‘Neurodiversity: Cutting-Edge Research, Evolving Perspectives, and Effective Innovations’ is the 2025 Jack Tizard Memorial Conference that brings together leading experts to explore neurodiversity research and practices in mental health, genetics and brain development, and lifespan interventions.
This conference offers a unique opportunity for researchers and clinicians to gain practical insights from cutting-edge research on neurodevelopment. Through topics ranging from early intervention and brain mechanisms to strengths-based approaches and mental health prediction in neurodivergent youth, the event fosters cross-disciplinary dialogue and promotes innovative, evidence-based practices to improve outcomes across the lifespan.
Booking
Sign up at this link or on the Book Now button at the top of the screen, and complete the form that follows. You’ll then receive an email confirmation. A link to the webinar will be sent nearer the time. Delegates will have exclusive access to recordings for 90 days after the event, together with slides. Plus you will get a personalised CPD certificate via email.
- ACAMH Members MUST login to book onto the webinar in order to access this webinar and get a CPD certificate
- Non-members this is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer, and make the saving on these sessions
ACAMH Members (Print, Online, Concession) – Early Bird offer £99 until 30/4/25 (then £119) Join now and save
ACAMH Learn Account holders – Early Bird offer £159 until 30/4/25 (then £179)
Non Members – Early Bird offer £159 until 30/4/25 (then £179)
Undergraduate/Postgraduate – £5
ACAMH LIC Members – FREE
Don’t forget as a charity any surplus made is reinvested back as we work to our vision of ‘Sharing best evidence, improving practice’, and our mission to ‘Improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 0-25’.
About the talks
Professor Angelica Ronald – Genetics and Neurodiversity: Five pressing questions to answer
How do genetic differences in our DNA influence neurodiversity? What does genetic research reveal about why neurodiverse traits co-occur? What are polygenic scores and do they help understand neurodiversity? What are the concerns and safeguards around genetic research? Why is genetic research important for understanding neurodiversity?
In this talk, I will draw on my and others research to address these five pressing questions. Genetic research is now being conducted on many human traits and conditions and delivering beneficial scientific and health outcomes. I will outline what we are learning about genetics and neurodiversity and discuss the potential value of genetic research on neurodiversity. I will also emphasise the importance of safeguards in all genetic research.
Learning outcomes
1. To understand what has been discovered about the genetic influences relating to neurodiversity
2. To learn about how genetic research has informed why neurodiverse traits often co-occur
3. To understand both the necessary safeguards and the value of genetic research for understanding neurodiversity.
Assistant Professor Giorgia Michelini will explore the detection and prediction of mental health difficulties in neurodivergent children and adolescents, highlighting opportunities for early identification and support.
Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen – The Pattern Seekers: How autism drives human invention
70,000 to 100,000 years ago, there was a cognitive revolution in the brain, transforming the behaviour of Homo Sapiens such that today we dominate the planet. Two new circuits in the human brain had evolved: The Systemizing Mechanism allowed our species alone to search for if-and-then patterns in the world, enabling generative invention; and the Empathy Circuit allowed our species alone to imagine the thoughts and feelings of others, enabling complex social interaction, including deception and self-reflection. New evidence reveals the link between the autistic mind and the capacity for invention. Society owes a huge debt to autistic people for the contribution that their genes have played in driving the evolution of human progress, and yet autistic people are excluded from society. It’s time to redress this.
Key References
Baron-Cohen, S, (2020) The Pattern Seekers. Basic Books US/Penguin Random House UK
Greenberg, D, M, et al (2018) Testing the Empathizing-Systemizing theory of sex differences and the Extreme Male Brain theory of autism in half a million people. PNAS, 115, 12152-7.
Warrier, V, et al (2019) Social and non-social autism symptom and trait domains are genetically dissociable. Communications Biology, 2, 1-13.
Learning outcomes
1. To explore if there is a link between autism and invention
2. To look at autism in terms of strengths in pattern recognition, not just disabilities in social communication
3. To consider how society can become more inclusive for autistic people
Professor Jonathan Green will present innovative early intervention approaches that support environmental adaptation to neurodiversity, laying the groundwork for an evidence-based, efficient, and ethical model of healthcare delivery.
Professor Duncan Astle – Beyond the label? A transdiagnostic approach to neurodevelopment
Human brain development takes a long time and results in highly variable outcomes, including neurodevelopmental and child psychiatric conditions. This variability in brain development is important for understanding differences in cognition, mental health and learning. But measuring and mapping that variability is extremely challenging. This talk showcases the application of different computational frameworks that address three crucial developmental challenges. Firstly, how do we capture the incredible cognitive heterogeneity that exists across childhood and adolescence, and do these differences map to established diagnostic categories? Secondly, can we build developmental models that formalise simple biological principles in order to capture complex developmental phenomena? Thirdly, can we use these models to bridge scales and species to establish fundamental and causal mechanisms that shape development?
Learning outcomes
1. Explore the limitations with our existing diagnostic frameworks
2. Understand the potential advantages of a transdiagnostic approach in neurodevelopment
3. Consider how this perspective might help us understand the foundational mechanisms that drive developmental change and differences
Professor Emily Jones will delve into neurodevelopmental pathways and early development, and how early brain and cognitive differences shape later strengths and challenges
Associate Professor Dr. Lawrence Fung – Strengths-based Model of Neurodiversity in Education, Employment, and Clinical Settings
Neurodiversity is about accepting variations in brain functions and behaviors as part of normal variations of human beings. Uncovering the strengths of neurodiverse individuals empowers them to increase innovation and productivity, resulting in favorable outcomes not only for them but for the entire community. In this presentation, Dr. Fung will describe the Strengths-Based Model of Neurodiversity in developing neurodiverse individuals in learning and work environments. He will explain how the model is implemented in education (Stanford Neurodiversity Project – Research, Education, and Advocacy Camp for High Schoolers (SNP-REACH)), employment (Empower to Employment), and clinical (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Autistic Adults Provider Training (CBT-AAPT)) settings.
Learning objectives
1. Understand the components of the strengths-based model of neurodiversity.
2. Gain knowledge on community-based participatory research for the development of psychoeducational interventions.
3. Discover the results of training job coaches, employers, and family members by the Empower to Employment (E2E) curriculum.
4. Learn examples of how neurodiversity-informed care can be conducted in the clinical setting.
Programme
10:00 Dr. Mark Lovell, ACAMH Deputy Chair – Welcome and Introduction
10:10 Professor Angelica Ronald – Genetics and Neurodiversity: Five pressing questions to answer
10:40 Q&A
10:50 Assistant Professor Giorgia Michelini
11:20 Q&A
11:30 Refreshment & Reflection break
11:45 Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen – The Pattern Seekers: How autism drives human invention
12:15 Q&A
12:25 Professor Jonathan Green
12:55 13:05 Q&A
13:05 Lunch
13:50 Dr. Mark Lovell, ACAMH Deputy Chair – Welcome back
14:00 Professor Duncan Astle – Beyond the label? A transdiagnostic approach to neurodevelopment
14:30 Q&A
14:40 Professor Emily Jones
15:10 15:20 Q&A
15:20 Refreshment & Reflection break
15:30 Associate Professor Dr. Lawrence Fung – Strengths-based Model of Neurodiversity in Education, Employment, and Clinical Settings
16:00 Q&A
16:10 Dr. Mark Lovell, ACAMH Deputy Chair – Closing Remarks
16:20 End
About the speakers
Professor Angelica Ronald has over 20 years’ experience in researching the genetic basis of neurodiversity. She has investigated the causes of neurodevelopmental conditions and why different neurodevelopmental conditions tends to co-occur. She was awarded the British Psychological Society Spearman medal and the International Society for Autism Research young investigator award for her research on neurodiversity. She is currently Professor of Psychology and Genetics in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey. Much of the work on neurodiversity in her lab is led by neurodiverse scientists.
Dr. Giorgia Michelini is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Psychology at Queen Mary University of London and a Visiting Researcher at King’s College London and at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). After completing a BSc in Psychology and MSc in Clinical Psychology, she pursued a PhD in Developmental Psychopathology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, supervised by Professor Jonna Kuntsi. Her PhD work was awarded the 2018 Elsevier Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Prize and the 2018 Neil O’Connor Prize from the British Psychological Society. She then completed postdoctoral fellowships in the US at SUNY Stony Brook and UCLA, before returning to the UK to take up her current position. Her research seeks to elucidate the biological and psychosocial processes underlying neurodevelopmental (e.g., ADHD) and affective disorders, as well as their co-occurrence, in order to inform prevention, early identification, and treatment strategies. Her work has been supported by the National Institute of Heath Research, Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (NARSAD) and Klingenstein Third Generation Foundation.
Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen is Director of the Autism Research Centre (ARC) in Cambridge University. He has made contributions to many aspects of autism research. In 2017, he gave a keynote address to the United Nations on Autism Awareness Day on the topic of Autism and Human Rights. In 2021, he received a knighthood in the New Year’s Honours List for his services to autism. The Medical Research Council (MRC) awarded him with the MRC Millennium Medal 2023 in recognition of his pioneering MRC-funded research into the prenatal sex steroid theory of autism, his establishment of the ARC, and his work in the public understanding of neurodiversity.
Duncan Astle is a the Gnodde Goldman Sachs Professor of Neuroinformatics in the Department of Psychiatry, and a Programme Leader at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, where he leads the 4D Research Group. He is also a Fellow of Robinson College. Prior to this he completed his training at Durham and Nottingham, and held fellowships at Oxford, Royal Holloway and Cambridge. He is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist and his research uses multiple methods to explore how brain systems develop through childhood, and the mechanisms that give rise to divergent developmental trajectories or neurodevelopmental disorders. This programme of work has been supported by the Royal Society, the British Academy, the Medical Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, James S. McDonnell Foundation, Templeton World Charitable Foundation, and multiple charities. Duncan currently serves on the Medical Research Council’s Neurosciences and Mental Health Board and as Chair of the University’s LGBT+ Staff network. He has won a number of Prizes for his research, most recently the Vice-Chancellor’s 2020 Award for Impact and Engagement by an established researcher.
Emily Jones is a Professor at the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London. Her research interests centre on understanding the cognitive and neural mechanisms that drive variability in developmental trajectories. In this context, she runs a number of prospective longitudinal studies of typical and atypical neurodevelopment in infants and directs electrophysiological and eye-tracking acquisition across several large-scale European and Global Health studies of children and adults with neurodevelopmental conditions (https://sites.google.com/view/bondcbcd). Emily is part of the the editorial team for JCPP Advances. She is committed to ensuring that work on early neurodevelopmental conditions embraces complexity and considers both strengths and weaknesses. She strongly supports initiatives to boost cultural, geographical, clinical and disciplinary diversity in submissions, and is particularly interested in work that integrates a participatory element.
Associate Professor Dr. Lawrence Fung is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. He is the director of the Stanford Neurodiversity Project, director of the Neurodiversity Clinic, and principal investigator at the Fung Lab. His work, which focuses on autism and neurodiversity, traverses from multi-modal neuroimaging studies to a new conceptualization of neurodiversity and its application to clinical, educational, and employment settings. His lab advances the understanding of neural bases of human socio-communicative and cognitive functions by using novel neuroimaging and bioanalytical technologies. Using a community-based participatory research approach, his team devises and implements novel interventions to improve the lives of neurodiverse individuals by maximizing their potential and productivity.
Booking
Sign up at this link or on the Book Now button at the top of the screen, and complete the form that follows. You’ll then receive an email confirmation. A link to the webinar will be sent nearer the time. Delegates will have exclusive access to recordings for 90 days after the event, together with slides. Plus you will get a personalised CPD certificate via email.
- ACAMH Members MUST login to book onto the webinar in order to access this webinar and get a CPD certificate
- Non-members this is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer, and make the saving on these sessions
ACAMH Members (Print, Online, Concession) – Early Bird offer £99 until 30/4/25 (then £119) Join now and save
ACAMH Learn Account holders – Early Bird offer £159 until 30/4/25 (then £179)
Non Members – Early Bird offer £159 until 30/4/25 (then £179)
Undergraduate/Postgraduate – £5
ACAMH LIC Members – FREE
Don’t forget as a charity any surplus made is reinvested back as we work to our vision of ‘Sharing best evidence, improving practice’, and our mission to ‘Improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 0-25’.