Hannah Waddington

Dr Hannah Waddington is a Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology at the School of Education, Victoria University of Wellington. She is a practicing Educational Psychologist and serves as Clinic Lead of the Victoria University of Wellington Autism Clinic - Te Rāngai Takiwātanga. With a PhD, PGDEPP, MEDPSY, and BA all completed at Victoria University of Wellington, she has established herself as a leading researcher in neurodiversity-affirming approaches to autism support in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Her research primarily focuses on neurodiversity-affirming and culturally responsive early identification and support for autistic children. She actively collaborates with members of the autistic and autism communities to ensure her research is suited to the Aotearoa New Zealand context. Her work emphasizes parent perspectives, culturally responsive practices, and community co-design in developing effective autism support systems.

Waddington's recent publications reveal a strong trend toward community-centered, neurodiversity-affirming research that prioritizes autistic voices and whānau perspectives. Her work spans multiple methodologies including randomized controlled trials, systematic reviews, and co-designed qualitative studies that examine everything from early identification tools to community perceptions of appropriate support goals for autistic children.

• Rutherford Discovery Fellowship for research aimed at transforming the clinical pathway for young autistic children and their whānau
• Emerging Researcher First Grant from the Health Research Council of New Zealand

Dr Waddington actively supervises numerous doctoral students working on diverse autism-related topics including neurodiversity-affirming practice, cross-cultural autism support, and LGBTQ+ experiences of neurodivergent youth. She has secured multiple significant research grants including projects funded by the Royal Society of New Zealand, Health Research Council of New Zealand, and internal university grants focused on autism support in Aotearoa New Zealand.

She leads the Victoria University of Wellington Autism Clinic - Te Rāngai Takiwātanga and collaborates extensively with Ngāti Toa and other Māori communities to develop culturally responsive autism support. Her research teams consistently include autistic adults as co-researchers, reflecting her commitment to nothing about us without us principles in autism research.