Róisín is a Clinical Psychologist, registered with the UK Health and Care Professions Council and Graduate member of the Psychological Society of Ireland. Róisín has a particular interest in neurodiversity and autistic experience.

Róisín obtained first-class honours in her BSc Psychology degree from Queen’s University, Belfast and was awarded the British Psychological Society’s undergraduate prize. Her undergraduate thesis assessed the use of sensory information for balance in young autistic adults, which was published in a peer-reviewed autism journal. Following this, she completed a PhD in Psychology at Queen’s. Her research explored the impact of environmental contextual factors associated with emotional and behavioural differences in autistic children and young people. This work also assessed the trans-diagnostic role of executive function and emotion regulation.

Róisín completed a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at University College Dublin. She continued with her interest in trans-diagnostic research, now with a focus on the role of parental emotional socialisation and cognitive emotion regulation in children and young people with and without an autistic diagnosis. She is a regular columnist for NI4Kids and Scotland4Kids magazines. She maintains close links with Queens University and UCD, acting as a lecturer on the UCD doctoral programme and as a mentor to current QUB students.

Róisín has worked extensively with autistic young people and their families as well as autistic adults, while working in the HSE, NHS, The Adult Autism Practice, various educational settings and through charitable organisations. She employs a neurodiversity-affirmative approach, based on collaboration and mutual respect for one’s experiences and sense of identity. She endeavours to provide a secure and supportive therapeutic space throughout her assessments, in which families feel safe exploring past and present life experiences.