David Williams

Professor David Williams is a leading academic in Developmental Psychology at the University of Kent, serving as Acting Director of the Division of Human Social Sciences. His research bridges developmental psychopathology, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and cognitive neuroscience.

Research Interests include understanding the neuro-cognitive bases of ASD and specific language impairments, with a focus on

• Episodic and Prospective Memory
• Metacognition and Mindreading
• Inner Speech Mechanisms
• Comorbidity in Developmental Disorders

Scientific Recognition includes the 2010 Young Investigator Award from the International Society for Autism Research. He has supervised numerous students, including

• Mahsa Barzy
• Katie Carpenter
• Louise Malkin

on topics like humor production in ASD and referential communication.

Key Grants highlight his leadership in major projects, such as an ESRC grant (£661,196, 2022-2025) on autism and gender incongruence, and a Leverhulme Trust grant (£225,482, 2015-2019) on self-in-fictional-worlds in ASD.