Staff profile

Background

I completed my BSc (Hons) Psychology at the University of Liverpool in 2019. Following this I completed my MA Research Methods (Developmental Psychology) in 2020 at Durham University. My MA dissertation explored the impact of different sensory aspects of the classroom for both autistic and non-autistic children. 

After this I worked as a Research Assistant in the Centre for Neurodiversity and Development at Durham University, across the Triple-A project (an impact project which aimed to translate research into an online resource for educators), and another project exploring anxiety and family well-being in Williams Syndrome, internationally, collecting data from families in 24 countries around the world.

More recently, during my PhD, I worked as a research assistant on the ‘Better Research Together’ Project. This was a collaborative project between researchers and neurodivergent community members to advance participatory research within the Centre for Neurodiversity & Development. 

I completed my doctoral research within the Centre for Neurodiversity and Development. The aim of the research was to work towards a better understanding of school success for autistic pupils in mainstream school. In the research I worked with key stakeholders across the autistic and autism communities, and took a mixed-methods approach to explore the area of school success. The project also utilised co-design and co-production across different studies. The project was funded by a NineDTP studentship award. In this research I also worked closely with the Communication and Interaction Team at Durham County Council (DCC), and they were the collaborative partner on my PhD.

Research Area

I hold a joint role as a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) in the Department of Computer Science and as a Disability Adviser within the Student Support and Wellbeing Directorate.

My research focuses on understanding and improving support for neurodivergent students studying Computing degrees. Working with Dr Eleni Akrida and Professor Steven Bradley, I am currently exploring the research priorities of neurodivergent students to inform the design of future studies in this area.

Alongside my research, I work directly with students as a Disability Adviser, supporting a wide range of access and inclusion needs. This dual role enables me to bridge research and practice: my practitioner experience informs my research, while my research helps shape approaches to student support.

Through this integrated work, I aim to contribute to more inclusive learning environments and improved outcomes for neurodivergent students in higher education.

• Engagement in school
• Autism
• Education
• Neurodiversity
• Sensory differences
• Academic achievement
• Williams Syndrome

Conference Paper

• Neurodivergence in Computing Education: Prevalence and Future Research Directions
  
  Hirst, J. R., Akrida, E., & Bradley, S. (2025). Neurodivergence in Computing Education: Prevalence and Future Research Directions. In J. Leinonen & R. Duran (Eds.), Koli Calling ’25: Proceedings of the 25th Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research (pp. 1-3). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3769994.3770053

Journal Article

• The effect of the classroom sensory environment on engagement for autistic pupils: classroom noise and classroom displays
  
  Jones, E., Hanley, M., Hirst, J. R., McDougal, E., & Riby, D. M. (2026). The effect of the classroom sensory environment on engagement for autistic pupils: classroom noise and classroom displays. Neurodiversity. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330261443570