Below are list of Reading Between the Lines (RBTL) project updates. These are in chronological order, with the most recent at the top. If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
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Project Featured in Twinkl Teaching Assistants’ DigestÂ
Philippa was interviewed for a Twinkl Teaching Assistants’ Digest article. This quick read covers autism, reading, the RBTL project, and tips for supporting autistic learners. You can read the full piece here: www.twinkl.co.uk/news/dr-philippa-howards-5-tips-for-supporting-autistic-readers
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A-Fest 2025
Philippa gave an invited talk at A-Fest on 26th February; a festival celebrating autism and autistic individuals. This was hosted by Springfields Academy, a school for autistic pupils in Wilstshire. Attendees included teachers, teaching assistants, and parents of autistic children, from the Springfields community and wider region. The talk sparked questions and discussion about inferential processing during reading and autism with teachers, including a recognition as to why particular assessment questions may be so challenging for their pupils. We look forward to similar events in the future.
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Data Collection has begun!
Participants are now being recruited for phase 1 of the project. Data collection began on 1st September 2024 and we expect this will be ongoing until Spring. If you are interested in getting involved, take a look at the Take Part page. We would love to meet you!
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Project Launch Event
The Bristol team hosted a free event for the autism community to learn and discuss the Reading Between the Lines Project, over tea and cake on 31st July 2024. This included a short talk from Philippa Howard, opportunities for people to see and experience the eye tracker, and a space for community members to chat with the researchers. The team were delighted by the positive response to the project and are extremely grateful for the time people took to attend and the invaluable feedback provided.
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Alder Hey Hospital Visit
The RBTL team, members of UCLan’s Perception, Cognition, and Neuroscience research group, and visiting Professor Monica Castelhano, visited Alder Hey children’s hospital on 9th May. This meeting was an opportunity for Alder Hey staff and researchers to network and begin exploring how we can work together towards shared goals. We gave a series of talks about our research and provided eye tracking demonstrations in the UCLan mobile research unit. People who attended included members of the autism team, ophthalmologist’s, and research staff.
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Project Photoshoot in Bristol
Christy Dunn from Wavelength Studios came to the School of Education on 11th April 2024, to take photographs of our labs, equipment, and Bristol based team. These images will be used for project marketing and to help people who are interested in taking part, visualise what the experience will be like.
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Centre for Psychological Approaches to Studying Education Seminar
Nick Martin gave a talk to members of the Centre for Psychological Approaches to Studying Education. This was attended by a range of people, including academic staff and research students from the School of Education and the School of Psychological Sciences. Nick introduced the Reading Between the Lines Project aims, motivations, methods, and plan.
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Team Meeting in Bristol
On Tuesday 6th February 2024, the core team; Philippa, Simon, Valerie, and Nick, met in person at the School of Education in Bristol. This was a productive day discussing the overall project plan, timeline, and dissemination strategies.
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Dr Nick Martin joins the Team!
Nick Martin joined the Reading Between the Lines team as a Senior Research Associate on 3rd January 2024. He will be working full time on this project, at the School of Education in Bristol. Nick will be initially focusing on getting the first phase of the project set up and running.
