Professor Elisabeth Hill

Summary of research

Neurodevelopmental disorders, developmental co-ordination disorder, autism spectrum disorder, the relationship between social and motor development in typical and atypical populations, the role of alexithymia in neurodevelopmental disorders, mental health in adults with neurodevelopmental disorders, employment experiences of adults with neurodevelopmental disorders and those caring for a child with a neurodevelopmental disorder 

Academic qualifications

BSc PhD CPsychol

Areas of supervision

• Developmental co-ordination disorder.
• Co-occurring biological, cognitive and/or behavioural features across neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Relationships between motor development and other aspects of development (e.g. social interaction, language, cognitive ability) in typical and atypical populations.
• Mental health in adults and children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Alexithymia in autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Employment experiences in adults with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Grants & awards

Much of my research has been funded through small grants from a variety of organisations as well as larger grants and through unfunded work in collaboration with a range of individuals and organisations including The British Academy, The Royal Society, ESRC, The Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities, Prospects Employment Agency, The Wellcome Trust and the Experimental Psychology Society.  I have been working with the Progress Educational Trust on the Spectrum of Opinion project (funded by The Wellcome Trust; see http://www.progress.org.uk/page_58324.asp) in which we have developed materials aimed at raising awareness of issues relating to genes, autism and psychological spectrum disorders (see http://www.progress.org.uk/page_58594.asp). We are also working with the BASIS team (http://www.basisnetwork.org/)to investigate the relationships between early motor development and social outcomes. I am involved in part of the work funded by a large grant awarded by the European Research Council to Dr. Andy Bremner (http://www.gold.ac.uk/psychology/staff/bremner/), and I am working with the Dr Antonia Hamilton's lab (http://www.antoniahamilton.com/) at the University of Nottingham on a project investigating the underlying cognitive causes of autism and dyspraxia.

Sample grants awarded:

Hill, E.L. The role of motor abilities in the development of typical and atypical social behaviour. The Leverhulme Trust (2013-2016).

Crane, L., Goddard, L. Henry, L. & Hill, E.L. Experiences of receiving and communicating a diagnosis of autism: Perspectives of adults, parents and practitioners. The British Academy (2012-2013).

Henry, L., Leonard, H.C. & Hill, E.L. Executive functioning in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder. The Waterloo Foundation (2012-2014).

Hamilton, A. & Hill, E.L. Autism and dyspraxia: A common cognitive cause? The Waterloo Foundation (2011-2013).

Kirby, A. & Hill, E.L. Employment in adults with Developmental Coordination Disorder. The Waterloo Foundation (2011-2012).

Hill, E.L. The impact of motor development on social and educational outcomes in early childhood: a pilot study. The Nuffield Foundation (2011).

Hill, E.L. Evaluating the relationship between the development of motor skills and social behaviour: A prospective study. The British Academy (2010-2011).

Hill, E.L. DCD as a translational impairment. The Experimental Psychology Society (2009-2010).

Hill, E.L. The Autism & Employment Study. The Wellcome Trust (2007).

Custance, D., Heaton, P. & Hill, E.L. Object-directed motor imitation in children with autism. ESRC (2007).

Hill, E.L. & Bremner, A. Cross-modal representations of visual/tactual space in typical children and children with developmental coordination disorder. The British Academy (2006–2007).

Hill, E.L. & Bremner, A. Cross-modal representations of visual/tactual space in typical children and children with developmental coordination disorder. University of London, Central Research Fund (2006–2007).

Hill, E.L. Defining the pattern of cognitive function and dysfunction in neurodevelopmental disorders Royal Society Research Grant (2004–2005).

Professional activities

I am a member of the committee of ISR-DCD-UK (http://psych.brookes.ac.uk/isrdcd/) and a founding member of Movement Matters UK (http://www.movementmattersuk.org/), an umbrella organisation involved in informing policy makers, producing dissemination materials and other issues relating to those with movement disorders in the UK. With Movement Matters, I have been involved in developing European Guidelines for clinical/educational issues relating to the diagnosis, assessment and remediation of developmental coordination disorder (http://www.eacd.org/publications.php) to the UK context, a consensus process involving a wide range of professions. I am also involved in providing guidance for adults with DCD and those supporting them.

Recorded works

You can listen to / watch discussion of some of our recent work, including broader issues relating to developmental coordination disorder (DCD) by clicking on the links below:

Podcast Academy interview by Adam Smith focusing on a mini-intervention study using the Wii with children with movement difficulties: http://podacademy.org/podcasts/can-nintendo-wii-help-children-with-coordination-difficulties/

Podcast Academy interview by Adam Smith focusing on the dilemmas involved in conducting intervention studies: http://podacademy.org/2013/uncategorized/are-researchers-who-take-corporate-funding-selling-out/

Reuters video piece focusing on the use of the Wii Fit to support children with DCD:

http://uk.reuters.com/video/2013/04/30/nintendo-wii-shown-to-benefit-children-w?videoId=242553189&videoChannel=4000

Research interests

My research concerns cognitive dysfunction across and within neurodevelopmental disorders. Overall, my research has both theoretical and applied (educational and clinical) aims and benefits. My work falls into the following strands:

1. Cognitive dysfunction in developmental co-ordination disorder (DCD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including executive functions, motor skill and the cognitive processing of emotions (including alexithymia) in children and adults with ASD, as well as their relatives. Interactions between these domains, and depression and anxiety, are also being investigated.
2. The Employment & Developmental Disorders Study (including The Autism & Employment Study). This study is evaluating the employment experiences of adults with neurodevelopmental disorders, including ASD and DCD, as well as parents of a child with a neurodevelopmental disorder. This work is conducted alongside a range of colleagues including Dr. Alice Jones. I have also worked with the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities and Prospects Employment Service on this topic. Read our HR factsheet on ASD, employment and mental health, including 'Top Tips' and case studies at: http://eprints.goldsmiths.ac.uk/, as well as information for Human Resources employees (http://eprints.gold.ac.uk/5684/) as well as those working in Occupational Health (http://eprints.gold.ac.uk/7178/).
3. The profile of motor difficulties in children and adults with developmental coordination disorder (DCD, often referred to as dyspraxia), and its relationship to socio-emotional difficulties and mental health issues.
4. Investigating co-occurring symptoms in neurodevelopmental disorders, in particular the nature and extent of limb coordination impairments in disorders such as DCD, ASD and specific language impairment. On-going work has shown, for example, that children with a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders experience widespread difficulties in many areas of limb coordination. This has implications for both theoretical accounts of the disorders and methods of providing support in education and daily life situations.
5. The Autism Diagnosis Study: I am involved in this study, funded by The British Academy. Other investigators are Dr. Laura Crane, Dr. Lorna Goddard and Professor Lucy Henry. See more information about this study at http://www.gold.ac.uk/psychology/research/asd-diagnosis/

Interested in participating in my research?

**NEW** The Movers & Shakers Study

Researchers in my lab are investigating the role on motor development of having an older sibling. This study will last for 18 months and will only involve one visit to Goldsmiths. Parents will be asked to keep a diary of motor milestones for their infants from the age of 4 to 18 months. If you have a baby aged 5 months and under, with one older sibling aged 6 years or under, and are interested in learning more about the study, please contact h.leonard@gold.ac.uk. This is a great way to keep a note of your child's development (see  http://baby-brains.com/2013/09/24/time-really-flies/) and we'll provide plenty of support over the course of the study.

Ongoing studies that we are recruiting for:

• Motor difficulties in neurodevelopmental disorders.
  If you (or your child) have developmental coordination disorder (often called dyspraxia), an autism spectrum disorder, or specific language impairment please contact my research team by emailing DCDproject@gold.ac.uk and one of us will contact you with information about on-going research studies.
• The Autism & Employment Study (email me at e.hill@gold.ac.uk).

Selected publications