Tony Charman - Biography#

I am Emeritus Professor of Child Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London; and was previously Professor at both the UCL Institute of Child Health and Institute of Education. My research aims to better understand development and mental health in autism and the clinical application of this work via epidemiological, screening, diagnostic, intervention and family history studies. Many of these are considered ‘landmark’ studies in the field. These range from the first ever large population screening studies for autism in infancy in the 1990s; to experimental developmental cognitive neuroscience studies of infants with a family history of autism from 2005 to today; to the first study to report a childhood prevalence of autism of over 1% now since widely replicated and globally accepted to key longitudinal studies on mental health and neurodevelopmental outcomes in across the lifespan from infancy to adulthood.

I am an Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and have led an NHS England commissioned service providing assessment and treatment of mental health in autism and was previously at a specialized neurodevelopmental disorders clinic at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust.

I have published more than 500 peer-reviewed papers and over 30 book chapters. I have served on expert panels for the Medical Research Council, NICE and DHSC in the UK, NIH in the USA and the WHO. I have worked with Autism Europe, Ambitious about Autism, the National Autistic Society and Autistica to advocate for services and positive policy development for autistic people and their families.