Shu H Yau

I am a Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology (Research & Teaching, tenured), Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Director of the Cognition in Autism lab. I study child cognition and am passionate about working with kids, families and clinicians to improve research paradigms, inclusion and understanding in and of Autism. In my academic role, I care about neurodiversity, gender equity and inclusion, therefore am in the EDI committee in the school. I am also on the executive committee of the Australasian Human Development Association.

I founded the Cognition in Autism lab at MU in 2019. Our aim is to work with autistic people and their families, understand their needs and experiences, and co-create supports to help them thrive. We are one of very few labs in Australia who work with individuals who are nonspeaking or minimally verbal. We use strengths-based, child-friendly behavioural and cognitive paradigms, and mobile neuroimaging to understand their experiences and needs. The work that my students and I do in the lab consists of 3 streams : Cognition (e.g. how do autistic people perceive the world?), Mental Health (e.g. tailored physical activity for autistic kids, social vs nonsocial screentime, yoga-mindfulness for anxiety), and Non-speaking/Minimally Verbal people and their allies (e.g. co-designed community training on complex communication needs, improving tech for assessment and inclusion). Co-design and participatory action research are at the heart of what we do. We work closely with kids and families, community partners in WA such as The Kids Institute, AAWA, and Rocky Bay, to better our research, and ensure our study aims and testing environment are truly inclusive for our participants.

Prior to Murdoch, I was an Assistant Professor (Research & Teaching, tenured) and Neuroscience & Education programme coordinator at the University of Bristol. I care about translation of research through public engagement, and was co-director of the Bristol Autism Research Group - a network of scientists and practitioners in South West England. I completed my Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship in the UK, developing a receptive language mapping MEG paradigm for child and clinical populations.

Supervision

I welcome expressions of interest for supervision in : PSY380, Honours, Masters and PhD/DClin Psy. I have received a teaching and supervision award in recognition of my commitment to student mentorship. Some supervision opportunities are tied to current grant-funded projects, though I am open to ideas aligned with my research interests and lab streams.

Awards and Grants

• Physical activity in Autism: Mapping activities to goals (2024). Fairchild, T., Galna, B., Yau S.H. $157,555, Spinnaker Health Research Foundation.
• GEMM Leadership Grants (2022). Yau, S.H. and Loftus, T.
• Lotterywest Building Communities Grant (2021). Community TechTalkers to encourage re-connection and community participation in families with disabilities in WA. $97,502, Rocky Bay & Yau, S.H. 
• University Citations for Enhancing Student Learning, (2021), Yau, S.H. Teaching & Supervision award ‘For creative and inclusive approaches to learning and teaching that inspire students to embrace curiosity, think independently and be change agents in the real world’
• Autism Awareness immersive public Event, University of Bristol Public Engagement Award (2017), Yau, S.H.
• Jean Golding Institute Seed Corn Funding for fMRI research in nonverbal children with Autism (2017), Yau, S.H., Howard-Jones, P. & Thai, J. £5000 (approx AUD 9,400)
• Macquarie University Research Excellence Awards: Highly Commended ‘Innovative Technologies’ (2015), Badcock, N.A., McArthur, G., de Lissa, P., Preece, K.A., de Wit, B., Fieder, N., Mousikou, P., Thie, J., Mahajan, Y., Yau, S., Brock, J., Sorensen, S., & Glenn, K. “Efficient and child-friendly measures of brain activity using a video-gaming system.”
• Macquarie University Faculty of Human Sciences HDR National Recognition Award (2013)
• Finalist, Trans-Tasman 3 Minute Thesis (2013)
• 1st Place Macquarie University 3 Minute Thesis Competition (2013)
• People’s Choice, Human Sciences Faculty, 3 Minute Thesis Competition (2013) Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
• Best presentation (2012), Yau, S.H. Australasian Society for Autism Research Scientific Meeting

Publications

(this page is not updated, please refer to Google Scholar and Research Gate for latest)

Yau, S.H., Choo, K., Tan, J., Monson, O. & Bovell, S. (2024). Comparing and Contrasting Barriers in Augmentative Alternative Communication use in Nonspeaking Autism and Complex Communication Needs: Multi-stakeholder Perspectives. Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Loftus, T., Mathersul, D. C., Ooi, M., & Yau, S. H. (2023). The efficacy of mindfulness-based therapy for anxiety, social skills, and aggressive behaviors in children and young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A systematic review. Frontiers in psychiatry, 14, 1079471.

Petit, S., Grootswagers, T., Rich, A., Brock, J., Nickels, L., Moerel, D., Yau, S., Dermody, N., Woolgar, A., (2020),Toward an Individualized Neural Assessment of Receptive Language in Children, Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 63, 7, pages 2361 – 2385.

Ruiz-Martinez, F., Wilson, E., Yau, S., Saldana, D., Gomez, C., (2020), Impaired P1 Habituation and Mismatch Negativity in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 50, 2, pages 603 – 616.

Howard-Jones, P., Ioannou, K., Bailey, R., Prior, J., Jay, T., & Yau, S. (2020). Towards a science of teaching and learning for teacher education. In Educational Neuroscience (pp. 445-473). Routledge.

Howard-Jones, P & Yau, S, 2018, ‘Applying the science of learning in the classroom’. Journal of the chartered college of teaching.

Yau, S & Allen, M, 2018, ‘Research with children with Special Educational Needs: A focus on Autism Spectrum Disorder.’. in: The Routledge International Handbook of Learning with Technology in Early Childhood.

Yau, S, Bardy, F, Sowman, PF & Brock, JP, 2017, ‘The Magnetic Acoustic Change Complex and Mismatch Field: A Comparison of Neurophysiological Measures of Auditory Discrimination’. AIMS Neuroscience, vol 4., pp. 14-27

Yau, SH, Brock, JP & McArthur, G, 2016, ‘The relationship between spoken language and speech and nonspeech processing in children with autism: a magnetic event-related field study’. Developmental Science, vol 19., pp. 834-852

Yau, SH, McArthur, G, Badcock, NA & Brock, J, 2015, ‘Case study: auditory brain responses in a minimally verbal child with autism and cerebral palsy’. Frontiers in Neuroscience, vol 9.

Bardy, F, McMahon, CM, Yau, SH & Johnson, BW, 2014, ‘Deconvolution of magnetic acoustic change complex (mACC)’. Clinical Neurophysiology, vol 125., pp. 2220-2231