Shows
PsychologiCALLOn body schema plasticity in dyspraxia, with Marie MartelMarie 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...
2023-01-2326 min
PsychologiCALLOn access to support for children with developmental disabilities, with Suzi SapietsSuzi 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 Re...
2022-11-2119 min
PsychologiCALLOn striatal myelin in children with developmental language disorder, with Saloni KrishnanSaloni 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.---The paper discussed in this podcast is:Krishnan, K., Cler, G. J., Smith, H. J., Willis, H. E., Asaridou, S. S., Healy, M...
2022-11-1415 min
PsychologiCALLOn the sensory experiences of autistic adults in public spaces, with Keren MacLennnanDr 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.---Th...
2022-11-0727 min
PsychologiCALLOn ADHD in the classroom, with Emily McDougalDr 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.---The paper discussed in this podcast is:McDougal, E., Tai, C., Stewart, T. M., Booth...
2022-10-3122 min
PsychologiCALLOn diagnosis and treatment decisions for care-experienced young people, with Rosie McGuireRosie 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. ---
2022-10-2420 min
PsychologiCALLOn inclusive and participatory research, with Sue Fletcher-WatsonSue 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...
2022-10-1719 min
PsychologiCALLThe season 3 advice episodeFor 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.---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...
2022-04-1123 min
PsychologiCALLOn social vulnerability and social interaction style in neurodevelopmental conditions, with Ellen RidleyEllen 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.---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 a...
2022-04-0421 min
PsychologiCALLOn helping employers to make tailored adjustments for their autistic employees, with Beatriz LópezBeatriz 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.---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 ab...
2022-03-2813 min
PsychologiCALLOn play-based inventions and mental health in autism and developmental language disorder, with Gill FrancisDr 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.---You can find Gill on Twitter @gillalthia, and you can find out more about her work by visiting...
2022-03-2120 min
PsychologiCALLOn visual motion processing in dyslexia, with Cathy ManningDr 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.---The paper discussed in this podcast is:Manning, C., Hassall, C. D., Hunt, L. T., Norcia...
2022-03-1411 min
PsychologiCALLOn contagion of temporal discounting preferences in autism, with Louisa and Jasmine VirhiaThis 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. ---
2022-03-0719 min
PsychologiCALLOn curiosity-driven learning in dyslexia, with Saloni KrishnanSaloni 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.---The paper discussed in this podcast is: Garvin, B., & Krishnan, S. (2022). Curiosity-driven learning in a...
2022-02-2830 min
PsychologiCALLOn facial expression recognition in autism, with Connor KeatingConnor 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...
2022-02-2119 min
PsychologiCALLOn exploration during adolescence, with Alex LloydAlex 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.---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...
2022-02-1418 min
PsychologiCALLOn the impact of sensory processing differences for autistic pupils, with Liz JonesLiz 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.---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.
2022-02-0713 min
PsychologiCALLOn linking brain and behaviour using network analyses with Joe BatheltDr 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---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...
2022-01-3116 min
PsychologiCALLOn adventurous play in school-aged children, with Rachel NesbitDr 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).--- Another pap...
2022-01-2417 min
PsychologiCALLOn children’s perceptions of the risks and benefits of social media, with Beatrice HayesBeatrice 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---
2022-01-1721 min
PsychologiCALLOn the sensory experiences of autistic adults, with Keren MacLennanDr 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 @theanxiousscientistIf you'd like to...
2022-01-1018 minPsychologiCALLPsychologiCALL season three taster, and a new host!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---The blog post we mentioned in today's trailer episode contains advice on starting a PhD, and you can find it here.---Tune back...
2021-12-2221 min
PsychologiCALLOn early trauma and neurodevelopment, with Helen MinnisHelen 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...
2021-04-2321 min
PsychologiCALLOn pattern learning in autism, with Sebastian GaiggSebastian 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...
2021-04-1622 min
PsychologiCALLOn children's creative ideas, with Sarah RoseDr 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 fo...
2021-04-0925 min
PsychologiCALLOn theta waves and information processing, with Emily JonesEmily 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...
2021-04-0220 min
PsychologiCALLOn primary to secondary school transition, with Charlotte BagnallDr 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...
2021-03-2618 min
PsychologiCALLOn early life experiences and long term outcomes, with Louise MarryatLouise 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 th...
2021-03-1925 min
PsychologiCALLOn spatial cognition and STEM success, with Emily FarranEmily 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.
2021-03-1221 min
PsychologiCALLOn sensory integration and autism, with Kirsty AinsworthDr. 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....
2021-03-0518 min
PsychologiCALLOn sensory reactivity and anxiety in autism, with Teresa TavassoliSince 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 i...
2021-02-2621 min
PsychologiCALLOn language development and longitudinal research, with Courtenay NorburyProfessor 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...
2021-02-1925 min
PsychologiCALLOn Talking Walls and schools-based research, with Laura CraneLaura 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...
2021-02-1226 min
PsychologiCALLOn language and phonological memory, with Sue GathercoleSue 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...
2021-02-0527 min
PsychologiCALLOn early years screening for autism, with Professor Tony CharmanTony'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...
2020-08-2538 min
PsychologiCALLOn social compensation in autism, with Dr Lucy LivingstonDr 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 a...
2020-08-1326 min
PsychologiCALLOn boosting mind-mindedness, with Professor Liz MeinsElizabeth 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...
2020-08-1117 min
PsychologiCALLOn growing up in noisy households, with Dr Sam WassDr 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...
2020-08-0920 min
PsychologiCALLOn prosociality and language, with Dr Umar ToseebDr 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...
2020-07-0219 min
PsychologiCALLOn interoception, with Dr Jenny MurphyDr 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.
2020-06-1816 min
PsychologiCALLOn transdiagnostic development and learning, with Dr Joni HolmesJoni 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.
2020-06-1417 min
PsychologiCALLOn learning new words while reading, with Dr Holly JosephHolly 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.
2020-05-2724 min