Professor Monica Cuskelly

Monica worked as a developmental and educational psychologist with young children with disabilities and their families before joining the Fred and Eleanor Schonell Special Education Research Centre, The University of Queensland (UQ). She was a member of the Down Syndrome Research Program at UQ for some years, taking over the Directorship of the program in 2004, a role she held for 12 years. She was the Interim Director of the Centre of Excellence in Behaviour Support in 2008-2009 , a joint initiative of UQ and the Queensland Department of Communities focussed on reducing the use of restrictive practices.

Monica’s research has focussed on the development of individuals with Down syndrome over the lifespan, the impact on families on having a member with intellectual disability, and of siblings on the development of children with ASD, and, more recently, on adult lives and service provision.