Projects

The School of Psychological Science is currently working on the following research projects: 

Autism in infancy

Focusing on the identification of early markers of autism in infancy.

Children's Body Image Development Study

Aims to find out more about the influences of age, gender, body size and the social environment on the body image of pre-school children.

Comorbidity of autism and Fragile X syndrome

Aims to establish phenotypic links between Fragile X Syndrome and Autistic Disorder.

Comparative studies of social and emotional development children with high functioning autism and Asperger’s Disorder

Aims to inform the debate about the diagnostic distinctions, or lack thereof, between Autistic Disorder and Asperger’s disorder.

Enhancing relationships in school communities

Working to create culturally respectful primary schools.

The New Statistics: Estimation for better research

ESCI - A set of interactive simulations that run under Microsoft Excel.

Genotype-phenotype relationships in fragile X associated disorders

Supported by the National Institutes of Health USA series of grants to Dr Danuta Loesch.

Growth in children with autism

Aims to establish whether growth anomaly in autism is specific to the brain, or also involves general body growth.

Lifengage – for life beyond psychosis

Researching treatments for the symptoms of psychosis.

Pathways to early language

Aims to gain more understanding of the factors that facilitate the development of spoken language for young children with cochlear implants.

Patient expectations, attachment style and therapy outcomes

Investigating the impact of therapy patients’ expectations about psychological treatment and their preferences in personal relationships on the therapeutic relationship and ultimately therapy outcomes.

Understanding pretend play in autism

Pretend play deficits are regarded as a hallmark of Autistic Disorder.