January 29th 2025 – 12 – 3.30pm
Organised and chaired by
Dr Mike Wray, MSc Pathway Director, Department of Education, University of York
Pete Quinn, Consultant, Pete Quinn Consultancy Ltd.
Agenda
12 – 12.10 Arrivals and introductions
12.10 – 15.00 Presentions
15.00 – 15.30 Plenary
Confirmed speakers
Supporting successful PhD completion for autistic PGR students
Professor Nicki Martin, Professor of Social Justice and Inclusive Education, London South Bank University. Nicola has 35 years’ experience in education working with disabled pupils and students from nursery age to adults in FE and HE and an international research profile in the field. Her research interests are informed by emancipatory principles and include: universal design for inclusive learning, multi-agency collaboration, equality and diversity, critical disability /autism studies, mentoring and understanding bereaved parents and siblings.
Nicola is also a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge and Sheffield Hallam Universities, a National Teaching Fellow and a Fellow of the RSA.
DISCO project: Fostering and growing community amongst students (and staff) with disabilities, long term health conditions and/or neurodivergence.
Amanda Hickey, Lecturer in Psychology, University of York. Amanda’s research interests are in typical and atypical language development and processing with recent interests considering the role of community and a sense of belonging in the disabled student experience. Before joining the Psychology department at the University of York, she was a primary school teacher where she worked in both mainstream and special educational needs settings. She also identifies as disabled being dyslexic and having hip issues which affects mobility.
Supporting successful transition to employment for autistic students.
Jonathan Vincent, Lecturer in Higher Education, University of Lancaster. Jonathan’s research focuses on the nature and experience of life course transitions for disabled university students and graduates, with particular emphases on education and employment. He is also interested in how belonging in higher education is theorised and experienced. Alongside his academic role, Jonathan provides training to employers and coaching to autistic individuals in the workplace.
Inclusive teaching, learning and assessment practice for autistic students
Jill Pluquailec, Senior Lecturer in Autism at Sheffield Hallam University. Jill’s teaching and research is concerned with social justice for disabled children and families with a particular interest in the ways bodies and spaces in education are both produced and reproduced within matrices of power and surveillance.
Inclusive neurodiverse campuses.
Lorna Hamilton, Professor of Developmental Psychology and Inclusive Education, York St John University. Lorna is a developmental psychologist with a research focus on neurodiversity in educational contexts. She leads the ReNEW (Research on Neurodiversity, Environment and Wellbeing) group and contribute to strategic leadership on inclusive education across her institution.
Inclusion in higher education 