Job description

How do children develop language, attention and social understanding, and why can children with the same diagnosis follow very different developmental pathways? These questions guide my research. I am Professor of Special Education and Developmental Psychology in the Department of Education at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. My work connects child development, mental health and everyday functioning.

I study autism, ADHD and Tourette syndrome, alongside developmental characteristics that cut across diagnostic categories. My research addresses early identification, language and communication, emotion regulation and sex differences. A central aim is to understand both shared patterns and individual variation, so that assessment and support can better reflect each child’s needs.

I provide scientific leadership for UNI-MA and lead MINDScape. UNI-MA examines early development across multiple domains using the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). MINDScape investigates development and everyday functioning after childhood cancer, in collaboration with clinical teams at the University Hospital of North Norway (UNN). Both projects bring developmental science and statistical methods to questions that matter to children, families and the services supporting them.

I received my PhD in Health Sciences, specialising in psychology, from UiT in 2018. My thesis examined sex differences, screening and diagnosis in autism. Alongside my UiT appointment, I am Clinical Professor affiliated with adult habilitation services (HAVO) at UNN and Assistant Professor (Adjunct) at the Yale Child Study Center. My collaboration with Yale began in 2014 as a Visiting Research Scientist.

I teach and supervise master’s and doctoral students and serve as Senior Associate Editor of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. I have also held Global Senior Leader and Norwegian ambassador roles within the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR).