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All Outputs (30)

Neurodivergent Pupils’ Experiences of School Distress and Attendance Difficulties (2025)
Journal Article
Fielding, C., Streeter, A., Riby, D. M., & Hanley, M. (2025). Neurodivergent Pupils’ Experiences of School Distress and Attendance Difficulties. Neurodiversity, 3, https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330251327056

Evidence suggests that neurodivergent pupils are disproportionately impacted by school distress and attendance difficulties in mainstream schools in the United Kingdom. Research on school distress and attendance has predominantly consulted parents an... Read More about Neurodivergent Pupils’ Experiences of School Distress and Attendance Difficulties.

Associations between autistic traits, depression, social anxiety and social rejection in autistic and non-autistic adults (2024)
Journal Article
Gurbuz, E., Riby, D. M., South, M., & Hanley, M. (2024). Associations between autistic traits, depression, social anxiety and social rejection in autistic and non-autistic adults. Scientific Reports, 14(1), Article 9065. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-59532-3

Autistic people frequently experience negative judgements from non-autistic people, often fuelled by misconceptions that autistic people lack empathy. Understanding responses to negative social judgement among autistic people is crucial because of th... Read More about Associations between autistic traits, depression, social anxiety and social rejection in autistic and non-autistic adults.

The Quality of Everyday Eye Contact in Williams Syndrome: Insights from Cross-syndrome Comparisons (2022)
Journal Article
Ridley, E., Arnott, B., Riby, D., Burt, M., Hanley, M., & Leekam, S. (2022). The Quality of Everyday Eye Contact in Williams Syndrome: Insights from Cross-syndrome Comparisons. American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 127(4), 293-312. https://doi.org/10.1352/1944-7558-127.4.293

Past research shows that individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) have heightened and prolonged eye contact. Using parent report measures, we examined not only the presence of eye contact but also its qualitative features. Study 1 included individuals... Read More about The Quality of Everyday Eye Contact in Williams Syndrome: Insights from Cross-syndrome Comparisons.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Anxiety and Worries for Families of Individuals with Special Education Needs and Disabilities in the UK (2021)
Journal Article
Sideropoulos, V., Dukes, D., Hanley, M., Palikara, O., Rhodes, S., Riby, D., Samson, A., & Van Herwegen, J. (2022). The Impact of COVID-19 on Anxiety and Worries for Families of Individuals with Special Education Needs and Disabilities in the UK. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 52(6), 2656-2669. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05168-5

COVID-19 has affected people across the world. The current study examined anxiety and worries during the first UK national lockdown in March 2020. Parents (n = 402) reported on their own anxiety and worries as well as that of their son/daughter with... Read More about The Impact of COVID-19 on Anxiety and Worries for Families of Individuals with Special Education Needs and Disabilities in the UK.

‘Intolerance of Uncertainty’ mediates the relationship between social profile and anxiety in both Williams Syndrome and autism (2021)
Journal Article
South, M., Hanley, M., Normansell-Mossa, K., Russell, N., Cawthorne, T., & Riby, D. (2021). ‘Intolerance of Uncertainty’ mediates the relationship between social profile and anxiety in both Williams Syndrome and autism. Autism Research, 14(9), 1986-1995. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2554

Anxiety is the most significant mental health concern for both Williams syndrome (WS) and autism. Whilst WS and autism are characterised by some syndrome-specific social differences, less is known about cross-syndrome profiles of anxiety symptoms. Pr... Read More about ‘Intolerance of Uncertainty’ mediates the relationship between social profile and anxiety in both Williams Syndrome and autism.

Teacher insights into the barriers and facilitators of learning in autism (2020)
Journal Article
McDougal, E., Riby, D., & Hanley, E. (2020). Teacher insights into the barriers and facilitators of learning in autism. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 79, Article 101674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2020.101674

Background: Little is known about the factors impacting on learning for autistic pupils, even though academic outcomes are highly heterogeneous. The aim of the current study was to qualitatively explore factors that are perceived to impact positively... Read More about Teacher insights into the barriers and facilitators of learning in autism.

Does culture shape face perception in autism? Cross-cultural evidence of the own-race advantage from the UK and Japan (2020)
Journal Article
Hanley, M., Riby, D., Derges, M., Douligeri, A., Philyaw, Z., Ikeda, T., Monden, Y., Shimoizumi, H., Yamagata, T., & Hirai, M. (2020). Does culture shape face perception in autism? Cross-cultural evidence of the own-race advantage from the UK and Japan. Developmental Science, 23(5), Article e12942. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12942

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are associated with face perception atypicalities, and atypical experience with faces has been proposed as an underlying explanation. Studying the own‐race advantage (ORA) for face recognition can reveal the effect of... Read More about Does culture shape face perception in autism? Cross-cultural evidence of the own-race advantage from the UK and Japan.

Distraction, Distress and Diversity: Exploring the impact of sensory processing differences on learning and school life for pupils with autism spectrum disorders (2020)
Journal Article
Jones, E., Hanley, M., & Riby, D. (2020). Distraction, Distress and Diversity: Exploring the impact of sensory processing differences on learning and school life for pupils with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 72, Article 101515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2020.101515

Background: Many individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) experience sensory differences that impact daily functioning. This study aimed to capture parent and teacher perspectives on how sensory differences affect learning and life at school... Read More about Distraction, Distress and Diversity: Exploring the impact of sensory processing differences on learning and school life for pupils with autism spectrum disorders.

Implications of capacity in the classroom: Simplifying tasks for autistic children may not be the answer (2018)
Journal Article
Remington, A., Hanley, M., O’Brien, S., Riby, D., & Swettenham, J. (2019). Implications of capacity in the classroom: Simplifying tasks for autistic children may not be the answer. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 85, 197-204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2018.12.006

Background: Research has demonstrated evidence for increased perceptual capacity in autism: autistic people can process more information at any given time than neurotypical individuals. The implications of this for educating autistic pupils have not... Read More about Implications of capacity in the classroom: Simplifying tasks for autistic children may not be the answer.

University Students with Autism: The Social and Academic Experiences of University in the UK (2018)
Journal Article
Gurbuz, E., Hanley, M., & Riby, D. (2019). University Students with Autism: The Social and Academic Experiences of University in the UK. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(2), 617-631. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3741-4

The number of university students with autism is increasing, and it is crucial that these students can access adequate support. An online questionnaire was completed by 26 autistic students and 158 non-autistic students enrolled at UK universities to... Read More about University Students with Autism: The Social and Academic Experiences of University in the UK.

Anxiety in Williams Syndrome: The role of social behaviour, executive functions and change over time (2017)
Journal Article
Ng-Cordell, E., Hanley, M., Alyssa, K., & Riby, D. M. (2018). Anxiety in Williams Syndrome: The role of social behaviour, executive functions and change over time. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(3), 796-808. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3357-0

Anxiety is a prevalent mental health issue for individuals with Williams syndrome (WS). Relatively little is known about the developmental course of anxiety, or how it links with core features of WS, namely social and executive functioning (EF). In t... Read More about Anxiety in Williams Syndrome: The role of social behaviour, executive functions and change over time.

Social vulnerability in Williams syndrome: A tendency to approach strangers (2017)
Journal Article
Riby, D. M., Ridley, E., Lough, E., & Hanley, M. (2017). Social vulnerability in Williams syndrome: A tendency to approach strangers. International review of research in developmental disabilities, 52, 175-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.irrdd.2017.05.001

In this paper we discuss the social profile associated with the developmental disorder, Williams syndrome (WS), and provide a specific focus on social vulnerability risk factors, such as social approach. To illustrate aspects of social vulnerability... Read More about Social vulnerability in Williams syndrome: A tendency to approach strangers.

Classroom displays - Attraction or Distraction? Evidence of impact on attention and learning from children with and without autism (2017)
Journal Article
Hanley, M., Khairat, M., Taylor, K., Wilson, R., Cole-Fletcher, R., & Riby, D. M. (2017). Classroom displays - Attraction or Distraction? Evidence of impact on attention and learning from children with and without autism. Developmental Psychology, 53(7), 1265-1275. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000271

Paying attention is a critical first step toward learning. For children in primary school classrooms there can be many things to attend to other than the focus of a lesson, such as visual displays on classroom walls. The aim of this study was to use... Read More about Classroom displays - Attraction or Distraction? Evidence of impact on attention and learning from children with and without autism.

Violations of Personal Space in Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Williams Syndrome: Insights from the Social Responsiveness Scale (2015)
Journal Article
Lough, E., Hanley, M., Rodgers, J., South, M., Kirk, H., Kennedy, D., & Riby, D. (2015). Violations of Personal Space in Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Williams Syndrome: Insights from the Social Responsiveness Scale. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(12), 4101-4108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2536-0

Interpersonal distance regulation is crucial for successful social interactions. We investigated personal space awareness in Williams syndrome (WS) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to typical development. Parents reported that individuals... Read More about Violations of Personal Space in Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Williams Syndrome: Insights from the Social Responsiveness Scale.

The use of eye-tracking to explore social difficulties in cognitively able students with autism spectrum disorder: A pilot investigation (2015)
Journal Article
Hanley, M., Riby, D., Carty, C., Melaugh McAteer, A., Kennedy, A., & McPhillips, M. (2015). The use of eye-tracking to explore social difficulties in cognitively able students with autism spectrum disorder: A pilot investigation. Autism, 19(7), 868-873. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361315580767

in understanding the social world. Even for those who are cognitively able, autism-related difficulties continue into adulthood. Atypicalities attending to and interpreting communicative signals from others can provide barriers to success in educatio... Read More about The use of eye-tracking to explore social difficulties in cognitively able students with autism spectrum disorder: A pilot investigation.