PsychologiCALL

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 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!

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.