Please consider taking part in a short study being carried out in part fulfilment of the Doctorate in Educational, Child and Adolescent Psychology (QUB) exploring Educational Psychologists’ Evaluation of Gestalt Language Processing and Neurodiversity-Affirmative Practice.
Project Focus
‘Gestalt Language Processing’ (GLP) has gained popularity over recent years, particularly on social media, and describes a different pathway to learn language for autistic children. This study is motivated by ongoing ethical, theoretical, and ideological debates in autism research, where empirical evidence for GLP may currently be lacking, yet parental and practitioner advocacy for the approach is strong.
By exploring how EPs interpret and prioritise research evidence, professional expertise, and lived experience, the research aims to shed light on how evidence-based practice (EBP) is conceptualised in contexts shaped by the neurodiversity movement. Your contributions will help to guide service delivery and training.
How you can participate
If you are an Educational Psychologist registered in the UK, you are invited to sign up for this short survey study, which should take around 10 minutes.
You will be asked to sign-up with your email address for an unlinked copy of the survey to be sent to you.
You will be invited to participate in an optional online focus group at the end of the survey.
For further information, please contact Conal McAlinden.
Researchers
Conal McAlinden (Trainee Educational Psychologist, DECAP programme, QUB)
Dr Aoibhe Kieran (Educational Psychologist, and Professional and Academic Tutor on the DECAP programme, QUB)
Research Questions
- How do EPs prioritise different forms of evidence (research, lived experience, professional expertise and organisational context) when evaluating GLP?
- To what extent do EPs’ neurodiversity-affirming beliefs influence their evaluations of GLP?
- How does orientation towards EBP relate to EPs’ endorsement of GLP?
