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Samantha Friedman

@safriedman.bsky.social
253 followers 77 following 14 posts

Lecturer in Applied Psychology at the University of Edinburgh. Researching the intersection of autism & nature.

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Samantha Friedman @safriedman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
We'd love if you'd consider taking part in this study about neurodiversity and exercise! Please see the attached flyer or follow this link: redcap.link/1uyttdbz @kerenmaclennan.bsky.social
A purple and yellow poster which says:
Take Part in Research About Exercise

Neurodiversity and exercise: Understanding preferences and motivations

Who can take part? Anyone who is 16 years or older and is proficient in reading and writing English can take part. We welcome people who are Neurodivergent (e.g., Autistic or ADHD) and those who are not

What will taking part involve? You will complete an online survey about your exercise preferences and motivations. It will take 20-30 minutes

How do I take part? Follow the link below or scan the QR code 
redcap.Link/1uyttdbz

Any questions, email Keren MacLennan: km2564@bath.ac.uk
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Reposted by Samantha Friedman
Katie Cebula @katiecebula.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Are you: ⭐the parent of an autistic child and their neurotypical sibling (both 5 - 12 years & within 5 years of each other)? ⭐in Scotland? We are recruiting for a study looking at how parents support autistic children and their siblings to play together. More info/register interest: edin.ac/4mWJsrw
Poster shows a photo of 2 children playing with Lego. Text reads:Parents of autistic children ages 5-12 years. The University of Edinburgh Sibling Play Study Compensation of £30 voucher per family. Join us to better understand how parents support sibling interactions for autistic children.This study involves a home visit and an interview .If you are interested and would like more information scan the QR code below to register interest. [Note - QR code links to: https://edin.ac/4mWJsrw ] Contact: Matthew Klein v1mklei2@ed.ac.uk The University of EdinburghMoray House School of  Education and Sport
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Samantha Friedman @safriedman.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
It's always an honour and a pleasure to get to work with Fergus! I'm excited for our upcoming book chapter and hope practitioners find it useful.
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Samantha Friedman @safriedman.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
We're hoping to recruit just a few more participants for this study! If you're a Reception or Y1/P1 or P2 teacher, please consider taking part.
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Reposted by Samantha Friedman
PEDAL Research Centre @pedalcam.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
#PEDALConference2025 @safriedman.bsky.social spoke on the importance of using nature to support neurodivergent people and play. Key takeaways are:
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Samantha Friedman @safriedman.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
If you are: -the parent of an autistic child and their neurotypical sibling (both 5 - 12 years & within 5 years of each other); and -based in Scotland... please consider taking part in our study looking at how parents support autistic children and their siblings to play together: edin.ac/4mWJsrw
Poster shows a photo of two children playing with Lego and text which reads:
Parents of autistic children ages 5-12 years.
The University of Edinburgh
Sibling Play Study
Compensation of £30 voucher per family
Join us to better understand how parents support sibling interactions for autistic children.
This study involves a home visit and an interview. 
If you are interested and would like more information scan the QR code below to register interest.
[Note - QR code links to: https://edin.ac/4mWJsrw]

Contact: Matthew Klein v1mklei2@ed.ac.uk
The University of Edinburgh
Moray House School of Education and Sport
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Reposted by Samantha Friedman
Developmental Psychology in Education @dpie-uoe.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Teaching fellow job opportunity deadline upcoming - apply before midnight on Thursday 12th June! Any questions please get in touch 😀 elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com
Teaching Fellow in Developmental Psychology in Education
The Institute for Education, Community and Society (ECS) invites applications for a Teaching Fellow with academic expertise in Developmental Psychology in Education. We welcome applications from candi...
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Reposted by Samantha Friedman
PEDAL Research Centre @pedalcam.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Dr ‪@safriedman.bsky.social‬, Dr Sinéad McNally, and Dr @emmapritchard95.bsky.social‬ will participate in a panel discussion on "Neurodiversity-affirming play" at the #PEDALConference2025. Please see pedalhub.net/conference20... for more details about our talks and speakers - not long to go now!
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Reposted by Samantha Friedman
Katie Cebula @katiecebula.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Are you a care experienced adult (16+ years) or the supporter of care experienced children/adults in Scotland (e.g. foster parent, residential carer)? If so, we invite you to come to one of our ‘Sibling Cafes’ in May (choice of in-person or an online). To sign up and for more info: edin.ac/4cIYdcs
Sibling Cafes
Seeking care experienced adults and supporters to take part.
Now open to:
Care experienced adults (16+ years) in Scotland
Supporters of care experienced children/adults in Scotland (e.g. foster parent, residential carer)
We know that brothers and sisters are important to people who are care experienced. We would like to hear about your sibling experiences to improve research and care in the future.
Come along to one of our Sibling Cafes:
Information with activities and time to talk
An opportunity to discuss what is important to you about sibling relationships and have your say about how the Scottish Government collections information on siblings.
You don’t need to bring a sibling to the café.
Café dates:
Saturday 24th May Central Edinburgh
Friday 30th May Online
Find out more and sign up: https://edin.ac/4cIYdcs
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Samantha Friedman @safriedman.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Are you a Reception or Year 1 teacher in England or a P1 or P2 teacher in Scotland? We'd love to talk to you about how you support children with additional support needs at the transition to school! See attached for more info. @elianfink.bsky.social
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Samantha Friedman @safriedman.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
It's not too late to sign up (in-person or online) for the Stewart Alan Robertson Public Lecture with Dr Rebecca Wood! We're so looking forward to this event, and we hope you'll join us.
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Reposted by Samantha Friedman
Children and Young People Thematic Hub @cyphub.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
We are absolutely thrilled to have Dr Rebecca Wood (@thewoodbug.bsky.social) delivering our CYP Hub Stewart Alan Robertson Public Lecture on 28 April! This event is open to anyone and will be hybrid, so please do join us online if you're not in Edinburgh. education-sport.ed.ac.uk/cyp-hub-stew...
education-sport.ed.ac.uk
CYP Hub Stewart Alan Robertson Public Lecture: Creating Neurodiversity-affirming Environments in Schools
This public lecture, co-hosted by the Children and Young People Thematic Hub and the Centre for Research in Education Inclusion and Diversity (CREID), is part of the Stewart Alan Robertson Lecture Ser...
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Samantha Friedman @safriedman.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
We're recruiting for a study about neuro-affirming motor development support for autistic children! If you're a UK-based physio or OT who works with autistic children to support their motor development, please look at our recruitment poster here: drive.google.com/file/d/1SbCd...
drive.google.com
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Josie Booth @drjosienbooth.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Interested in school based research in physical activity? Then this exciting opportunity for a part time research assistant role might be for you! 2 days a week for 7 months, starting in March - come and work with us! elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...
elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com
Research Assistant
We present an exciting opportunity to work as a Research Assistant on a project titled “Whole school approaches for maximising movement and learning: co-development of a teacher toolkit”. This is an i...
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Samantha Friedman @safriedman.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
I'm thrilled that this paper is finally out - besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/.... I think it's my favourite piece of work so far, and I'm so thankful to my co-authors @saramch.bsky.social and @annastenning.bsky.social for the brilliant insights they contributed.
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Thriving Autistic @thrivingautistic.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
A wonderful new article by @cjcrompton.bsky.social @suereviews.bsky.social @aalcorn.bsky.social @katiecebula.bsky.social "Neurodiversity Can Explain Differences in How People Experience Everyday Life". We love this, thank you! kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10....
Image: group of people from different ethnicities lying down smiling.
Text reads: Neurodiversity

"Neurodiversity means that all people's brains process information
differently from each other. In other words, people think and learn in a
variety of ways. Being neurodivergent means that the way a person's
brain processes information might be quite distinctive, or even rare and
in some cases this difference might have a name, like ADHD, autism, or
dyslexia........
When we all understand what neurodiversity is, it is easier for everyone
to be themselves, no matter how they think, feel and learn."
Crompton, C. J., Alcorn, A. M., Cebula, K., & Fletcher-Watson, S. (2024). Neurodiversity can explain differences in how people experience everyday life. Frontiers for Young Minds, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2024.1434143
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