Professor Rita Jordan
Chairperson Autism Consultancy and Training (ACT)
Rita Jordan is professor in Autism studies at the school of Education,University
of Birmingham. She has had a life time of experience of working with individuals
with Autism
BSc in Psychology
MSc in Child Development & Research Methods
MA in Applied Linguistics
PhD in Pronominal development in Autism
Qualified teacher
Chartered Psychologist for Research.
Teaching in primary, nursery and special schools including 9 years as Deputy
Principal of a school for children with Autism. Taught clinical linguistics,
special education, and primary education at University of Hertfordshire.
Now leading team of academics in Autism Studies providing a range of professional
development programmes in Autistic Spectrum Disorders at the University
of Birmingham. Served on national and international task forces on Autism
and consults and lectures world-wide in this area. Spent 4 months as a visiting
professor in Clinical Psychology at the University of Kyushu in Japan.
Research interests in
- the fundamental nature of learning and teaching in Autism, (especially on perception, memory, concept development, attention and the role of emotion)
- Autism and language
- evaluation of interventions and educational approaches and services
- quality of life issues with adults with Autism
- innovative uses of IT including Virtual Reality in Autism
