Link

http://wingchee.googlepages.com/

Introduction

Prof. Catherine So received her Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Chicago in 2007. Then she took up the Assistant Professor Position at the National University of Singapore in 2007 and returned to Hong Kong in 2012. She is currently a Full Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her research interests lie in language and gesture development of both typically and atypically developing children and intervention for autistic children and their families. She has published over 60 journal articles and found a charitable organization that solely provides robot-based intervention in Hong Kong. Her research, teaching, and services have received local and international recognition.

Research Interest

Our lab is composed of a team of researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students who are interested in investigating topics related to the role of gesture (spontaneous hand movement produced while speaking or thinking) plays in language and cognitive development, cognitive processes, and special education.

We address four main questions:

1. How does the communication system emerge? Are there any linguistic elements in silent gestures (i.e., gestures produced without speech)?
2. How do children with special needs (especially autism spectrum disorders) gesture differently from their typically developing peers? How do these differences tell us about gesture development and factors related to gesture production and comprehension?
3. How do children with autism spectrum disorders benefit from the robot-based gestural intervention program? Are there any individual variations in the learning outcomes?

Courses Taught

Recent Publications

1. So, W.C., Wong, E., Ng, W., Fuego, J., Lay, S., So, M.T., Lee, Y.Y., Chan, W.Y., Chua L.Y., Lam, H.L, Lam W.T., Li H.M., Leung, W.T., Ng, Y, H., Wong, W.T. (2024). Seeing Through a Robot’s Eyes: A Cross-Sectional Exploratory Study in Developing a Robotic Screening Technology for Autism. Autism Research, 17, 2, 366-380.
2. So, W.C., Law, W.W., Cheng C.H., Lee C., Ng K.C., Kwok F.Y., Lam H.W., & Lam, K.Y. (2023). Comparing the effectiveness of robot-based to human-based intervention in improving joint attention in children with autism. Frontiers in Psychiatry - Autism, 14:1114907
3. So, W.C. & Song, X.E. (2022). Whose gestures are more predictive of expressive language abilities among autistic Chinese-speaking children? A comparison of caregivers’ and children’s gestures. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 53(9):3449-3459

Recent Projects

1. 2024 - 2026 Hong Kong Research Grant Council. General Research Fund. HKD893,500. Can autonomous robot improve the eye contact of autistic children? Comparison of robot-based to human-based interventions
2. 2023-2025 Mental Health Initiatives Funding Scheme Phase 2., Health Bureau, Hong Kong, S.A.R. HKD$1,944,660. Resilience in the face of adversity: coping strategies for autistic children and their families.