RESEARCH & FACULTY
Shelley Watson
Shelley Watson
Associate ProfessorI received my Ph.D in Educational Psychology from the University of Alberta in 2008. I have been in the Psychology department at Laurentian University since July, 2007. I currently teach Introduction to Psychology, Fundamentals of Psychometrics, Psychology of Education, and Biopsychosocial Approaches to Disability, but I have also taught Developmental Psychology, Motivation, and Topics in Developmental Disabilities. I strongly believe in fostering critical thinking skills in students, so my lectures tend to be interactive, including group work and discussion. I encourage students to think about the material being presented and to develop their own educated opinions.
My main areas of research focus on intellectual disability issues. I employ mixed method or purely qualitative approaches to study various aspects of disability, currently families of children with various disabilities as well as sexuality issues. I am particularly interested in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and autism.
I have presented internationally on various disability issues and I conduct training with agencies on how to teach sex education to individuals with disabilities, sexual abuse of individuals with disabilities, how to employ a biopsychosocial approach to disability, and about specific disabilities and how they can affect sexuality.
I have published several articles related to intellectual disability. I have also co-edited 2 books, including Ethical Dilemmas: Sexuality and Developmental Disability and most recently Rights Agenda: An Action Plan to Advance the Rights of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities. This book is in press with NADD Press.
- Bachelor Arts (Psychology)
- Masters of Education (Teaching and Learning)
- Ph.D. Educational Psychology (Special Education)
- Certificate, Habilitative Mental Health
- 2007 JIDD Editor's Prize; Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability
- NADD Ontario Chapter Recognition Award
- Province of Alberta Disse
- Watson, S.L., Richards, D., Miodrag, N., & Fedoroff, P. (in press). Sex and genes Part 1: Sexuality and Down, Prader-Willi, and Williams syndromes. Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 49(4).
- Watson, S.L. Hayes, S.A., Coons, K.D., & Radford-Paz, E. (in press). Autism and FASD Part II: A qualitative comparison of parenting stress. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability.
- Watson, S.L., Hayes, S., & Radford-Paz, E. (2011). Diagnose me please!: A review of research about the journey and initial impact of parents seeking a diagnosis of developmental disability for their child. International Review of Research in Developmental Disabilities, 41.
- Watson, S.L. (2008). Families and differential diagnosis of developmental disability. Journal on Developmental Disabilities, 14(3), 51-60.
- Lunsky, Y., Frijters, J., Griffiths, D., Watson, S.L., & Williston, S. (2007). Sexual knowledge and attitudes of men with intellectual disabilities who sexually offend. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 32(2), 74-81.
