Research Interests

Kathy's research interests are in neurodiversity and neurodevelopmental and learning disabilities, particularly autism. Kathy is passionate about pragmatic and high-impact research that will directly improve the lives of neurodivergent children and adults and their families in the UK and internationally, including in low resource contexts.

Kathy is interested in communication, interaction and language development. She is also interested in family relationships, parenting, mental health, wellbeing, quality of life, and the lived experience of autistic people and their families. Her work is underpinned by a strong neurodiversity-affirmative and social justice ethos. 

Expertise

• Development and co-design of interventions/ health technologies
• Evaluation of interventions, including feasibility, acceptability, effectiveness, cultural adaptation
• Design, implementation and management of randomised controlled trials of complex interventions
• Measurement tools: development, validation, usage, cultural adaptation
• Co-production and participatory research; partnership with experts by experience, clinicians and other stakeholders
• Qualitative methods, including process evaluation

Current Projects

• Clinical and cost-effectiveness of adapted online parent-led treatment compared to treatment as usual for autistic children with anxiety problems in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: A randomised controlled trial (the STAR-CAT trial)
• Improving communication with adults with learning disabilities (ICALD); funded by the National Institute for Health Research Programme Grants for Applied Research
• NAMASTE: Neurodevelopment and Autism in South Asia: Treatment and Evidence; funded by the National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit
• A Randomised Controlled Trial of Psycho-education and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy for Parents of Children recently diagnosed with ASD (REACH-ASD Trial); funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme
• Communication-centred Parent-mediated treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder in South Asia (COMPASS Trial); funded by the Medical Research Council Joint Global Health Trials Initiative

Past Projects

• Empowering families of young children with autism to establish good oral health (ToothPASTE Project); funded by the NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Programme
• The Paediatric Autism Communication Trial - Generalised (PACT-G Trial); funded by the NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Programme
• Follow-up to the Preschool Autism Communication Trial at age 7-11 (PACT 7-11 Study)
• Neurofibromatosis Type 1 and Autism Study
• The Social Outcomes and Early Life Experiences Study (SOCiAL) 
• The Parent-mediated intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders in South Asia (PASS) study
• Pre-school Autism Communication Trial

• Neurodiversity
• Autism 
• Learning/intellectual disability
• Evidence-based interventions, services and supports
• Digital health and mental health interventions
• Health, education and social care provision
• Randomised controlled trials
• Mental health, wellbeing and quality of life
• Language and communication development
• Measurement and outcomes
• Global health and low resourced settings

Kathy currently supervises seven PhD students, a ClinPsyD student, and two pre-doctoral fellows. 

Kathy is a thesis supervisor on the University of Manchester MSc Clinical & Health Psychology and the MRes in Clinical Neuroscience & Neuropsychology.