From one psychologist supporting one child to a range of professionals supporting many.
To gain practical experience during her psychology studies, Dr Wong worked with autistic children in early intervention, taking her into the homes of families and into preschools. As the children she worked with transitioned to school, she started to develop a curriculum to develop emotion skills to address the gap in behavioural and social skills interventions and support the emerging mental health needs of young autistic children. When Dr Wong was appointed to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, she founded the Westmead Feelings Program: Emotion-based Learning for Children with Autism Research Group, which focuses on developing and evaluating emotion skills interventions for children and young people with autism, with the ultimate aim being the prevention of mental health problems in autistic individuals. The Westmead Feelings Program Research Group have published Westmead Feelings Program therapeutic kids, manuals, and professional certifications via online and face-to-face learning. Research partnerships to evaluate the effectiveness of the Westmead Feelings Program have included the NSW Department of Education to run the biggest school-based trial of an emotions intervention in the world, Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) and community clinicians to conduct feasibility studies to show that the Westmead Feelings Program can be delivered by educators and clinicians in a range of settings, and the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to publish Westmead Feelings Program kits, manuals and professional learning.
A clinician supporting autistic individuals and a researcher developing and disseminating evidence-based interventions.
Dr Michelle Wong started her undergraduate training as a psychologist at the University of New South Wales. She completed a Doctor of Clinical Psychology and a PhD at the University of Sydney. Dr Wong was appointed to the first state-funded clinical psychologist mental health role for autism and intellectual disabilities in New South Wales, Australia, based at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, where she continues to work as a clinician-researcher. In addition to her research, Dr Wong is a Senior Clinical Psychologist on the Developmental Psychiatry Team, providing assessment and treatment services to children and young people with developmental disabilities who also have co-occurring mental health problems.
Much of Dr Wong’s research and clinical work focuses on developing the emotional competence of autistic children, adolescents and young adults to build resilience and treat mental health problems. Working both as a clinician and a researcher, Dr Wong sees the need for research-based interventions to be transferred into everyday practice. As such, Dr Wong is dedicated to the research and development of emotions interventions, providing professional learning to integrate knowledge into practice, and working in partnership with others for the benefit of individuals on the autism spectrum.
Much of Dr Wong’s research and clinical work focuses on developing the emotional competence of autistic children, adolescents and young adults to build resilience and treat mental health problems. Working both as a clinician and a researcher, Dr Wong sees the need for research-based interventions to be transferred into everyday practice. As such, Dr Wong is dedicated to the research and development of emotions interventions, providing professional learning to integrate knowledge into practice, and working in partnership with others for the benefit of individuals on the autism spectrum.