Dr. Kim Cornish – Cornish Research Team, McGill University

Meagan Williamson, Masters Student

Meagan Williamson is completing an M.A. in the School and Applied Psychology program in McGill's Education and Counselling Psychology Department. Before beginning her work with Dr. Kim Cornish, Meagan completed her B.A. with Honors at York University in 2004. Additionally, prior to the commencement of her Masters, she gained valuable clinical experience while working with children with various diagnoses, such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Congenital Hypothyroidism, Prematurity and Type 1 Diabetes. Her work at The Hospital for Sick Children leads her to her current investigation with Dr. Kim Cornish studying the development of visual-spatial abilities in young children. Her M.A. thesis focuses on when and how children obtain the different subcomponents which comprise this cognitive domain. If you would like to become involved on this research project, please contact me at meagan.williamson@mail.mcgill.ca or by phone at (514) 398-2450.

The Development of Visual-Spatial & Math Skills

We are interested in improving our knowledge of the how and when visuo-spatial skills develop in typically developing children from ages 4 to 10 years. Very little is known about when and how children develop visual and spatial abilities during early and middle childhood. We are studying various types of visual-spatial abilities in early childhood. The tasks difficulty varies from test to test, usually beginning with very simple demands and increasingly in the difficulty over time. The tasks are specifically developed for young children who should find them fun to complete. Some tasks involve just motor ability; while others involve constructing a visual pattern or judging the orientation of objects and lines. This information may appear in the form of a puzzle, a picture or a computerized game.

Contact:   If you have any questions about the research, please contact Meagan Williamson at the Faculty of Education at (514) 398-2450

Email:   developmentstudy@gmail.com or meagan.williamson@mail.mcgill.ca

Published Abstracts

Rovet, J., Williamson, M., Nash, K., Desrocher, M., Sheard, E., Noseworthy, M. 2006. Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to study thyroid hormone' role in hippocampal development. Thyroid, 16(9) 919-920.

Poster Presentations

Rezazadeh, S.M., Cornish, K., Williamson, M., & Ouimet, T. Can the dual pathway model differentially predict ADHD symptoms in children? The Canadian Psychological Association, 68th Annual Convention, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (June 2007).

Sheard, E. D., Willoughby; K. A., Williamson, M., & Rovet, J. Hippocampal Volume and Memory Performance in Higher Order Multiple Birth Children. Human Brain Mapping. Chicago, Illnois, USA (June 2007).

Rovet, J., Desrocher, M., Williamson, M., Nash, K., Sekharan, S., Skocic, J., Sheard, E.D., Blaser, S., Noseworthy, M. Hippocampal Structure and Function in Children with Congenital Hypothyroidism. The Endocrine Society. Toronto, Ontario, Canada (June 2007).

Nash, K., Sheard, E.D., Williamson, M., Desrocher, M., Noseworthy, M., & Rovet. J. Does Metabolic Functioning Correlate with Social Functioning in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)? Research for the Society on Alcoholism; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group. Baltimore, Maryland, USA (June, 2006).

Nash, K., Sheard, ED., Williamson, M., Desrocher, M., Noseworthy, M., & Rovet. J. Does Metabolic Functioning Correlate with Social Functioning in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)? Research for the Society on Alcoholism; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Study Group. Baltimore, Maryland, USA (June, 2006).

Nash, K., Williamson, M., Sheard, E., Desrocher, M., Noseworthy, M.,Blaser, S., & Rovet, J. Oxidative Stress in the metabolic functioning of children with FASD. Imaging Network Ontario Annual Meeting, Toronto, Ontario (April, 2006).

Williamson, M., Nash, K., Desrocher, M., Blaser, S., & Rovet J. MRS profiles in triplets born prematurely. Imaging Network Ontario Annual Meeting, Toronto, Ontario (April, 2006)

Williamson, M., Nash, K., Sheard, E., Desrocher, M., Soreni, N., & Rovet, J. Abnormal MRS profiles in children with Congenital Hypothyroidism. Imaging Network Ontario Annual Meeting, Toronto, Ontario (April, 2006)

Rovet J., Desrocher, M., Williamson, M., Nash, K., & Soreni, N. Abnormal MRS profiles in children with Congenital Hypothyroidism. International Neuropsychological Society Annual Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, USA (February, 2006)

Factor, D. & Williamson, M. Temperament patterns and parental stress in three groups of preschoolers: children with Autism/PDD/ASD diagnosis, children with mixed clinical diagnoses, and children without a diagnosis. Ontario Association of Developmental Disabilities Research Special Interest Group, Barrie, Ontario (May, 2005).