Staff profile

Dr Cheryl Dissanayake Director: Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre

Associate Professor, Reader

Faculty of Science, Technology and Engineering

School of Psychological Science Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre

Biological Sciences Building 2, Room 254, Melbourne (Bundoora)

 

Qualifications

BSc Hons, PhD Monash.

Membership of professional Associations

Registered Psychologist; Member Australian Psychological Society; Member American Association of Psychological Science; Member INSAR; Member ASfAR

Area of study

Psychology

Brief Profile

Dr Dissanayake, Associate Professor/Reader in the School of Psychological Science, is an established researcher with a strong national and international reputation in research on Autism Spectrum Disorders. She is founder and Director of  of La Trobe University's Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre and also leads the School's Child Development Unit . Dr Dissanayake joined the School of Psychological Science in January 1996. Since then, she has contributed to the teaching of developmental psychology at all year levels.

Grants

NMMRC Project Grant Prenatal and Early Postnatal Risk Factors in ASD. A.Whitehouse, M. Maybery, C. Dissanayake, M. Hickey & C. Pennell.

2011-2013 NHMRC Partnership Grant Universal Surveillance and Early Identification of Developmental Disorders.

V. Eapen, K. Williams, B. Jaludin, C. Dissanayake & S. Woolfenden

2011 RE Ross Trust Early Diagnostic Clinic for Autism Spectrum Disorders. C. Dissanayake

2011 FaCHSIA ASELCC Database Grant. C. Dissanayake & D. Trembath

2010-2011 DHS Disability Grant Transition to, and Participation in Tertiary Education for Students with an ASD. A. Richdale & C. Dissanayake

2010-2012 ARC Project Grant: Language processing in children with high functioning autism: Evidence from eye tracking. E.Bavin, C. Dissanayake, E. Kidd, & M. Prior. 

2008-2010 Helen Macpherson Smith Trust: Prospective identification of autism in infancy: A follow-up study. C. Dissanayake.

2008 Nuffield Foundation Grant: The social foundation of pretend play. Leekam, S.R., Dissanayake, C., Hobson, R.P., Hobson, J., & Nielsen, M.

2007 LTU Central RGSO Research Grant: A mixed-longitudinal study of growth patterns in high functioning boys with Autistic Disorder. C. Dissanayake & D.Z. Loesch.

2007 LTU FTSE Research Grant: Effects of rare CGG copy number variants on the regulation and expression of the FMR1 gene: implications in understanding developmental changes in autism disorder. C. Dissanayake & D.Z. Loesch.

2006 – 2008 Telstra Community Development Fund: Prospective identification of autism in infancy. C. Dissanayake & L. Ridgway

Research interests

Cognitive and developmental psychology

- Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) in infancy

- Comorbidity of ASDs and Fragile X syndrome (in collaboration with Dr. Danuta Loesch)

- Comparative studies of social-emotional and social-cognitive development in children with high functioning autism and Asperger's Disorder

- Physical growth in children with an ASD (in collaboration with Dr. Danuta Loesch)

- Studies of early social-cognitive development in typically developing children

- Understanding the basis of pretence in ASDs

Teaching Units

 PSY2/3CDB - Child Development and Developmental Disorders 

PSY2DEV - Developmental Psychology

Recent Publications

Clifford, S., Dissanayake, C., Bui, Q.M., Huggins, R., Taylor, A.K., & Loesch, D.Z. (2007) Autism spectrum phenotype in males and females with Fragile X full mutation and premutation. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 738-747.

 

Skouteris, H., McNaught, S., & Dissanayake, C. (2007). Mothers’ Transition Back to Work and Infants’ Transition to Child Care: Does Work-Based Child Care Make a Difference? Childcare in Practice, 13, 33-47

 

Loesch, D.Z., Bui, Q.M., Dissanayake, C., Clifford, S., Gould, E., Bulhak-Paterson, D., Tassone, F., Taylor, A.K., Hessl, D., Hagerman, R., Hagerman, P., & Huggins, R.M. (2007). Molecular and cognitive predictors of the continuum of autistic behaviours in fragile X. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.  31, 315-326.         

           

Barbaro, J. & Dissanayake, C. (2007). A comparative study of the use and understanding of self-presentational display rules in children with high functioning autism and Asperger's Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37, 1235-1246.

 

Clifford, S.M., & Dissanayake, C. (2008). The early development of joint attention in infants with Autistic Disorder using home video observations and parental interview. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 791-805. 

 

Dissanayake, C., Bui, Q., Bulhak-Paterson, D., Huggins, R., & Loesch, D. (2009) Behavioural and cognitive phenotypes in idiopathic autism versus autism associated with fragile X syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 290-299.

 

Clifford, S.M., & Dissanayake, C. (2009). Dyadic and triadic behaviours in infancy as precursors to social understanding and social responsiveness in young children with Autistic Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39, 1369 – 1380.

 

Barbaro, J., & Dissanayake, C. (2009). Autism Spectrum Disorders in infancy and toddlerhood: A review of the evidence on early signs, early identification, and early diagnosis. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Paediatrics, 30, 447-459

 

Loesch, D., Godler, D., Khaniani, M., Gould, E., Freya, G., Dissanayake, C., Burgess, T., Tassone, F., Huggins, R., Slater, H., & Choo, A. (2009). Linking the FMR1 alleles with small CGG expansions with neurodevelopmental disorders: Preliminary data suggest an involvement of epigenetic mechanisms.  American Journal of Medical Genetics, 149A (10), 2306-2310.

 

Dissanayake, C., Shembrey, J., & T. Suddendorf, T. (2010). Delayed Self-Recognition in Children with High Functioning Autism and Asperger’s Disorder. Autism, 14, 495-508.

 

Barbaro, J., & Dissanayake, C. (2010) Prospective identification of Autism Spectrum Disorders in infancy and toddlerhood using developmental surveillance: The Social Attention and Communication Study.  Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Paediatrics, 31, 376-385.

 

Barbaro, J., Ridgway, L., & Dissanayake, C. (2011). Developmental surveillance of infants and toddlers by Maternal and Child Health nurses in an Australian community-based setting: Promoting the early identification of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Paediatric Nursing, 26 (4), 334-347.

 

Kelly, R., Dissanayake, C., Hammond, S., & Ihsen, E. (2011). An Investigation of the Relationship between Symbolic Play and Executive Function in Young Children. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 36,21-27. 

 

Tee, J., & Dissanayake, C. (2011, in press). Can 15-month-old infants understand pretence? (submitted April; under revision). An investigation using the ‘violation-of-expectation’ paradigm. Acta Psychologia (accepted 27/07/2011).

 

Older Publications

Dissanayake, C., & Crossley, S. A. (1989). A study of behaviour in children with early infantile autism: Responsiveness to people. Proceedings of the XXIV Congress of Psychology (Vol. 9) Clinical and abnormal psychology (P.F. Lovibond & P. Wilson, Eds.), Amsterdam: North Holland, pp 221-232.

           

Crossley, S. A. & Dissanayake, C. Syndrome de Down et Autisme. (1993). In M. C. Busnel (Ed.), Le language des bebes: Savons-nous l’entendre? Paris: Jacques Grancher, pp. 223–233.

           

Tonge, B. J., Dissanayake, C., & Brereton, A. (1994). Autism: Fifty years on from Kanner. Journal of Paediatric Child Health, 30, 102-107.

           

Sigman, M., Arbelle, S., & Dissanayake, C. (1995). Current findings on childhood autism. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 289-294.

 

Dissanayake, C., & Crossley, S. A. (1996). Proximity and sociable behaviours in autism: Evidence for attachment? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 149-156.

 

Dissanayake, C., Sigman, M. D., & Kasari, C. (1996). Long term stability of individual differences in the emotional responsiveness of children with autism. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 461-467.

 

Dissanayake, C., & Crossley, S. A. (1997). Autistic children's responses to separation and reunion with their mothers. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 27, 295-312.

 

Sigman, M., Dissanayake, C., Arbelle, S., & Ruskin-Gillman, E. M. (1997). Cognition and emotion in children and adolescents with autism. In D. J. Cohen & F. R. Volkmar (Eds.), Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders (2nd ed.). Silver Springs, Maryland: John Wiley. pp. 248-265.

 

Corona, R., Dissanayake, C., Arbelle, S., Wellington, P. & Sigman, M. (1998). Is affect aversive to young children with autism? Behavioural and cardiac responses to experimenter distress. Child Development, 69, 1494-1502.

 

Sigman, M., Ruskin, E., Arbelle, S., Corona, R., Dissanayake, C., Espinosa, M., Kim, N., Lopez, A., & Zierhut, C. (1999). Continuity and change in the social competence of children with autism, Down syndrome and developmental delays. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Serial No. 256, 64, Vol. 1.

 

Nielsen, M., & Dissanayake, C. (2000). An investigation of pretend play, mental state terms, and false belief understanding: In search of a metarepresentational link.  British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 18, 609-624.

 

Dissanayake, C., & Sigman, M. (2001). Attachment and emotional responsiveness in children with autism. International Review of Research in Mental Retardation, 23, 239-266.

 

Nielsen, M., & Dissanayake, C. (2001). A study of pretend play and false belief in preschool children: Is all pretence metarepresentational? In S. Reifel (Ed.), Play and culture studies Volume 3:  Theory in context and out. Ablex: Greenwich, pp. 199-215.

 

Dissanayake, C., & Macintosh, K. (2003) Mind reading and social functioning in children with high functioning autism and Asperger’s disorder. Invited chapter in B. Rapacholi & V. Slaughter (Eds.), Individual differences in theory of mind: Implications for typical and atypical development. Macquarie Monographs in Cognitive Science Series, Psychology Press. 

 

Mathews, R., Dissanayake, C., & Pratt, C. (2003). The relationship between theory of mind and conservation abilities in children using an active/inactive paradigm. Australian Journal of Psychology, 55, 35-42. 

 

Nielsen, M., & Dissanayake, C. (2003). A longitudinal study of immediate, deferred, and synchronic imitation through the second year. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behaviour, 1, 305-318.             

 

Nielsen, M., & Dissanayake, C. (2003). Synchronic imitation as pre-linguistic social interaction. In K. Dautenhan and C. L. Nehaniv (Eds.) Proceedings of the AISB’03 Second International Symposium on Imitation in Animals and Artifacts (pp. 131-137). Wales, UK: The Society of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behaviour.

 

Nielsen, M., Dissanayake, C., & Kashima, Y. (2003). A longitudinal investigation of self-other discrimination and the emergence of mirror self-recognition. Infant Behaviour and Development, 26, 213-226.

           

Sigman, M., Dissanayake, C., Corona, R, & Espinosa, M. (2003) Social and cardiac responses of young children with autism. Autism, 7, 205-216.

                       

Dissanayake, C. (2004). Change in behavioural symptoms in children with high-functioning autism and Asperger’s disorder: Evidence for one disorder? Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 29, 48-57.

                       

Macintosh. K., & Dissanayake, C. (2004). Annotation: The similarities and differences between Autistic Disorder and Asperger’s disorder: A review of the empirical evidence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 421-434.

                       

Nielsen, M., & Dissanayake, C. (2004). Imitation, pretend play and mirror self-recognition: A longitudinal investigation through the second year. Infant Behaviour and Development, 27, 342-365.

                       

Gernsbacher, M. A., Dissanayake, C., Goldsmith, H.H., Mundy, P., Rogers, S., & Sigman, M. (2005) Autism and deficits in attachment behaviour. Science, 307, 1201-1203

           

Dissanayake, C., Bui, Q.M., Huggins, R., & Loesch, D.Z. (2006) Growth in stature and head circumference in high-functioning autism and Asperger’s disorder during the first three years of life. Development and Psychopathology. 18(2), 381-393.

 

Macintosh. K., & Dissanayake, C. (2006). A comparative study of the spontaneous social interactions and social skills of children with high-functioning autism and children with Asperger’s disorder. Autism, 10, 199-220.

     

Macintosh. K., & Dissanayake, C. (2006). Social skills and problem behaviours in school aged children with high-functioning autism and Asperger’s disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36, 1065-1076.

 

Nielsen, M., Suddendorf, T., & Dissanayake, C. (2006). Imitation and self-recognition in autism: In search of an explanation. In S. J. Rogers & J. Williams (Eds.), Imitation and the social mind: Autism and typical development. New York NY: Guilford Publications.

 

Research projects

In addition to the projects in the grants listed above, the following postgraduate student projects provide an additional summary to the other research I have been and am currently involved in.

  • Rachel Kelly (passed, 2007); The role of executive functions in the pretend play of children with high-functioning autism
  • Jane Khoo (passed, 2007); Hot and cool executive functions in typically developing preschoolers and young children with high-functioning autism
  • Felicity Chandler (passed 2010); An exploration of the internal working models of caregiver attachments in high-functioning children with Autistic Disorder
  • Amanda Newbign (passed 2011); Social understanding and social responsiveness from the sself’s and other’s perspective in children with high-functioning autism
  • Jessica Mifsud (passed 2011); A further investigation of the symbolic play of children with high-functioning autism and typically developing children
  • Josephine Barbaro (passed 2011) Title: Prospective identification of autism in infancy.(N.B., winner of a Robert Menzies Scholarship)
  • Sarah Chan (current); Narrative abilities, memory and the self in children with high-functioning autism
  • Cherie Green (current); A mixed longitudinal study of growth in boys with an Autistism Spectrum Disorder
  • Rucha Joshi (current); A longitudinal study of Autism Spectrum Disorders in girls
  • Kavi Jayasinghe (current); Repetitive and stereotyped behaviours in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A developmental investigation
  • Rebeccca McStay (current); Caring for a child with autism: A developmental perspective on family adaptation
  • Heather Nuske (current); Emotional reactivity in Autism Spectrum Disorders: An eye tracking study