Position/Status

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education

Fellow, St. Edmund's College, Cambridge

E-mail Address

wjf33@cam.ac.uk

Phone

+ 44 (0)1223 tbc

Qualifications

• PhD University of Sussex (2011) Psychology & Human Computer Interaction
• NPQH Department for Education MBA 2(007) National Professional Qual. Headship
• University of Sussex MA/Ed 2004 Special Educational Needs (merit)
• University of Sussex PGCert.Ed 1996 Education & Special Educational Needs
• University of Sussex BA (Hons) 1995 History & Human Rights (American Studies)

Membership of Professional Bodies/Associations

• Honorary Clinical Research Fellow, Brighton and Sussex Medical School
• Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust
• Locum Associate Professor, University of Jönköping, Sweden
• Postdoc Society Committee Member (2023) Trinity College, Cambridge
• Membership of British Academy of Childhood Disability (BACD)
• Castang Fellow 2017-2019 - British Academy of Childhood Disability (BACD)
• Member of International Society of Virtual Reality (ISVR)
• Member of British Academy Child Community Health (BACCH)
• Lifelong Member Award for Service - British Nihonshu Association 英国日本酒協会

Profile

Will worked as a primary school teacher over 20 years and worked as a year 6, 5, and reception teacher. Whilst in this role he was a DH, AHT, SENCO, and co-ordinator in IT, PE, KS2, Humanities, and Literacy.

Will now works with collaborators across the University and Healthcare sectors in various Chief Investigator or Co-applicant roles, to assess and improve the diagnostic pathways for children with possible autism, digital innovation for diagnosis, and use of AI for individualised therapy.

Academic Area/Links

• Psychology, Education and Learning Research Group
• Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL) Centre

Research Topics - Autism, neurodisability, neurodiversity, digital tools

Contributions to National Policy/Practice

• 2023 Invited expert at joint Autistica/NHS England Autism Screening Tools project
• 2023 Invited advisor NHS England Autism Assessment and Workforce planning task and finish group
• 2023 Policy Breakfast with Helen Hayes MP to discuss improving pre-school and Early Years Provision in Special Needs - Homerton College
• 2023 Invited consultant by Improving North-East North Cumbria Improving Neurodevelopmental assessment and pathways for young people in NENC
• 2023 Invited speaker at Council for Disabled Children (CDC) National Event 'Putting Voice at the Heart of Strategic Commissioning’
• 2022 Invited lead speaker at Council for Disabled Children National Dissemination Event ‘Findings from a Realist Evaluation of Autism Diagnostic Services (Re-ASCeD)’
• 2022 Expert advisory group member NIHR Digitization of Autism Assessment project (UCL, Kings College, NHS London Trusts)

Current Research Project(s) as CoI or CI

• NIHR HS&DR - HOPE project with University College London and Institute of Psychiatry - Educational Outcomes for Children with Special Educational Needs based on Hospital Admissions (2022-2024)
• Operationalising Neurodiversity in the Classroom - tbc
• NIHR ARC KSS - Epidemiology versus Reality of SENCo experience of Autism in Schools, National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Consortium: £20K, partners University of Sussex, University of Kent, University of Surrey, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust (UK) (2022-2024)


• *NHS England: Re-ASCed project: How can we best deliver timely and cost-effective diagnostic services that meet the needs of children with possible Autism Spectrum Disorder? A Realist Evaluation of Different Models of ASD Diagnostic/Treatment Service Delivery (2019-2023) Co-CHIEF INVESTIGATOR £1,065,000 (£65K extension)
• NIHR HS&DR Re-ASCed project 2: Which Diagnostic Pathways are most suitable for a broad and holistic neurodevelopmental profile - tbc

Teaching

• Postgraduate
  • PhD principal and co-supervision
  • MPhil/MEd (Psychology and Education) supervisor of master theses
  • Primary PGCE course
• Undergraduate
  • Learning and Human Development (part 1 Tripos)
  • Language Communication and Literacy (Tripos 1A)
  • Formal and Informal Contexts of Learning (Tripos part 1B)
  • Education Neuroscience and Society (Tripos II)
  • Track specific and compulsory disserations

Principal and Recent Publications

Jeremy R Parr J., Wigham S., Male I., Farr W., Isard L., Lees R., Reddy V., Saunders G., Grahame V., BMJ A national research survey of childhood autism assessment services in the UK: empirical evidence of diagnostic practice, challenges, and improvement opportunities and the Realist Evaluation of Autism ServiCe Delivery (RE-ASCeD) Consortium British Medical Journal Open (forthcoming 2024)

Farr, W., Walker, A., King, N., Islam, S., Akhtar, Z., McGrevey, S. From the side lines but in the trenches: the views of a parent group on Autism Care Pathways. Good Autism Practice journal (GAP), 23 (2), October 2023: 27-31(5)

McGrevey, Sophie, William Farr, Ian Male, and Anjum Memon. ‘Developing a Quality-of-Life Measure for Autistic Children and Young People in Schools’. Advanced Journal of Professional Practice 4, no. 1 (20 August 2023): 32–32. https://doi.org/10.22024/UniKent/03/ajpp.1192.

Abrahamson V, Zhang W, Wilson P, Farr W., Male I et al (2021) Realist evaluation of Autism ServiCe Delivery (RE-ASCeD): which diagnostic pathways work best, for whom and in what context? Findings from a rapid realist review BMJ open 11 (12), e051241

Parr J.R., Wigham, S., Farr, W., Male I., (2021) “1123 UK Childhood Autism Diagnostic Services Survey 2020: Evidence for Challenges and Innovations.” Archives of Disease in Childhood 106, no. Suppl 1:A238–A238. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2021-rcpch.414.

Farr, W., Male, I., Farr, (2021) “605 Validation of a New Digital Tool, the Pirates Autism Assessment App, as an Adjunct to Assessment of Primary School Children Referred with Possible Autism.” Archives of Disease in Childhood 106, no. Suppl 1:A56–57. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2021-rcpch.96.

Abrahamson V, Zhang W, Wilson P, Farr W., Male I et al (2020) A Realist Evaluation of Autism ServiCe Delivery (RE-ASCeD): Which diagnostic pathways work best, for whom and in what context? Protocol for a rapid realist review. BMJ Open

Male, I., Farr, W., Reddy V. (2020) Should Clinical Services for Children with Possible ADHD, Autism or Related Conditions be Delivered in an Integrated Neurodevelopmental Pathway? BMJ Integrated Healthcare

Farr, W., Green, D., Male, I., Gage, H., Bailey S., Speller, S., Colville, V., Jackson, M., Bremner, S., Memon, A. Morris, C. (2019) Feasibility of a randomized controlled trial to evaluate home-based virtual reality therapy in children with Cerebral Palsy. Disability and Rehabilitation, DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2019.1618400

Francis, G., Farr, W., Miverva, S., J., Gibson J. (2018) Do Tangible User Interfaces promote social behaviour during free play? A comparison of autistic and typically-developing children playing with passive and digital construction toys, Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders: 58(2019):68-82

Farr, W., Male, I., Green, D., Morris, C., Gage, H., Bailey S., Speller, S., Colville, V., Jackson, M., Bremner, S., Memon, A., (2017) Therapeutic potential and ownership of commercially available consoles in children with cerebral palsy, British Journal of Occupational Therapy; 80(2):108-116

Farr, W., Male, I., Green, D., Morris, C., Gage, H., Bailey S.,Speller, S., Colville, V., Jackson, M., Bremner, S., Memon, A., (2017) Methodological Constraints when using Digital Technology in Clinical Trials Journal of Mobile Technology in Medicine; 6(2):56-63

Farr, W., Male, I., Green, D., Morris, C., Gage, H., Bailey S., Speller, S., Colville, V., Jackson, M., Bremner, S., Memon, A., (2017) Chapter 2 ‘Current issues and challenges in research on virtual reality therapy for children with neurodisability’ in Rehabilitation: Innovations and Challenges in the Use of Virtual Reality Technologies. Eds: Powell, W; Rizzo AS, Sharkey, PM, Merrick,J. Nova science publications, Hauppauge New York