A guide to understanding autism and sleep across development

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Time: 12.00pm - 1.00pm
Price: free

This event will be held on Microsoft Teams. The link will be emailed a week ahead of the event, and again on the morning of Thursday 8 February 2024.

Join us for an insightful and engaging webinar tailored to parents of autistic children and adolescents, as well as young autistic adults. Professionals working in support of autistic people are also welcome to attend.

This event will begin with an overview of the Developing Minds Lab's research projects related to autism. This will be followed by the main talk which explores the prevalence of sleep challenges that often emerge early in the lives of autistic children. We will delve into how these issues persist and evolve into adolescence and adulthood. We will also talk about the effects of sleep difficulties on several facets of life, including social interactions and overall well-being. Furthermore, we will discuss the state of the art sleep interventions and highlight the next steps in autism and sleep research, with a focus on involving the autism community in shaping these approaches. This talk is intended to provide parents with a better understanding of the challenges their children may face and to offer practical advice on how to help their children get the sleep they need to thrive.

Agenda

12.00-12.15: Introduction to the Developing Minds Lab and autism research (Dr Elisa Back)
12.15-12.45: Main talk about sleep and autism (Dr Goffredina Spanò)
12.45-13.00: Questions and discussion

Speakers

Dr Elisa Back is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Kingston University London and the Director of the Developing Minds Lab. She is also a chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society. Her research area is social-cognitive development in neurodiverse populations across the life-span. Her current research focuses on how autistic individuals perceive and interpret the world and the impact this has on daily life using a range of cutting-edge technologies.

Dr Goffredina Spanò is a developmental cognitive neuropsychologist and a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Kingston University, London. Her research focuses on exploring the relationship between learning, memory, and sleep variability across the lifespan, with a particular emphasis on neurodevelopmental conditions. She has numerous publications in sleep research with both neurotypical and neurodiverse populations. She earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Arizona in 2016 and worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at University College London (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) before joining Kingston University, London, as a Lecturer in October 2022.

This event will be held on Microsoft Teams. The link will be emailed a week ahead of the event, and again on the morning of Thursday 8 February 2024.

For further information about this event:

Contact: Dr Elisa Back
Email: e.back@kingston.ac.uk