Email: jparso05@mail.bbk.ac.uk

Dr Teodora Gliga (University of East Anglia, School of Psychology)
Prof Emily Jones (Birkbeck, Department of Psychological Sciences)

I’m investigating the development of visual attention, that is where one looks and when, in infants under 18 months old who are at risk for later learning difficulties because they are either at familial risk for autism or have been born pre-term.

To do this, I’m using data from eye-tracking technologies collected whilst infants were viewing video or live interactions. Some atypicalities have been found for infants at familial risk for autism but evidence is mixed and much is based on viewing static not dynamic images. I’m exploring whether when viewing dynamic images the two groups of infants at risk for learning difficulties allocate visual attention differently and if and how this differs to low risk infants, who have been born full term with no familial autism risk. The aim is to determine whether any differences are more closely associated with general development or autism symptoms.

My PhD is funded by a fellowship from the Baily Thomas Charitable Fund.

2015-present
Birkbeck, University of London
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Psychology (part-time)

2010-2014
The Open University
BSc Hons Psychology, First Class

1986-1989
Cambridge University
MA Hons Natural Science (Chemistry), Upper Second Class

Nov 2013-Jul 2015
Research assistant at the Centre for Brain & Cognitive Development
On the British Autism Study of Infant Siblings (BASIS) carried out recruitment, data collection with infants, video-coding of parent-child interaction and developed a data dictionary development based on standard questionnaires.

Parsons, J. P., Bedford, R., Jones, E. J., Charman, T., Johnson, M. H., & Gliga, T. (2019). Gaze following and attention to objects in infants at familial risk for ASD. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 1799.