WAFT
Research Program "Well-being, Autism and neurodevelopmental disorders, Families, Teachers and caregivers"
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PhD students
Lucie Bellalou
Thesis title: Identification of signs of a characterized depressive episode in children and adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder: creation and validation of a specific scale, study of associated factors, and depressive manifestations (2016 – 2019)
Léa Chawki
Thesis title: Well-being of parents of a child with an autism spectrum disorder: cross-cultural and cross-disorder comparative studies (2021 – 2025)
Gwendoline Desquenne
Thesis title: The role of perceived family functioning in parents’ adjustment to the diagnosis and disability of a child with an autism spectrum disorder (2019 – 2024)
Naomi Downes
Naomi Downes is a clinical psychologist and postdoctoral researcher. She began her career in 2015 as a psychologist in an early intervention unit for autism at the Centre Hospitalier de Versailles. In collaboration with this team, Naomi carried out her Ph.D. research on the experience of couples following the announcement of a diagnosis, for which she was awarded the 2021 thesis prize of her doctoral school and the Mustela Foundation research prize. Since obtaining her Master’s degree, she has taught as a part-time lecturer and then as a temporary teaching and research associate (ATER) at the Institute of Psychology, Université Paris Cité. Naomi has just completed her first post-doctorate at INSERM, Sorbonne University, in a multidisciplinary social epidemiology team focusing on mental health and social inequalities (ERES). She has been involved in public health research on various topics, including prenatal stress, perinatal care, early childhood, biomarkers, and COVID-19.
Thesis title: Perceived stress, dyadic coping strategies, and parental alliances in parents of a child with autism spectrum disorder after the diagnosis announcement: Couple adaptation and commitment to the child’s education (2017 – 2021)
Access to the thesis manuscript
Discover a summary of her thesis results in this video!
Jérôme Lichtlé
Jérôme Lichtlé holds a Ph.D. in psychology and is a psychotherapist and a temporary member of the Laboratoire de Psychopathologie et Processus de Santé (UR4057) at Université Paris Cité. His clinical practice focuses on autism, child protection, and victimology. He works in private practice with families affected by autism, as well as in institutional and mainstream settings as a supervisor. He is also a trainer and leads practice analysis groups for professionals.
Thesis title: Development and evaluation of a quality of life scale specific to preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (2017 – 2021)
Valentine Perrelet
Thesis title: Prioritize the support interventions to be deployed to accompany the process of inclusion of persons with autism spectrum disorders in the Swiss compulsory school system (2022 – 2026)
Ferdousse Talis-Belfodil
Thesis title: Special abilities, mainstream employment, and well-being in adult autism (2023 – 2026)