Josephine Ambalada

About

Josephine, known to her students as ‘Teacher Joey,’ is a special needs specialist at Winged Wonder Institute of Education, a special education institution in the Philippines. Over the years, she has worked directly with children and adolescents with autism, ADHD, global developmental delay, and other related disorders, supporting their learning and development across a range of needs and abilities.

She holds a Master’s degree in Special Education and an MSc in Applied Neuroscience. She also trained in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), Montessori methods and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which shaped her interest in the brain-based factors underlying the challenges her learners face. She has authored two programmes in the Philippines: Arts Around the World, which teaches history and culture through arts and crafts, and Winged Wonder Reading, a multi-sensory reading programme for both neurodivergent and neurotypical learners.

Her particular interests have been in autism spectrum disorders, sensory processing, eating and dietary behaviour, anxiety, neuroimaging/neural processing and the gut-brain relationship. She also has a strong interest in evidence-based, individualised approaches that connect neuroscience with everyday educational and therapeutic practice.

Her years of hands-on work with autistic learners drew her attention to how often their everyday struggles, particularly around eating and sensory experiences, were overlooked in local research. This awareness is what led her to pursue doctoral research at the University of Chichester. The university’s supportive supervisory team and focus on applied, real-world psychological research made it the natural place to bring together her experience as an educator with rigorous, evidence-based enquiry. Her interest in autism is both professional and personal.

PhD Title

Understanding eating and dietary preference in young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and gastrointestinal (GI) problems

Supervision Team

• Dr. Ian Tyndall

• Dr. Rachel King

• Dr. Ben Sharpe