Details of various professionals around the UK, with a special interest in Smith-Magenis Syndrome.
Dr Caroline Richards, PhD, ClinPsyD (Joint chairperson)
Senior Lecturer in Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Deputy Head of Education, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham
Dr Caroline Richards, Senior Lecturer in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, is a Clinical Psychologist and researcher at the University of Birmingham. Her research focuses on reducing negative clinical outcome for children.
Caroline leads a programme of sleep and behaviour research at the Cerebra Network for Neurodevelopmental Disorders. This research will help us to understanding why sleep problems occur in children with rare genetic syndromes, and help families to find solutions to these sleep difficulties. Outside of work Caroline enjoys spending time with her family, especially her twin boys, who have helped her to understand the critical importance of sleep!
Dr Ashley Liew (Joint chairperson)
Dr Ashley Liew, Consultant Paediatric Neuropsychiatrist
Evelina London Children’s Hospital and
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Ashley trained in both Paediatrics and Psychiatry. He worked previously in the Birmingham CAMHS Learning Disabilities Service and Birmingham Children’s Hospital for about 10 years, where he was also Clinical Lead for Research and Digital Technology. Ashley is currently a Consultant Paediatric Neuropsychiatrist in the Newcomen Complex Neurodevelopmental Team and Paediatric Liaison Psychiatry Team, both at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital. As part of these clinical roles, he Is passionate about improving the quality of care for children with neurodevelopmental conditions (eg. Intellectual Disabilities, Rare Genetic Syndromes, Autism, ADHD, Tourette Syndrome) and the mental health of children with neurological conditions (eg. Epilepsy, Encephalitis, Neurometabolic disorders, Motor disorders).
Ashley has honorary academic positions at the Universities of Birmingham and Warwick, as well as national leadership roles in Neuropsychiatry, Intellectual Disabilities, and Epilepsy. He also has interests in teaching and training, as well as harnessing digital health technologies to improve the care and experience of children and their families.