About
William is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education but has a background a primary school teacher, Clinical Research Fellow and Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust. He is a fellow of St Edmund’s College, Cambridge. He is also a member of the British Academy of Child Community Health (BACCH), and British Academy of Childhood Disability (BACD). He runs the fledgling Pedologii lab in the faculty of education which is a collection of undergraduate and graduate students who all research areas around neurodiversity crossing the education and healthcare divide into an integrated world. His research interests span childhood diagnosis, digital tools, and neurodiversity, with a slant toward Autism, Cerebral palsy and ADHD. He is a conference committee member of the International Conference on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assistive Technologies (ICDVRAT).
His research interests are in object interaction, tangibles, toys and autism diagnosis. Recently he has become more involved in work that is focused on artificial intelligence for building neurodiverse and neurodisability profiles for children with additional needs. Will works with collaborators across the University and Healthcare sectors in various Chief Investigator or Co-applicant roles, to assess and improve diagnostic pathways for children with possible autism, digital innovation for diagnosis, and use of AI for individualised therapy.
Prior to joining the faculty of education, Will was a Senior Research Fellow and Honorary Clinical Research Fellow at Brighton and Sussex Medical School, and was a Locum Associate Professor at the University of Jönköping, Sweden in the CHILD department. he was also a BACD Castang Fellow 2017-2019 in British Academy of Childhood Disability (BACD) where he looked at toys as a potential tool for diagnostic purposes in pre-school, pre-verbal children.
Research
- Autism and Neurodevelopmental Conditions
- Neurodiversity and Neurodisability
- Digital Tools & AI in Diagnosis and Therapy
Will’s work spans from system-wide service evaluation to hands-on tech design. His core mission: ensuring early, equitable, and effective autism detection and support—leveraging education, healthcare systems, and cutting-edge digital tools.