That brings us to the end of #seattleclub 2025 - huge thank you to the Tizard Centre at the University of Kent for hosting this year's conference! A fantastic range of talks and posters this year - lots of messages to take into our research practice!

The final talk of #seattleclub 2025 is by Dr Alison Spencer on understanding dementia from the perspective of people with an intellectual disability: preferences for the disclosure of dementia and care planning.

Our penultimate talk of #seattleclub is by Dr Daniel Marsden on work conducted at Canterbury Christ Church University on the social return on investment pilot evaluation of Oliver McGowan mandatory learning disability and autism training in higher education.

The session on health, education & training continues with Dr Lorena Beqiraj and her research on the implementation of positive behavioural support (PBS) in special education settings for children and young people with developmental disabilities #seattleclub

The session at #seattleclub continues with Dr Kate Blamires on the experiences of support workers working with people with intellectual disabilities who have moved from inpatient to community settings as part of the Transforming Care Agenda.

We are going into the final session of #seattleclub with research focusing on health, education, and training. The session is being opened by Dr Aimilia Kallitsounaki discussing her research of behavioural profiles of autism in gender-referred youth and their caregivers.

The final talk in the genetic syndromes session is by Dr Kayla Smith on characterising social anxiety in fragile X syndrome. Kayla introduced her multi-method research of social behaviour, physiology, and heart rate-defined sustained attention.

#seattleclub continues with Teresa Padden-Evans on research exploring the perspectives and experiences of education practitioners supporting students with genetic syndromes in school.

The session on genetic syndromes is being started by SHINE Lab's own Bethan Cornick! She is presenting research on caregiver experiences of sleep in children with SATB2-associated syndrome. If you want to see more about this research, check out our website: www.shinelab.org.uk/satb2

#seattleclub continues with a second key note talk from Dr Melina Malli on Tourette’s stigma as it is an understudied issue in autism and intellectual disability communities and services.

The final talk in this session is by @thanosgr.bsky.social on using precision teaching to develop key word sign skills in practitioners in intellectual disability services. #seattleclub

Our session on social issues and staff at #seattleclub continues with a talk from Georgios Mamolis about his PhD looking at care relationships between support staff and adults with a learning disability in residential settings.

Session 2 at #seattleclub continues with Dr Jean Jevons on exploring mothers to first born children with profound intellectual disabilities making decisions about further children.

#seattleclub continues with a talk by Fred Inglis about his PhD research on ongoing career journeys: exploring the in-work trajectories of people with a learning disability in sustained paid employment.

#seattleclub day 2 is being kicked off with a session on social issues and staff. Our first talk is by Dr Alice McKenna from @royalholloway.bsky.social on Travel Buddies. Buddies are people with intellectual disabilities who provide peer support for other people with intellectual disabilities.

We finished our day yesterday with a poster session - with four posters being presented by the SHINE Lab! Follow along today for more updates on the fantastic speakers

Our final talk of the day is from Dr Paula Foscarini-Craggs on engaging in intellectual disability research in secure care and lessons learnt from the SCHEMA trial. Amazing to see so much variety in research at #seattleclub today and looking forward to tomorrow.

Anna Cox discussing ways to improve maternity care. Some wonderful resources for parents with learning disabilities mentioned. #seattleclub

Our penultimate talk from day 1 of #seattleclub is from Jessica Rees and Lizzie Merrill on using inclusive research to understand the barriers and enablers to early cancer diagnosis for learning disabled people.

The fantastic co-design work continues with a talk from Dr Nicki Hewitt on using creative methods to co-design and disseminate research findings with people with intellectual disabilities #seattleclub

Our co-design session continues with a talk from Simon Rice, Matthew Moon and @nikitahayden.bsky.social on reclaiming the human in healthcare manifesto. The manifesto asks healthcare professionals to use clear language and for people with intellectual disabilities to be in the centre of their care.

#seattleclub continues with our second session on co-design & research. Dr Tracey Warren and Kathy McMahon are speaking about their research co-designing and implementing a survey on digital technology use with people with intellectual disabilities and carers.

The final talk at #seattleclub before lunch is from @annaclarecox.bsky.social on the Together Project: Inclusive research to understand and improve maternity care for people with a learning disability. The project has developed 2 tools and developed training for midwives to improve awareness.

Session 2 continues with a talk from Dr Layla Harding from @royalholloway.bsky.social on attachment and caregiving in the context of parental learning disabilities. Most caregivers had experienced domestic violence from a romantic parent and felt watched and judged by professionals. #seattleclub

Today's seminar is from Professor Luke Clements & Dr Ana Laura Aiello @lawatleeds.bsky.social - findings from their book 'Understanding Parent Blame' - research with families on traumatising social care experiences, in policy & legal context, and campaigns for change essl.leeds.ac.uk/law/news/art...

#seattleclub continues with a talk from Zoe Starkie and her PhD research on exploring the lived experiences of having a sibling with learning disabilities.

After a chance to network over coffee, we are going into session 2: Families and parents with intellectual disabilities. Dr Charmaine Kohn is starting the session introducing her feasibility trial of Video Interaction Guidance for families of children with intellectual disabilities. #seattleclub

#seattleclub is continuing with a talk from Dr Barry Ingham from @newcastleuni.bsky.social discussing the evaluation of the clinical effectiveness of a primary health check for autistic adults. The health check was made in collaboration between autistic adults, caregivers, and health professionals.

#seattleclub day 1 is being kicked off by a keynote with @peterlangdon.bsky.social on psychological therapies. People with intellectual disabilities are seven times more likely to have a diagnosis of a mental health condition and we need adapted psychological therapies to make them more accessible.

The SHINE Lab are in Kent for the next 2 days at Seattle Club 2025! Follow along for updates on the incredible research in Intellectual Disabilities covering a range of different topics #seattleclub2025

Two exciting PhD opportunities available to start in April 2026! Mixed-methods explorations of #sleep and #co-sleeping amongst children with #IntellectualDisability #SYNGAP1 and their #caregivers Apply now: www.findaphd.com/phds/project... www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Just under 2 weeks left to apply for a fully-funded PhD with us! 😴 Sleep, pain and caregiver experiences in SYNGAP-1 associated intellectual disability 🔗https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/sleep-pain-and-caregiver-experiences-in-syngap1-associated-intellectual-disability-the-spaces-phd/?p184682

Our last talk of the conference before a panel discussion and AGM is led by Professor Clare Anderson from @unibirmingham.bsky.social. Her talk is covering circadian rhythms, how we measure them, and the impact of sleep deprivation on attention and performance.

Our post-lunch talks are being started with a talk by Dr Desaline Joseph on the use of technology in sleep research and clinical medicine. She spoke through two studies at Evelina London using technology and artificial intelligence (AI) to explore sleep and medical outcomes.

Our next session is an opportunity for early career researchers to give a presentation on their research. We heard Dr Thomas Bilerys; Dr Peter Goodwin; SHINE Lab's own Bethan Cornick; and Peter To talk about their sleep research in areas of chronic pain, shift work, and intellectual disabilities.

After a refreshing coffee break, we our back with Natalie Blyth, a trainee Paediatric Consultant Clinical scientist at the Paediatric Respiratory Physiology department in Leicester. She is giving a talk on sleep diagnostics and interpreting oximetry and sleep screening outputs.

Our next talk is by Dr Joe Henson from University of Leicester talking about how we can use large data sets within sleep research. He is talking us through ongoing research exploring sleep, chronotype, sedentary activity, and lifestyle.

We are welcomed to the Midlands Sleep Group (MSG) Conference by the two co-chairs Dr Imad Ahmed and Dr Jayne Spiller giving an update on MSG and what to expect today.

The Midlands Sleep Group Conference is starting with a fantastic talk by Vicki Beevers from @thesleepcharity.bsky.social. She is talking us through what inspired her to set up The Sleep Charity and the brilliant work they do to support sleep.

The SHINE Lab is delighted to attend the 2025 Midlands Sleep Group Conference today in Leicester! Follow along for updates on speakers and topics ☀️

1/6 In a recent interview with The Sun, Alexander shared the powerful story of his brother, James, whose magnetic personality lit up every room. Read the full article here: brnw.ch/21wRUx9 #TheTraitors #AlexanderDragonetti

It’s important for adult siblings to see themselves in mainstream media. Take a look at our list of books, films, podcasts, articles and more at www.sibs.org.uk/booksandfilms #NationalSiblingsDay2025 #ItsaSiblingThing

Congratulations to #Springboard25 awardee @drcpennington.bsky.social 🎉 Her research explores how brain development affects teen drinking, aiming to reduce alcohol harms among young people 🧠 👉 bit.ly/44irB7l #TeenHealth #PublicHealth #Psychology @wellcometrust.bsky.social @thebhf.bsky.social

Amazing news @drcpennington.bsky.social ! So pleased for you and your research!

Georgie had a great time learning all about #polysomnography last week in beautifully sunny Edinburgh ☀️🧠

Have you spotted Aston’s lovely daffodils yet? They are so picture-perfect! Have a lovely day everyone!

Are you a family carer of a child with a learning disability aged 14-17 years? We need your help for a research project looking at annual health checks! More details below 👇 #familycarer #learningdisability

We've just launched a new sleep study for children with SATB2-associated syndrome! If you're a caregiver of a child with SAS aged 4-15 we would love to invite you to take part in a home-based assessment of your child’s sleep! ✨💤 More details here: www.shinelab.org.uk/updates/2025...

Wonderful to hear from @cmanning.bsky.social on sensory processing in autism. Cathy's talk did a fantastic job of bridging the gap between studies in the lab and real world experiences - with fun audience participation #AutRes

Last few days to apply for a PhD looking at co-sleeping in children with intellectual disability and their caregivers #PhDOpportunity 😎 Includes 6 months in Melbourne, Australia 🌏 Open to UK, Australian and International applicants 📅 Deadline: Sunday 2nd Fed, 23:59 (UK) tinyurl.com/adccosleep