I am a Professor with the Clinical Division of the Psychology Department at the University of Waterloo. My students and I investigate how children learn to communicate and interact successfully with other individuals.
More specifically, our research program focuses on cognitive development in the preschool and school years, with a specific focus on children’s communication skills. Successful communication entails recognition of the social and situational context as well as appreciation for one’s speaking partner’s perspective (e.g., what he/she can see, his/her knowledge state). Our research investigates children’s sensitivity to another’s perspective and the degree to which they are able to use this information to guide their communicative behaviours (such as evaluating whether a message is ambiguous, producing appropriate statements, correctly interpreting statements from others, and understanding sarcasm). Current research focuses on the developmental course of various communicative behaviours, underlying cognitive skills necessary for children to move beyond an egocentric standpoint, as well as individual differences and contextual factors that influence communicative behaviour.
In addition to research, I am actively involved in the training of graduate students’ clinical skills in Waterloo’s Centre for Mental Health Research (CMHR). At the CMHR I supervise graduate students’ assessments of child/adult clients and therapeutic interventions with children.