Understanding & supporting mental health in infancy & early childhood: a PEDAL and UNICEF UK toolkit
In this lecture Sally Hogg, PEDAL’s Senior Policy Fellow presents PEDAL’s work with UNICEF UK on the new toolkit for understanding and supporting mental health in infancy and early childhood. She explains the new framework which describes what it means to be mentally healthy in the earliest years of life. This presentation was recorded on […]
Playful approaches to research
In this workshop, Dr Beth Barker, Dr Kelsey Graber, and PhD students Sydney Conroy and Carolyn Mazzei (PEDAL) discuss how play itself can be used as an ethos and a tool to support our explorations of play, development, and learning in childhood during our research studies. They discuss ways that play factors into our research […]
Play in the face of adversity
Read our paper for the Scottish Children's Commissioner about the value of play for children in the asylum seeking system.
Diversity in autistic play: Autistic adults’ experiences
In this research, we take a neurodiversity-informed approach to understanding autistic play. This means understanding autistic play in terms of differences, strengths and difficulties rather than simply deficits. We also focus on what autistic people say about their play. We were interested in how autistic adults experience play, as well as how they think their play is different to non-autistic play.
PEDAL PhD Series: Applying for a PhD at PEDAL
Have you ever wondered what it's like to do a PhD? Would you like to know more about studying here at PEDAL? In the PEDAL PhD series, current PEDAL students discuss their experiences of studying a PhD at the University of Cambridge and answer some of your questions about the application process.
All Work and No Play? Busting the Binary in Majority World Settings
In this Play Piece, Stephen discusses whether work and play are different, and the value of play as distinct from work.
Infant Mental Health Awareness Week 2023: Understanding Infant Mental Health
In this short animation for Infant Mental Health Awareness Week 2023, PEDAL’s Senior Policy Fellow Sally Hogg explains what we mean by ‘mental health’ in infancy and early childhood. You can also find more information and useful resources for supporting children’s mental health in the early years by clicking here.
Exploring play in hospitals in Spain, Australia and England
In this article, Paulina reflects on her travels and what she has learned about Health Play Specialists and their importance to children in hospital.
INSAR 2023: Professionals’ perspectives on strengths-based autism diagnostic assessment
Neurodiversity-informed approaches enable us to move away from simply understanding autism in terms of difficulties. In this video, PEDAL PhD student Emma Pritchard-Rowe presents a summary of her research on professionals’ perspectives of holistic, strengths-based approaches to diagnostic assessment – which can have a positive impact on autistic people’s wellbeing and enhance the support available […]
INSAR 2023: Autistic adults’ perspectives and experiences of play-based assessments
Neurodiversity-informed & strengths-based approaches can help enrich our understanding of autistic play and the diverse array of strengths that autistic people have. In this video, PEDAL PhD student Emma Pritchard-Rowe presents a summary of her research on autistic adults’ experiences of play-based assessments. This poster was originally presented at the International Society for Autism Research […]
Play in South African autism schools: why are formalised ethical processes important?
Why are culturally sensitive approaches to research ethics so important?
Understanding and supporting mental health in infancy and early childhood: A PEDAL and UNICEF UK Toolkit
There is widespread concern about babies’, children’s and young people’s mental health in the UK, particularly after the pandemic. Surveys of children, young people, parents, grandparents and teachers all reveal worries about mental health. Significant evidence shows us that the foundations for lifelong mental health are laid during pregnancy and the earliest years of life. Thankfully, this is more widely […]
Play, physical activity, and physical health
How can active play help improve children's access to physical activity and their physical health?
ITAKOM Conference 2023: Moving towards a strengths-based approach to autism diagnostic assessment
Neurodiversity-informed approaches enable us to move away from simply understanding autism in terms of difficulties. In this video, PEDAL PhD student Emma Pritchard-Rowe presents a summary of her research on holistic, strengths-based approaches to diagnostic assessment which centre autistic voices & have a positive impact on autistic people’s wellbeing and self-esteem. This poster was originally […]
Early Years Library
Learn more about these free resources designed to help early childhood education practitioners support young children’s development of essential skills.
