Sarah is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Programme Director for the Joint Honours BSc in Psychology with Business/Marketing/Sociology. She came to Aston in 2015, after working as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Wales Autism Research Associate, School of Psychology, Cardiff University. 

Sarah has two main strands of research, both of which focus on autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  The first strand relates to the behavioural profile of ASD, and encompasses research focusing on the international diagnostic criteria for ASD, and diagnosis in adults and women. The second strand of her research involves both functional and structural imaging of the brain in autism.  The overall aim of her research aim is to combine these two strands to develop a better understanding of the link between the clinical and neurobiological profiles of ASD.

Sarah is part of an international collaboration of researchers and clinicians who work with an instrument called the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO). She also works with clinical teams within the West Midlands.  Working with the DISCO, Sarah and her colleagues have developed a new diagnostic algorithm based on the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for ASD and conducted a series of studies to develop an abbreviated form of the interview.  

DPhil, SFHEA, MSc, MA(Oxon)

“Innovation in Healthcare” and “People’s Choice”, Cardiff University Innovation and Impact Awards. The award is for work developing tools to help professionals recognise and understand the signs of autism, including a “Birthday Party” film. Collaboration with Cardiff University, Welsh Local Government Association, and colleagues in Latvia, Lithuania, Spain, and Italy (2019).

The Nigel Slack Teaching Innovation Award, presented at the 26^th International EurOMA conference for the paper ‘A feasibility study into how a synthetic digital environment can help people with less visible impairments use rail more easily’. Orme, R., Al-Kabani, M., Clegg, B., Petridis, P., Kessler, K., Carrington, S.J., Poole, A., Yeoman, A. (2019).

Ewelina Rosiecke: Exploring sex differences in the clinical, cognitive, and neurobiological profiles of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Funded by the Birmingham Children’s Hospital Research Foundation. Feb 2017-present.

PY1129 Introduction to Psychology (tutor)

PY2505 Lifespan Development

PY3351 Child Development (module convenor)

PY3010 Research in Autism Spectrum Disorder (module convenor)

PY3346 Final Year Project supervisor

PY4016 Introduction to Cogitive Neuroscience

• Room: SW509a
• Email: [email protected]
• Tel: 0121 204 4322