Michelle Kelly

People with dementia often have difficulty with social interaction which can at times lead to misunderstandings, confusion and aggression. This can negatively affect relationships with caregivers, friends and family, and can reduce quality of life for all concerned. Impaired social interaction can be due to problems with interpreting social cues such as facial expressions, or problems with understanding another person’s feelings or intentions. Currently, clinicians working with people with dementia do not routinely assess social skills, possibly due to the limited availability of tests that can be used for this purpose. 

Dr Kelly’s project aims to develop a bedside screening test for social skills that is suitable for people with dementia. The test will be given to a group of people with dementia and a group of people without dementia. Differences in performance will allow us to determine whether the test is sensitive to the social difficulties we see in people with dementia.

Dr Kelly completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of New South Wales. Since receiving her first AADRF Victoria Grant in 2013, Dr Kelly has gone on to secure a clinical research position in the School of Psychology, The University of Newcastle. As part of this role she will work one day per week from the Ourimbah campus Psychology Clinic. She hopes to begin offering a carers coping program there from January 2017.