Dr Lauren Taylor is a Lecturer and Clinical Psychologist. She has co-authored ~20 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters focused on autism spectrum disorder and related neurodevelopmental conditions. Her clinical experience covers the full lifespan – Lauren has been part of transdisciplinary teams supporting children, adolescents and adults with autism, including those with significant disability and co-occurring mental health conditions. She currently works in a multidisciplinary team that conducts diagnostic evaluations for adolescents and adults presenting for autism assessment. Lauren is an AHPRA Board-Approved Supervisor. 

Lauren previously led a national research project on diagnostic practices for autism in Australia, the results of which informed the development of the National Guideline for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism in Australia.

After completing her postgraduate training in psychology at UWA, Lauren pursued a postdoctoral research position at King’s College London (Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience), where she led the London research arm of the world’s largest multisite randomised controlled trial for children with autism (the Paediatric Autism Communication Trial-Generalised). Over the course of her time in London, Lauren undertook extensive training in assessment for autistic children, which included training on the ADI-R, to research-reliability on the ADOS-2, and emerging measures such as the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change (BOSCC). She is an independent ADOS-2 trainer, one of only two in WA.

Lauren is interested in improving the diagnostic experience for autistic people, especially those who are not identified as being autistic in early childhood. She is also interested in better understanding co-occurring mental health conditions in autistic people, particularly in those with autism and an intellectual disability. 

Lauren coordinates and teaches in the Graduate Certificate in Autism Diagnosis at the University of Western Australia, the world’s only postgraduate training program that is specifically focused on Autism Diagnosis. 

Lauren co-supervises several PhD students, some of whom are working on projects designed to improve the screening and identification of autistic people who were not diagnosed with autism in childhood, and others focusing on the measurement of autistic features and common co-occurring experiences, such as anxiety.