People

Dr Drasko Kascelan

Lecturer
School of Health and Social Care
Dr Drasko Kascelan

Profile

Biography

Draško Kašćelan joined the University of Essex in February 2023 as a Lecturer in Language and Communication Sciences at the School of Health and Social Care. He is a linguist by training teaching linguistics subjects in the Division for Speech and Language Therapy. Prior to Essex, he worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the University of Leeds on the Quantifying Bilingual Experience (Q-BEx) project: https://www.q-bex.org. His research expertise and interests include bi/multilingualism, autism, autistic-like traits, and language disorders. He is leading a cross-departmental reading group Multilingualism, Language Varieties, and Neurodiversity (MuLaVaN). He is open to supervise PhD projects exploring bi/multilingualism in neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals, as well as bi/multilingualism-related topics in the context of speech and language therapy practice.

Qualifications

  • PhD Theoretical and Applied Linguistics University of Cambridge, (2020)

  • MSc Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition University of Oxford, (2014)

  • Specialist of Art English Language and Literature (PGCE equivalent) University of Montenegro, (2013)

  • BA English Language and Literature University of Montenegro, (2012)

Research and professional activities

Research interests

Bilingualism/Multilingualism

Dynamic nature of bilingual/multilingual development: What are the characteristics of bilingual/multilingual development? How do bilinguals/multilinguals code-switch? How do we document bilingual/multilingual experience?

Key words: bilingualism
Open to supervise

Autism

What are the features of language and cognitive development is autism? How can we improve work on autism to best serve autistic individuals?

Key words: autism
Open to supervise

Developmental Language Disorder

Exploration of language development and difficulties in individuals with Developmental Language Disorder.

Key words: developmental language disorder
Open to supervise

Neurodiversity

Exploring neurodiversity perspectives in research on conditions such as autism.

Key words: neurodivergent
Open to supervise

Teaching and supervision

Current teaching responsibilities

  • Understanding Typical Communication (HS132)

  • Introduction to Speech and Language Therapy (HS235)

  • Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours Portfolio 1 (HS705)

  • Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours Portfolio 2 (HS708)

  • Speech and Language Therapy - Paediatrics 1 (HS831)

  • Speech and Language Therapy - Paediatrics 2 (HS832)

  • Speech and Language Therapy - Paediatrics 4 (HS834)

Publications

Publications (2)

Digard, BG., Johnson, E., Kašćelan, D. and Davis, R., Raising bilingual autistic children in the UK: At the intersection between neurological and language diversity

Zuniga-Montanez, C., Davies, C., Ligoxygakis, L., Kašćelan, D. and Gonzalez-Gomez, N., How did COVID-19 affect young children’s language environment and language development? A scoping review.

Journal articles (6)

De Cat, C., Kašćelan, D., Prévost, P., Serratrice, L., Tuller, L. and Unsworth, S., (2023). How to quantify bilingual experience? Findings from a Delphi consensus survey. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. 26 (1), 112-124

Digard, BG., Johnson, E., Kašćelan, D. and Davis, R., (2023). Raising bilingual autistic children in the UK: at the intersection between neurological and language diversity. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 14, 1250199-

Kašćelan, D. and De Cat, C., (2022). A constellation of continua. Epistemological issue. 12 (1), 59-64

Kašćelan, D., Prévost, P., Serratrice, L., Tuller, L., Unsworth, S. and De Cat, C., (2022). A review of questionnaires quantifying bilingual experience in children: Do they document the same constructs?. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. 25 (1), 29-41

Kašćelan, D. and Deuchar, M., (2021). Introducing the Special Issue: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Code-Switching. Languages. 6 (1), 19-19

Kašćelan, D., Katsos, N. and Gibson, JL., (2019). Relations Between Bilingualism and Autistic-Like Traits in a General Population Sample of Primary School Children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 49 (6), 2509-2523