OTARC students

Dr Ru Ying Cai and Adjunct Professor Amanda Richdale

We supervise and support Honours, Masters, Doctoral and PhD students to complete their degrees.

By training the next generation of outstanding autism scholars and clinicians, we can undertake:

high quality scientific research
innovative research translation.

The aim is to expand knowledge to enrich the lives of autistic people and their families.

PhD candidates

Katherine Gore

Creating supports for autistic working mothers

Supervised by Associate Professor Josephine Barbaro, Dr Melissa Gilbert, Dr Rebecca Flower and Dr Susan M Hayward (University of Melbourne)

Kate's profile

Gemma Davy

Participation and Quality of Life in Caregivers of School Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Supervised by Professor Cheryl Dissanayake, Associate Professor Josephine Barbaro and Dr Katy Unwin

Gemma's profile

Robyn Ball

Understanding what constitutes good mental healthcare practice for autistic adults

Supervised by Dr Eric Morris, Adjunct Professor Amanda Richdale and Dr Lauren Lawson

Robyn's profile

Lyndel Kennedy

Factors contributing to higher education success for neurodivergent students

Supervised by Adjunct Professor Amanda Richdale and Dr Lauren Lawson

Lyndel's profile

Yeshna Bhowon

Applications Of Data Science Methods Within A Community-based Physical Activity Program For Young People With Disability

Supervised by Professor Nora Shields, Nick Taylor, and Professor Luke Prendergast

Yeshna's profile

Beth Radulski

#TakeTheMaskOff: Autistic performativity and the neurodiversity movement

Supervised by Associate Professor Katie Wright and Professor Cheryl Dissanayake

Beth's profile

Jane Mantzalas

Characterising autistic burnout and its underlying mechanisms: An exploratory investigation

Supervised by Adjunct Professor Amanda Richdale and Professor Cheryl Dissanayake

Jane's profile

Jennifer Lowe

End-of-life service experiences and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Supervised by Associate Professor Bruce Rumbold and Professor Cheryl Dissanayake

Jennifer's profile

Elly Greenwood

Autism coming to hospital: Optimising the care for inpatients with Autism Spectrum Disorder*

Supervised by Amanda Cooklin (JLC), Dr Charne Miller (UniMelb) and Associate Professor Josephine Barbaro

* Doctoral of Nursing Studies/PhD

Elly's profile

Helen Andrews

The role of self-determination theory in the adult outcomes of autistic people

Supervised by Professor Cheryl Dissanayake, Dr Darren Hedley and Dr Simon Bury

Helen's profile

Clare Kermond

Australian secondary school students with autism

Supervised by Professor Alison Lane, Anne Southall

Clare's profile

Asmita Mudholkar

Feeding difficulties in young children with a high likelihood of autism

Supervised by Professor Alison Lane, Associate Professor Kristelle Hudry, Dr Larissa Korostenski (John Hunter Hospital)

Asmita's profile

Georgia Lynch

An examination of inclusive practices in delivering Group Early Start Denver Model for Autistic Children

Supervised by Professor Cheryl Dissanayake and Associate Professor Dana Wong

Georgia's profile

Dianne Blackwell

Identify and evaluate the aspects of emotional regulation interventions that optimises performance and participation for autistic children and their caregivers

Supervised by Professor Alison Lane, Dr Anoo Bhopti (Monash University), Professor Shelly J Lane (Colorado State University)

Dianne's profile

Georgia McKenzie

Barriers and facilitators to participation in community based exercise for young people with disability

Supervised by Professor Nora Shields, Dr Claire Willis, Rachel Kennedy

Cara Schofield

Behavioural Influences Affecting Physical Activity in Prader-Willi Syndrome across the Lifespan

Supervised by Professor Nora Shields, Associate Professor Jenny Downs (Telethon Kids Institute), Nick Taylor, Professor Chris Bigby

Cara's profile

Poornima Abeysekara

Topic under development

Supervised by Associate Professor Jennifer Spoor

Tayla Chellew

Monash University

Finding the lost years: Investigating the early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in females diagnosed later in life

Supervised by Dr Nerelie Freeman (Monash), Associate Professor Josephine Barbaro

Alison Nuske

Flinders University

Exploring the facilitators and barriers to successful transition to university for students on the autism spectrum

Supervised by Dr Fiona Rillotta (Flinders), Associate Professor Michelle Bellon (Flinders), Adjunct Professor Amanda Richdale

Karen Ray

University of Newcastle

Learning to read and write: The role of handwriting fluency

Supervised by Professor Alison Lane, Kerry Dally (University of Newcastle)

Kelsey Philpott-Robinson