Dr Laura Fox

Profile

Biography

I am a Research Associate in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in the Department of Education, University of York.

I gained my PhD in Psychology in Education in 2024. Alongside this, I worked as a Research Associate on an ESRC project exploring the inclusion of seldom-heard families in longitudinal qualitative research and as an Associate Lecturer teaching and supervising across both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.  

My research is primarily qualitative and focuses on exploring the experiences of children with additional needs in relation to their friendship development and mental health. I am passionate about creating and using creative and accessible research methods that could support children and young people to take part in research. I am part of the GenOmics And Life Stories (GOALS) group and the Child and Adolescent Neurodevelopmental Diversity (CANDY) Group at the Department of Education, University of York.

Research

Overview

My research focuses on the experiences of neurodivergent children and young people and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in relation to their friendships and mental well-being. I’m also interested in whether these experiences differ from the reports of key adults and how understanding these differences may help to inform future support.

In order to do this, we need to know more about how we can include children with additional needs in research about themselves. A key focus of my research is exploring how we can use creative data collection methods to facilitate the participation of children and young people in research, including those who are non-speaking children. I also have a passion for participatory and co-produced research and I am keen to explore how children with additional needs, and their families, can be included in a meaningful way.

For more information on current projects, please visit my OSF page or Google Scholar. 

Research group(s)

• Psychology in Education Research Centre (PERC)
• GenOmics And Life Stories (GOALS)