UNDERSTANDING SLEEP AND BEHAVIOUR IN CHILDREN WITH NEURODEVELOPMENTAL CONDITIONS
OUR TEAM
Professor Caroline Richards
Professor Richards leads the Richards Lab. She is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Neurodevelopmental Conditions at the University of Birmingham. The aim of Professor Richards’ research is to reduce negative clinical outcomes for individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions (to view Professor Richards' research output, click here). Her work with autistic children and children with rare genetic syndromes has thus far focused on reducing self-injury, improving sleep disorders and understanding the impact of premature birth. Professor Richards collaborates with researchers from the Universities of Surrey, Aston and Warwick as part of the Cerebra Network (see www.cerebranetwork.com) and supervises a number of undergraduate and postgraduate students within the School of Psychology.
Dr Stacey Bissell
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​Dr Stacey Bissell conducts sleep-focused and behavioural research with children diagnosed with rare genetic syndromes associated with autism, epilepsy and intellectual disability. She has specific research expertise working with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), Smith-Magenis syndrome, Potocki-Lupski syndrome, SATB2-associated syndrome and Kleefstra syndrome. Her current work aims to i) profiles sleep and behaviour in children with TSC using actigraphy and mobile app technology, ii) profiles sleep in same-household siblings of children who have complex nocturnal health needs, and iii) utilises qualitative methodologies with TSC families to capture lived experiences and priorities for sleep management service provision and support.
Dr Kelly Wade
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Dr Wade was appointed as the Cerebra Network Coordinator in December 2020. She has an interest in the role that pain and painful health conditions play in behaviour that challenges. Dr Wade completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Birmingham and worked with the Cerebra Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders during her MRes. This MRes research project led by Professor Chris Oliver and Dr Lucy Wilde explored the persistence of behaviour that challenges in TSC. After her MRes, Dr Wade worked with the Cambridge Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Group, before returning to the University of Birmingham to complete her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Dr Wade is now Assistant Professor in Clinical Psychology, contributing to the teaching of clinical psychology trainees and supporting them through to qualification.
Dr Catherine Laverty
Dr Catherine Laverty is a research fellow in the School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham working on the BRIDGE project. Catherine’s research focuses on improving clinical outcomes in children within ‘at risk’ populations, with a particular current emphasis on self-injury, sleep, and behaviour in autistic children with an intellectual disability. Catherine’s PhD work explored social understanding within infants born moderately or late preterm. Catherine is passionate about conducting research that aims to improve clinical outcomes for children and their families.
Kayla Smith​
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Kayla Smith is a Research Fellow working on the BRIDGE project assessing play-based executive function tasks in people with rare genetic syndromes. She is finishing her PhD at the University of Warwick which explores behavioural, physiological, and cognitive indicators of social anxiety and social motivation in people with fragile X syndrome. Kayla is passionate about conducting research that improves mental health outcomes for people with rare genetic syndromes and their families.
Dr Rory O'Sullivan
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Rory completed his BSc in Psychology at Loughborough University, during which he worked as an Honorary Research Assistant at Richards Lab. Whilst at Richards Lab, Rory assisted with several projects including e-SNORE which investigated sleep in children with tuberous sclerosis complex, and the impact of sleep on daytime behaviour and functioning. Rory has since developed an interest in sleep research with at-risk groups, and returned to Richards Lab in 2021 to undertake a PhD under the supervision of Dr Caroline Richards, Professor Andrew Bagshaw and Dr Stacey Bissell. Rory’s project examined the ways in which we measure sleep and daytime behaviour, and applying these measures to investigate associations between sleep and daytime behaviour amongst children with rare genetic syndromes. Rory is now Research Fellow working on the BRIDGE project.
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Rachel Martlew
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Rachel completed her BSc in Neuroscience at Aston University, during which she undertook a placement year at the Richards Lab, working on the CHARGE project, SIB study and IPSU project. Rachel has since begun her PhD, which is funded by the Baily-Thomas Charitable Fund, and is supervised by Professor Caroline Richards and Professor Andrew Bremner at the University of Birmingham. Her PhD aims to understand the underpinnings of repetitive behaviours in infants with genetic syndromes and intellectual disability. To do this, both behavioural and EEG brain imaging methods will be utilised to try and decipher any commonalities between infants that show high versus low levels of repetitive behaviours.
Jay Jones
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Jay completed his BSc in Psychology and MSc in Youth Mental Health at the University of Birmingham, where he conducted a review assessing the profile and prevalence of aggressive and self-injurious behaviour in tuberous sclerosis complex. Towards the end of his master’s, Jay began working as a research assistant in the Richards Lab, assisting with the OASIS and BRIDGE projects. Jay has since begun his PhD at the University of Birmingham, under the supervision of Professor Caroline Richards, Professor Andrew Bagshaw and Dr Rory Devine. His project aims to co-produce appropriate, behavioural sleep interventions and evaluate whether poor sleep causes daytime impairments amongst children with rare genetic syndromes.
Arfaa Riaz​
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Arfaa completed her MSci degree in Psychology and Psychological Practice at the University of Birmingham, during which she completed a year-long placement as an Honorary Research Assistant at the Richards Lab. Arfaa assisted with several projects, including iKNOW, OASIS and BRIDGE. As a first-year PhD student, Arfaa’s project is focused on measuring executive functioning in children with intellectual disability, with aims to capture developmental change in children in special schools, and assess educational outcomes
Lauren Walters
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Lauren is a trainee clinical psychologist working on the BRIDGE Project. She previously worked as a research assistant on the iKNOW study assessing the feasibility of preventative intention programme for individuals at Clinical High Risk for Behaviours that challenge. This work is in partnership with the NHS and supervised by Professor Caroline Richards. Lauren also worked on the OASIS project, an objective actigraphy study in sleep of children with intellectual disability and their siblings, supervised by Dr Stacey Bissel.
Kiran Kaur
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Kiran is a Research Associate working on the BRIDGE Project. She completed her BSc in Psychology at Aston University, and her dissertation investigated the correlation between sleep, anxiety and autism traits in undergraduate students. Through her studies, she also worked as an honorary research assistant, as part of her placement year, contributing to various projects such as The Sleep-Impulsivity Behaviour (SIB) study, the i-KNOW feasibility project, and research on self-harm and autism. She then re-joined Richards Lab, holding the position of Research Assistant for the BEOND Project and the iKNOW Under 3's Project.
Beatriz Pinheiro Sanchez
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Beatriz completed her BSc in Psychology at Lancaster University, where she worked as a research assistant on projects investigating the effect of value on the prioritisation of information in working memory. Beatriz recently completed an MSc in Developmental Psychology and Psychopathology at King’s College London, and her dissertation used qualitative methods to explore the barriers and facilitators autistic adults experience when developing and practicing self-compassion. She has now joined the Richards Lab as a Research Associate in the BRIDGE project.
Hamza Surty
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Hamza is a student undertaking BSc Psychology at Aston University and is on a placement year as an Honorary Research Assistant with Richard’s Lab at the University of Birmingham. He is working on the BRIDGE study, a follow-up from the Sleep Impulsivity Behaviour (SIB) study, aiming to evaluate executive function and impulsivity in children with autism and intellectual disability through play-based assessments.
Sharon Shibu
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Sharon is an undergraduate Psychology student from Aston University and is currently completing her placement year as an honorary research assistant at the Richards Lab. She is working on the BRIDGE project, a follow up study to the Sleep-Impulsivity-Behaviour (SIB) Study assessing the executive functioning and impulsivity of autistic children and children with intellectual disability through play-based assessments.
Mohammed Ali
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Ali is an undergraduate student at Loughborough University studying Psychology. He is currently completing a placement year at the Richards Lab, as an Honorary Research Assistant. He is working on the BEOND project and the iMOVE project. BEOND is a wide-scale survey study exploring how intellectual disabilities, neurodevelopment disorders and rare genetic syndromes impact behavioural, emotional, mental and physical outcomes in order to help improve support for individuals and their families. The iMOVE project is a 2-part remote and in-person EEG study; investigating sensory profiles and patterns in repetitive behaviours in infants aged 6 to 12 months, with rare genetic syndromes. He is also a part of the Richards Lab social media team to improve the Lab's social media presence.
Prabhjyot Digpal
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Prabhjyot is an undergraduate psychology student from Aston University and joined Richard’s Lab as an Honorary Research Assistant for her placement year, working on BEOND and iMove. BEOND is a wide-scale survey study exploring how rare genetic syndromes, neurodevelopment disorders and intellectual disabilities affect behaviour, emotion, physical and mental health to help improve future support for individuals and their families. The iMove project is investigating sensory profiles and patterns in repetitive behaviours in infants, aged 6-12 months, with rare genetic syndromes, in comparison to infants with no diagnosed genetic syndrome. This is to be conducted via two parts; a remote assessment and an in-person EEG study.