships and Williams syndrome, with Dr Katie Cebula

Thu, 30 Apr 2020 14:45:45 +0100

Dr Katie Cebula is a developmental psychologist at the University of Edinburgh whose research explores family relationships, particularly sibling relationships in families with a child with developmental disabilities. During this podcast she chats to Sue Fletcher-Watson about a piece of research that explores sibling relationships when one child has Williams syndrome.

You can follow Katie on Twitter here.

The paper discussed in this episode is:
Cebula, K., Gillooly, A., Coulthard, L. K., Riby, D. M., & Hastings, R. P. (2019). Siblings of children with Williams syndrome: Correlates of psychosocial adjustment and sibling relationship quality. Research in developmental disabilities, 94, 103496.

On number line estimation and learning disability, with Dr Vic Simms

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 12:12:31 +0100

Dr Vic Simms is a developmental psychologist at Ulster University who specialises in cognitive development, specifically mathematical thinking. During this podcast she chats to Dr Sue Fletcher-Watson from the Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh about a piece of work looking at mathematics skills in individuals with Williams Syndrome and Down Syndrome.

You can follow Vic on twitter here.

This is the paper discussed in this episode:
Simms, V., Karmiloff-Smith, A., Ranzato, E., & Van Herwegen, J. (2020). Understanding Number Line Estimation in Williams Syndrome and Down Syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50(2), 583-591.