About Dr. Rachelle Wicks

Dr. Rachelle Wicks is a neurodivergent (AuDHD) Research Fellow at Griffith University and Honorary Research Associate at CliniKids, The Kids Research Institute Australia. She is also an autistic advisor to the Australian Psychological Society and has been Chair of the Autism Queensland Advisory Committee since 2022. Rachelle has knowledge and skills in psychology and early childhood education and development, with a special interest in autism, early learning, and wellbeing. She advocates for the implementation of person-centered, neuro-affirming, strengths-based practice and research that is co-designed and co-produced with the communities that it aims to benefit. Since completing her Ph.D. in 2022, Rachelle has held consecutive Research Fellow positions spanning a number of large-scale, co-produced projects, including the National Guideline for supporting the learning, participation and wellbeing of autistic children and their families, the National Guideline for assessment and diagnosis of autism in Australia (2023 Update), the National Framework for assessing, differentiating and reporting children’s functional strengths and support needs, and is leading the associated Framework implementation and capacity-building project.