PsychBites

This week we are joined by Dr Alyssa M Alcorn for Part 2 of our episode about the Learning About Neurodiversity at School (LEANS) project. The LEANS participatory research project developed and evaluated a free curriculum for mainstream primary schools. LEANS introduces neurodiversity concepts to pupils aged 8-11 years and explores how this type of diversity impacts our experiences at school.Note: Dr Alyssa M Alcorn is now a lecturer at the School of Psychological Science at the University of Bristol. Alyssa’s work with the LEANS project was conducted whilst she was the Research and Impact Lead and visiting researcher at the Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh. To access further information on LEANS and download the free resource pack, follow: https://salvesen-research.ed.ac.uk/leansAlyssa published a study exploring the impact of LEANS in school and this can be found here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/27546330241272186Find Alyssa’s social media on @a_m_alcorn0131 and the Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre @SMRCResearch and #LEANSprojectYou can find us at: Instagram: psychbitespodX / Twitter: @psychbitespodLinkedIn: psychbites-podcastBluesky: @psychbites.bsky.social

This week we are joined by Dr Alyssa M Alcorn; Alyssa talks to us about the Learning About Neurodiversity at School (LEANS) project. The LEANS participatory research project developed and evaluated a free curriculum for mainstream primary schools. LEANS introduces neurodiversity concepts to pupils aged 8-11 years and explores how this type of diversity impacts our experiences at school.Note: Dr Alyssa M Alcorn is now a lecturer at the School of Psychological Science at the University of Bristol. Alyssa’s work with the LEANS project was conducted whilst she was the Research and Impact Lead and visiting researcher at the Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh. To access further information on LEANS and download the free resource pack, follow: https://salvesen-research.ed.ac.uk/leansAlyssa published a study exploring the impact of LEANS in school and this can be found here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/27546330241272186Find Alyssa’s social media on @a_m_alcorn0131 and the Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre @SMRCResearch and #LEANSprojectYou can find us at: Instagram: psychbitespodX / Twitter: @psychbitespodLinkedIn: psychbites-podcastBluesky: @psychbites.bsky.social

This week we are joined by Dr Abigail Wright; Abi talks to us about her research which explored the individual strengths of autistic children and whether they were more likely to show 'Theory of Mind’ when tasks were adapted to the children’s unique strengths, interests and areas of support, compared to a ‘standard’ task. Abi also gives us a brief insight into the exciting early years project she is involved in. To access to Abi's full text, follow: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/95513/1/PDF%20Abigail%20Tee%20final%20marked%20DEdPsy%20thessis%202016%20for%20ORCA%20upload.pdfFind Abi’s Instagram page at @psychedmumYou can find us at: Instagram: psychbitespodX / Twitter: @psychbitespodLinkedIn: psychbites-podcastBluesky: @psychbites.bsky.social

This week we are joined by Dr Melissa Mel Morrison; Mel talks to us about her research which explored the perceptions of adolescent girls of the relationship between sports based extra-curricular activities and their wellbeing. Melissa hopes that her research will help to inform both educational settings and professionals to consider how they can broaden their approach towards supporting wellbeing.You can find us at: Instagram: psychbitespodX / Twitter: @psychbitespodLinkedIn: psychbites-podcast

This week we are joined by Dr Mollie Higgins; Mollie talks to us about her research which explored autistic pupils' experiences of school by asking them about their ideal and non-ideal type of school. The pupils described the type of school environment that would support their attendance, which provided useful ideas for adjustments and adaptations that might help neurodivergent students to attend school.  To access to Mollie's full text click here.You can also access Mollie’s Ed Psych Ed blog post here: Sharing EP Practice: EBSA and Autism - What Can Schools Do? (edpsyched.co.uk)Instagram: psychbitespodX / Twitter: @psychbitespodLinkedIn: psychbites-podcast

Professor Stephen Rollnick discusses the origins and application of Motivational Interviewing in schools. Topics include enhancing listening skills, overcoming fears in scuba diving, interpreting non-verbal cues in education, and guiding conversations positively with MI principles.

Prof Stephen Rollnick, expert in Motivational Interviewing, discusses the origins and applications of MI in schools, emphasizing positive psychology and growth through non-judgmental conversations. The podcast explores the importance of creating a safe space for change, empowering individuals through autonomy and language, and the impact of MI in educational and sports settings.

This week we are joined by Dr Rachel Jones. Rachel talks to us about her research that explored the educational experiences of children with a chronic illness. Rachel also explored the experiences of parents whose children have a chronic illness. We discuss how this support might look when navigating the education system. To access to Rachel's full text, follow: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/151822/Instagram: psychbitespodX / Twitter: @psychbitespodLinkedIn: psychbites-podcast

This week we are joined by Dr Hannah Warnock; Hannah talks to us about some of the current practices in mainstream schools for supporting children and young people with Tourette’s Syndrome (TS). Hannah also discusses the experiences of parents whose children have TS, and what support in school looked like for them.To access to Hannah's full text, follow: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/151684/Hannah’s Tourette’s Action blog post: https://www.tourettes-action.org.uk/news-638-an-exploration-of-support-for-children-and-young-people-with-tourette-syndrome-in-schools.htmlYou can find us at: Instagram: psychbitespodX / Twitter: @psychbitespodLinkedIn: psychbites-podcast

This week we are joined by Dr Molly Griffiths. Molly discusses her research which explored educational psychologists and trainee educational psychologists’ perceptions of Welsh-medium additional learning provision. Molly talks about the perceived benefits and challenges of Welsh-medium additional learning provision are and the barriers to and facilitators to this. To access to Molly's full text, follow: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/161981/Molly also wrote a blog on supporting Welsh medium children and young people with ALN on edpsy.org.uk which can be found here:https://t.co/rwBGkzjngdInstagram: psychbitespodX / Twitter: @psychbitespod