Professor Jenny Gibson

Research

My research interests lie in the interplay between linguistic and social development from childhood through to adolescence. I studied at University of Manchester where I gained a BSc (Hons) in Speech and Language Therapy, before going on to win ESRC/MRC funding to complete a Master of Research in Psychology followed by a PhD. After my PhD, I went on to do post-doctoral research in child and adolescent mental health in the Department of Developmental Psychiatry, University of Cambridge.

I held a lectureship in Developmental Language and Communication Disorders at the University of East Anglia for one year before coming to the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education as a University Lecturer in Psychology and Education in November 2014.

I am a qualified Speech and Language Therapist and, although I have focused my career mainly on research, I have maintained my clinical registration specialising in assessment and treatment of complex language disorders and autism spectrum conditions.

Current research projects:

Evaluating playground peer interactions in the Preschool Autism Communication Trial Follow-Up 7-11 years (PACT 7-11)
Social cognition in children with pragmatic language impairments
Emotional vocabulary use in looked after children and young people
Outcomes of bullying, victimisation and friendships in childhood and adolescence

Publications

Key publications:

St Clair, M. C., Forrest, C. Yew, S. G. K., and Gibson, J. L. (2019) Early risk factors and emotional difficulties in children at risk of Developmental Language Disorder: A Population cohort study. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research. https://doi.org/10.1044/2018_JSLHR-L-18-0061

Newbury, D., Gibson, J., Conti-Ramsden, G., Andrew, P., Kevin, D., & Toseeb, U. (2019) Using polygenic profiles to predict variation in language and psychosocial outcomes in early and middle childhood. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.39549

Gibson, J. L. and St Clair, M. C. (in press). Assessing pragmatic competence in developmental disorders. In: De Gruyer Mouton handbook of Developmental and Clinical Pragmatics.

Kašćelan, D., Katsos, N. and Gibson, J. L. (2019) Relations between bilingualism and autistic-like traits in a general population sample of primary school children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Howard, K. B., Katsos, N. and Gibson, J. L. (2019) The school experiences of bilingual children on the autism spectrum: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Research in Developmental Disabilities. Volume 87, April 2019, Pages 9-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2019.01.008

Howard, K., Katsos, N., & Gibson, J. (2019). Using interpretative phenomenological analysis in autism research. Autism. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361318823902

Forrest, C., Gibson, J. L., Halligan, S, and St Clair, M. (2018). A longitudinal analysis of early language difficulty and peer problems on later emotional difficulties in adolescence: Evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study. Autism & Developmental Language Impairments https://doi.org/10.1177/2396941518795392

Uljarevic, M., Katsos, N., Hudry, K. and Gibson, J. (2016). Practitioner Review: Multilingualism and Neurodevelopmental disorders - an overview of recent research and discussion of clinical implications. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, doi:10.1111/jcpp.1259

Gibson, J., Adams, C., Lockton, E. and Green, J. (2013). Social communication disorder outside autism? A diagnostic classification approach to delineating pragmatic language impairment, high functioning autism and specific language impairment.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54, 1186-1197.

Publications (from Symplectic)

Journal articles

2023

Forrest, CL., Lloyd-Esenkaya, V., Gibson, JL. and St Clair, MC., 2023. Social Cognition in Adolescents with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD): Evidence from the Social Attribution Task. J Autism Dev Disord, v. 53
Doi: 10.1007/s10803-022-05698-6

Blaskova, LJ. and Gibson, JL., 2023. Children with language disorder as friends: Interviews with classroom peers to gather their perspectives Child Language Teaching and Therapy, v. 39
Doi: 10.1177/02656590221139231

C St Clair, M., Horsham, J., Lloyd-Esenkaya, V., Jackson, E., Gibson, J., Leitão, S. and Botting, N., 2023. The Engage with Developmental Language Disorder (E-DLD) project: Cohort profile. Int J Lang Commun Disord, v. 58
Doi: 10.1111/1460-6984.12835

Goodacre, EJ., Fink, E., Ramchandani, P. and Gibson, JL., 2023. Building connections through play: Influences on children's connected talk with peers. Br J Dev Psychol, v. 41
Doi: 10.1111/bjdp.12443

Francis, GA. and Gibson, JL., 2023. A plausible role of imagination in pretend play, counterfactual reasoning, and executive functions. Br J Psychol, v. 114
Doi: 10.1111/bjop.12650

Friedman, S., Noble, R., Archer, S., Gibson, J. and Hughes, C., 2023. Respite and connection: Autistic adults' reflections upon nature and well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic. Autism, v. 27
Doi: 10.1177/13623613231166462

Zhao, YV. and Gibson, JL., 2023. Early home learning support and home mathematics environment as predictors of children's mathematical skills between age 4 and 6: A longitudinal analysis using video observations and survey data. Child Dev,
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13971

Pritchard-Rowe, E., de Lemos, C., Howard, K. and Gibson, J., 2023. Diversity in Autistic Play: Autistic Adults' Experiences Autism in Adulthood,
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2023.0008

Friedman, S., Noble, R., Archer, S., Gibson, J. and Hughes, C., 2023. “It Helps Make the Fuzzy Go Away”: Autistic Adults' Perspectives on Nature's Relationship with Well-being Through the Life Course Autism in Adulthood,
Doi: 10.1089/aut.2023.0009

Sher, DA. and Gibson, JL., 2023. Pioneering, prodigious and perspicacious: Grunya Efimovna Sukhareva's life and contribution to conceptualising autism and schizophrenia. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry, v. 32
Doi: 10.1007/s00787-021-01875-7

McAnuff, J., Gibson, JL., Webster, R., Kaur-Bola, K., Crombie, S., Grayston, A. and Pennington, L., 2023. School-based allied health interventions for children and young people affected by neurodisability: a systematic evidence map. Disabil Rehabil, v. 45
Doi: 10.1080/09638288.2022.2059113

Zhao, YV. and Gibson, JL., 2023. Evidence for Protective Effects of Peer Play in the Early Years: Better Peer Play Ability at Age 3 Years Predicts Lower Risks of Externalising and Internalising Problems at Age 7 Years in a Longitudinal Cohort Analysis. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev, v. 54
Doi: 10.1007/s10578-022-01368-x

2022 (Accepted for publication)

Sharma, C., Katsos, N. and Gibson, J., 2022 (Accepted for publication). Associations between bilingualism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)-related behaviour in a community sample of primary school children Applied Psycholinguistics,
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716422000108

2022

Friedman, S., Gibson, J., Jones, C. and Hughes, C., 2022. ‘A new adventure’: a case study of autistic children at Forest School Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning,
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/14729679.2022.2115522

Sher, DA., Gibson, JL. and Browne, WV., 2022. "It's Like Stealing What Should be Theirs." An Exploration of the Experiences and Perspectives of Parents and Educational Practitioners on Hebrew-English Bilingualism for Jewish Autistic Children. J Autism Dev Disord, v. 52
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05314-z

Zhao, YV. and Gibson, JL., 2022. Solitary symbolic play, object substitution and peer role play skills at age 3 predict different aspects of age 7 structural language abilities in a matched sample of autistic and non-autistic children. Autism Dev Lang Impair, v. 7
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1177/23969415211063822

Katsos, N. and Gibson, JL., 2022. Language competence and beyond Understanding the lived experience of bilingualism for autistic people Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, v. 12
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1075/lab.21070.kat

Sher, DA., Gibson, JL. and Sher, HE., 2022. 'We've come a very, very, long way' Overcoming stigma of autism: An interpretative phenomenological analysis within the UK Jewish community. Autism, v. 26
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221075099

Schwarz, J., Li, KK., Sim, JH., Zhang, Y., Buchanan-Worster, E., Post, B., Gibson, JL. and McDougall, K., 2022. Semantic Cues Modulate Children's and Adults' Processing of Audio-Visual Face Mask Speech. Front Psychol, v. 13
Doi: http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.879156

2021

Howard, KB., Katsos, N. and Gibson, JL., 2021. Practitioners' perspectives and experiences of supporting bilingual pupils on the autism spectrum in two linguistically different educational settings British Educational Research Journal, v. 47
Doi: 10.1002/berj.3662

Gibson, JL., Newbury, DF., Durkin, K., Pickles, A., Conti-Ramsden, G. and Toseeb, U., 2021. Pathways from the early language and communication environment to literacy outcomes at the end of primary school; the roles of language development and social development Oxford Review of Education, v. 47
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2020.1824902

Rao, Z., Fink, E. and Gibson, J., 2021. Dyadic association between aggressive pretend play and children's anger expression. Br J Dev Psychol, v. 39
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/bjdp.12352

Forrest, CL., Gibson, JL. and St Clair, MC., 2021. Social Functioning as a Mediator between Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and Emotional Problems in Adolescents. Int J Environ Res Public Health, v. 18
Doi: http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18031221

Centeio Jorge, C., Atzmueller, M., Heravi, BM., Gibson, JL., Rossetti, RJF. and Rebelo de Sá, C., 2021. “Want to come play with me?” Outlier subgroup discovery on spatio-temporal interactions Expert Systems,
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/exsy.12686

Gibson, JL., Pritchard, E. and de Lemos, C., 2021. Play-based interventions to support social and communication development in autistic children aged 2-8 years: A scoping review. Autism Dev Lang Impair, v. 6
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1177/23969415211015840

Rao, Z. and Gibson, JL., 2021. You Pretend, I Laugh: Associations Between Dyadic Pretend Play and Children's Display of Positive Emotions. Front Psychol, v. 12
Doi: http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.669767

Janik Blaskova, L. and Gibson, JL., 2021. Reviewing the link between language abilities and peer relations in children with developmental language disorder: The importance of children's own perspectives. Autism Dev Lang Impair, v. 6
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1177/23969415211021515

Gjærde, LK., Hybschmann, J., Dybdal, D., Topperzer, MK., Schrøder, MA., Gibson, JL., Ramchandani, P., Ginsberg, EI., Ottesen, B., Frandsen, TL. and Sørensen, JL., 2021. Play interventions for paediatric patients in hospital: a scoping review. BMJ Open, v. 11
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-051957

Francis, G. and Gibson, JL., 2021. A Plausible role of Imagination in Pretense, Executive Functions, and Counterfactual Reasoning
Doi: 10.31234/osf.io/skxb8

Howard, K., Gibson, J. and Katsos, N., 2021. Parental Perceptions and Decisions Regarding Maintaining Bilingualism in Autism. J Autism Dev Disord, v. 51
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-020-04528-x

Schwarz, J., Li, KK., Hong Sim, J., Zhang, Y., Buchanan-Worster, E., Post, B., Gibson, J. and McDougall, K., 2021. Speech Perception through Face Masks by Children and Adults
Doi: 10.33774/coe-2021-l88qk

2020 (Accepted for publication)

Müller, LM., Howard, K., Wilson, E., Gibson, J. and Katsos, N., 2020 (Accepted for publication). Bilingualism in the family and child well-being: A scoping review International Journal of Bilingualism,
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1177/1367006920920939

2020

Blaskova, LJ., Le Courtois, S., Baker, ST., Gibson, JL., Ramchandani, PG., O’Farrelly, C. and Fink, E., 2020. Participant engagement with play research–examples and lessons learned from the Centre for Play in Education, Development and Learning International Journal of Play, v. 9
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2020.1843804

Gibson, JL., Pritchard, EJ. and de Lemos, C., 2020. Play-based interventions to support social and communication development in autistic children aged 2-8 years: A scoping review
Doi: http://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/mp2xc

Forrest, CL., Gibson, JL., Halligan, SL. and St Clair, MC., 2020. A Cross-Lagged Analysis of Emotion Regulation, Peer Problems, and Emotional Problems in Children With and Without Early Language Difficulties: Evidence From the Millennium Cohort Study. J Speech Lang Hear Res, v. 63
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1044/2020_JSLHR-19-00188

Toseeb, U., Gibson, JL., Newbury, DF., Orlik, W., Durkin, K., Pickles, A. and Conti-Ramsden, G., 2020. Play and prosociality are associated with fewer externalizing problems in children with developmental language disorder: The role of early language and communication environment. Int J Lang Commun Disord, v. 55
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12541

Fink, E., Mareva, S. and Gibson, JL., 2020. Dispositional playfulness in young children: A cross-sectional and longitudinal examination of the psychometric properties of a new child self-reported playfulness scale and associations with social behaviour Infant and Child Development, v. 29
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1002/icd.2181

Fink, E. and Gibson, J., 2020. Learning in unexpected places Psychologist, v. 34

2019 (Accepted for publication)

Gibson, J., Fink, E., Torres, P., Browne, W. and Mareva, S., 2019 (Accepted for publication). Making sense of social pretense: The effect of the dyad, sex and language ability in a large observational study of children’s behaviors in a social pretend play context Social Development,
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12420

Rao, Z., Gibson, J. and Nicholl, W., 2019 (Accepted for publication). Features of social play in 8- to 11-year-olds in China: exploring children’s own perspectives Beijing International Review of Education, v. 2
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1163/25902539-00202009

2019

Fink, E., Browne, WV., Hughes, C. and Gibson, J., 2019. Using a “child's-eye view” of social success to understand the importance of school readiness at the transition to formal schooling Social Development, v. 28
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12323

Francis, GA., Farr, W., Mareva, S. and Gibson, JL., 2019. 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, v. 58
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2018.08.005

Rao, Z. and Gibson, J., 2019. Motivations for emotional expression and emotion regulation strategies in Chinese school-aged children Motivation and Emotion, v. 43
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-018-9740-0

Ellefson, MR., Baker, ST. and Gibson, JL., 2019. Lessons for Successful Cognitive Developmental Science in Educational Settings: The Case of Executive Functions Journal of Cognition and Development, v. 20
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2018.1551219

St Clair, MC., Forrest, CL., Yew, SGK. and Gibson, JL., 2019. Early Risk Factors and Emotional Difficulties in Children at Risk of Developmental Language Disorder: A Population Cohort Study. J Speech Lang Hear Res, v. 62
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1044/2018_JSLHR-L-18-0061

Howard, K., Katsos, N. and Gibson, J., 2019. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis in autism research. Autism, v. 23
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1177/1362361318823902

Howard, KB., Katsos, N. and Gibson, JL., 2019. The school experiences of bilingual children on the autism spectrum: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Res Dev Disabil, v. 87
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2019.01.008

Kašćelan, D., Katsos, N. and Gibson, JL., 2019. Relations Between Bilingualism and Autistic-Like Traits in a General Population Sample of Primary School Children. J Autism Dev Disord, v. 49
Doi: 10.1007/s10803-019-03994-2

Gibson, JL., Fink, E., Torres, P., Browne, W. and Mareva, S., 2019. Making sense of social pretence: The role of the dyad, sex and language ability in a large observational study of children’s behaviours in a social pretend play context
Doi: http://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/p6zns

Moreno, A., Poppe, R., Gibson, JL. and Heylen, D., 2019. Automated and unobtrusive measurement of physical activity in an interactive playground International Journal of Human Computer Studies, v. 129
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2019.03.010

Newbury, DF., Gibson, JL., Conti-Ramsden, G., Pickles, A., Durkin, K. and Toseeb, U., 2019. Using Polygenic Profiles to Predict Variation in Language and Psychosocial Outcomes in Early and Middle Childhood. J Speech Lang Hear Res, v. 62
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1044/2019_JSLHR-L-19-0001

Fink, E., Mareva, S. and Gibson, JL., 2019. Dispositional playfulness in young children: A cross-sectional and longitudinal examination of the psychometric properties of a new child self-reported playfulness scale and associations with social behaviour
Doi: http://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/w5cek

Yiran Zhao, V., Kulkarni, K., Gibson, J., Baker, S. and Ramchandani, PG., 2019. Introducing the Play in Education, Development and Learning (PEDAL) Research Centre International Journal of Play, v. 8
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2019.1684144

2018

Forrest, CL., Gibson, JL., Halligan, SL. and St Clair, MC., 2018. A longitudinal analysis of early language difficulty and peer problems on later emotional difficulties in adolescence: Evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study Autism and Developmental Language Impairments, v. 3
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1177/2396941518795392

Gibson, JL., Hailes, S., Heravi, B. and Skuse, D., 2018. Using sensors to study the social dynamics of outdoor play.
Doi: http://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/2zbqh

Francis, GA., Mareva, S., Farr, W. and Gibson, JL., 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.
Doi: http://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/vz83a

Heravi, B., Gibson, JL., Hailes, S. and Skuse, D., 2018. Playground Social Interaction Analysis using Bespoke Wearable Sensors for Tracking and Motion Capture
Doi: 10.31234/osf.io/qhmd2

2017

Gibson, JL., Cornell, MM. and Gill, T., 2017. A Systematic Review of Research into the Impact of Loose Parts Play on Children's Cognitive, Social and Emotional Development School Mental Health, v. 9
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-017-9220-9

2017. Erratum. J Child Psychol Psychiatry, v. 58
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12701

2016

van Harmelen, A-L., Gibson, JL., St Clair, MC., Owens, M., Brodbeck, J., Dunn, V., Lewis, G., Croudace, T., Jones, PB., Kievit, RA. and Goodyer, IM., 2016. Friendships and Family Support Reduce Subsequent Depressive Symptoms in At-Risk Adolescents. PLoS One, v. 11
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0153715

Uljarevic, M., Katsos, N., Hudry, K. and Gibson, JL., 2016. Practitioner Review: Multilingualism and neurodevelopmental disorders – an overview of recent research and discussion of clinical implications Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, v. 57
Doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12596

2015

Gibson, J., Kelvin, R. and Goodyer, I., 2015. A call for greater transparency in health policy development: Observations from an analysis of child and adolescent mental health policy Evidence and Policy, v. 11
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1332/174426414X13940168597987

2013

Gibson, J., Adams, C., Lockton, E. and Green, J., 2013. Social communication disorder outside autism? A diagnostic classification approach to delineating pragmatic language impairment, high functioning autism and specific language impairment. J Child Psychol Psychiatry, v. 54
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12079

2011

Gibson, J., Hussain, J., Holsgrove, S., Adams, C. and Green, J., 2011. Quantifying peer interactions for research and clinical use: the Manchester Inventory for Playground Observation. Res Dev Disabil, v. 32
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2011.07.014

Theses / dissertations

2022 (No publication date)

Janik Blaskova, L., 2022 (No publication date). Peer relationships and the wellbeing of children with Developmental Language Disorder

2020 (No publication date)

Kašćelan, D., 2020 (No publication date). Prevalence of Autistic-Like Traits in General Population Bilingual and Monolingual Samples and Their Effect on Cognition and Metaphor Processing/Interpretation

Sharma, C., 2020 (No publication date). The effect of bilingualism on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)-related behaviour, ADHD symptoms, and executive functions in a general primary school population

2020

Howard, KB., 2020. When bilingualism meets autism: The perspectives and experiences of children, parents and educational practitioners

Book chapters

2022

Veiga, G., da Silva, BMS., Gibson, J. and Rieffe, C., 2022. EMOTIONS IN PLAY: The Role of Physical Play in Children’s Social Well- Being
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198855903.013.28

2020

Quizhpi, C., Schetzina, K., Jaishankar, G., Tolliver, RM., Thibeault, D., Kwak, HG., Fapo, O., Gibson, J., Duvall, K. and Wood, D., 2020. BREAKING THE CYCLE OF CHILDHOOD ADVERSITY THROUGH PEDIATRIC PRIMARY CARE SCREENING AND INTERVENTIONS: A PILOT STUDY

2020. Name Index
Doi: 10.1515/9783110431056-024

Gibson, JL. and St Clair, MC., 2020. Assessing pragmatic competence in developmental disorders
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1515/9783110431056-022

2019

Rao, Z. and Gibson, J., 2019. The Role of Pretend Play in Supporting Young Children's Emotional Development
Doi: 10.4135/9781526470393.n4

Datasets

2019 (No publication date)

Kašćelan, D., Katsos, N. and Gibson, JL., 2019 (No publication date). Kascelan, Katsos, Gibson JADD Dataset

Conference proceedings

2019 (Accepted for publication)

Jorge, CC., Atzmueller, M., Heravi, BM., Gibson, JL., de Sá, CR. and Rossetti, RJF., 2019 (Accepted for publication). Mining Exceptional Social Behaviour EPIA 2019 proceedings, Part II, Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), v. 11805 LNAI
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30244-3_38

2019

Mirawdeli, A., Gallagher, I., Gibson, J., Katsos, N., Knill, K. and Wood, H., 2019. Splash: Speech and language assessment in schools and homes Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the International Speech Communication Association, INTERSPEECH, v. 2019-September
Doi: 10.21437/Interspeech.2019-8027

2018

Heravi, BM., Gibson, JL., Hailes, S. and Skuse, D., 2018. Playground social interaction analysis using bespoke wearable sensors for tracking and motion capture ACM International Conference Proceeding Series,
Doi: http://doi.org/10.1145/3212721.3212818

Working papers

2019

Kašćelan, D., Katsos, N. and Gibson, JL., 2019. Relations between bilingualism and autistic-like traits in a general population sample of primary school children
Doi: http://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/9qrc5

Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Education

Member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

Member of the British Academy of Childhood Disability Strategic Research Group

Chief Scientific Officer at Nesta

Departments and institutes:

Faculty of Education