Research Professor

Dr. Kyoung Hong received her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in Special Education from Ewha Womans University, with a doctoral specialization in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). She has worked as a special education teacher in diverse clinical and educational settings—including special schools, special education classes, and the Seoul Children’s Hospital—providing individualized support to students with ASD and their families across a wide range of ages. Her research interests focus on school-age children with ASD, particularly in the areas of transition education, instructional support, and evidence-based intervention programs. As a Research Professor at the KU CCPL, Dr. Hong is currently investigating how cognitive regulation in young children with autism influences later social development and academic achievement. She is also committed to extending her expertise in ASD assessments and developing evidence-based interventions for individuals with ASD and their families across the lifespan.

Research Staff

Jieun Han is a research assistant who graduated from the Department of Psychology at Korea University and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Clinical and Counseling Psychology at her alma mater. Since starting as an RA in 2022, she has been working as the coding coordinator for the SPROUT study, participating in the BOSCC coding to assess changes in social communication among nonverbal children with autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, she is conducting research on the effects of parental strategies on children's social communication functions using the newly developed MONSI-CC tool, with a particular interest in the mechanisms and 'active ingredients' of parent-mediated NDBI.

Research Staff

Eunsil Yoon graduated from the Department of Psychology at Korea University in 2023 and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Clinical and Counseling Psychology at the same university. Since 2022, she has been working as a Research Assistant (RA) and participating in BOSCC coding to assess children who received JASPER intervention. After entering the graduate program, she has been primarily involved in a project focused on assessing and managing the school readiness of early childhood through a neurodevelopmental difference. Additionally, she is involved in research on Toy Talk, a telehealth-based parental intervention program for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In the future, she plans to become a compassionate and specialized clinician who can assess and treat children with autism.

Research Staff

Jisoo Kim graduated from Korea University in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. At Korea University, Jisoo worked as a research assistant in the Human Performance Lab, where she studied the effects of factors such as reward, value, and memory on attentional processing and how to design experiments to explore them. She also participated in EEG lectures and practices to learn about EEG data analysis and helped set up EEG equipment. Jisoo is interested in developing scales and diagnostic systems to help determine the presence of co-morbidities and distinguish ASD from other clinical conditions for accurate diagnosis. She is also interested in discovering universal neuropsychological and behavioral cues to help diagnose adult ADHD.

Research Staff

Munju Kim is a master's student researcher who majored in German Studies and Psychology at Korea University. During her undergraduate studies, she gained research experience as a research assistant in the KU Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology Lab. Currently, she is involved in coding projects as part of the SPROUT research team and is conducting studies on camouflaging behaviors and sex differences in children with ASD. Additionally, her research focuses on examining the mediating role of child emotional regulation in the relationship between parental stress and behavior problems in autistic children. Through this work, she aims to alleviate the challenges faced by children with ASD and improve the quality of life for their families. She is also responsible for managing EEG experiments and equipment in the lab and actively participates in related research.

Research Staff

Yeseul Shin graduated from Korea University in 2024 with bachelor's degrees in History Education and Psychology. She is currently developing an intervention program targeting executive function in school-aged autistic children and investigating whether emotion dysregulation significantly predicts peer play skills and adaptive behaviors among them. Also, she belongs to the coding project of BOSCC and MONSI, exploring the relation between symptom changes in autistic children and the use of parent-mediated NDBI strategies. During her undergraduate studies, Yeseul was a facilitator at the Korea Scholar's Conference for Youth (KSCY), a pediatric coordinator at Samsung Medical Center, and a mentor of students with ADHD from an educational volunteer program. Drawing on these experiences, she looks forward to focusing her research on developing individualized intervention programs to enhance daily functioning and quality of life for children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Research Staff

Researcher Suhyoung Jeong, currently pursuing an integrated master's and doctoral program, completed undergraduate studies in Korean Language and Literature, Economics, and Psychology at KU. Currently, as a member of KU Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology Lab, she is participating in various studies focused on early childhood and school-age children. Ultimately, her goal is to identify predictive factors and develop support programs by analyzing the diverse functions and environments of autistic children. One of the key projects involves utilizing various tools and methodologies to conduct a multi-dimensional analysis of executive functions in early school-age children. In addition, research is being conducted to analyze EEG (electroencephalography) data from early school-age children using various analytical techniques, aiming to predict behavioral traits. Another ongoing project is a survey study targeting caregivers of pre-school and early school-age children with ASD, which investigates their awareness of interventions and neurodiversity.

Research Staff

Ye Rin Jeong holds a B.A. in Psychology and Statistics and is studying Clinical and Counselling Psychology as a graduate student at the same institution. Since joining the team, she has participated in research projects, including assessing changes in caregiver implementation of NDBI strategies, developing a sex and relationship understanding program for autistic adults in Korea, and creating a parent guide animation about NDBI strategies. Her research interests are in measuring the effectiveness and responsiveness of NDBI interventions, and she plans to conduct further research in this area.

Research Staff

Aelin Kim graduated from Rochester University with a B.A. in Psychology and Biology, and has experiences working in various research settings. She expanded her interest in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) while working as a research assistant at Seoul National University Hospital, where she took part in a longitudinal project investigating early diagnosis and prognosis of neurodevelopment disorders and administered Behavior Development Screening for Toddlers (BeDevel). At KU CCPL, she has been involved in multiple projects, including the development and implementation of the cognitive control training for ASD kindergarteners, MONSI-CC coding, and creating parent-mediated NDBI intervention guide animation, to explore ways to improve social communication and executive function in children with ASD.

Research Staff

Sun Choi graduated from Korea University in 2024 with bachelor's degrees in Sociology and Psychology. She is currently a master's student researcher at the KU Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology Lab, where she is conducting a study to develop a stakeholder-driven, culturally sensitive sexual health intervention for autistic adults and to evaluate the acceptability of the intervention. Through this research, she aims to develop a culturally sensitive sexual knowledge and behavior measurement tool for Korean autisctic adults. She is also a coder for the SPROUT study, participating in MONSI coding to assess changes in parent-mediated NDBI use strategies, and creating online-based, parent-mediated NDBI intervention animations for children with autism. In addition, she is conducting research on camouflaging behaviors and gender differences in children with autism through the implementation of the Child Camouflaging Behavior Scale in Korea. By doing so, she looks forward to enhance daily functioning and quality of life for children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders and to reduce social discrimination.

Research Staff

Nayoung Oh, a research assistant, is double-majoring in International Studies and Psychology at Korea University. She is interested in early intervention and capacity improvement in autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disorders. Based on these interests, she wishes to contribute to providing support for difficulties children face in social interaction and adjustment through research. Currently, Nayoung is assisting with research on the school readiness in children with autism spectrum disorder at KU CCP Lab. In the future, she aims to become a clinician who assesses children with various developmental disorders and contributes to their treatment.

Research Staff

Juhyun Lee is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at Korea University. After taking psychology courses, she realized that accurate diagnosis and appropriate intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are crucial for improving their quality of life. She is currently working as a research assistant in CCPL. Through various research projects, she pursues to passionately learn diagnostic tools such as ADOS and BOSCC to explore ASD further. She is particularly interested in the neuroscientific approach to the behavioral and cognitive abilities of children with ASD. Therefore, she is accumulating her experience by participating in research using electrophysiological technique such as EEG. In the future, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in clinical psychology by deeply studying developmental processes of children and adolescents, especially those with ASD.

Research Staff

Yejin Park, a master stduent, is double-majoring in Education and Psychology at Korea University. She has also gained several years of field experience as a professional school counselor in elementary schools. Through her work, she has supported children experiencing challenges in school adjustment and psychological well-being, particularly those at the intersection of general and special education, including children with ASD, ADHD, and borderline intellectual functioning. Based on these experiences, she has developed a strong interest in providing evidence-based psychological services for neurodevelopmental disorders. Currently, she is working as a research assistant at the KU CCP Lab, contributing to research on school readiness and executive function interventions for children with ASD.
Drawing on her volunteer experiences in disability welfare center programs, alternative schools, and community child centers, as well as her professional counseling work, she aims to develop school-based, evidence-based interventions. Her long-term goal is to become a clinical psychologist who improves the quality of life for children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their families.

Research Staff

Juhyun Kim is majoring in Education and double majoring in Psychology at Korea University. She is currently assisting with research studies on school readiness and on an intervention program targeting executive function in early school-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at the KU Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology Lab. Her research interests include accurate early diagnosis of ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as long-term, individualized interventions that consider each person's developmental trajectory. She aims to become a clinical researcher supporting children with ASD in enhancing their daily living skills and social skills throughout their development, ultimately improving their overall quality of life.

Research Staff

Jungmin Kim is a research assistant double-majoring in English Education and Psychology at Korea University. She is interested in the early identification of autism spectrum disorder and intervention approaches grounded in the neurodiversity framework. At KUCCPL, she is currently assisting with assessments for studies on school readiness and executive function interventions for young children with ASD. Prior to joining the lab, she participated in a social skills training program for individuals with developmental disabilities and contributed to a digital therapeutics device development project aimed at enhancing executive functioning in children with ASD and/or ADHD. She aspires to become a clinical professional committed to improving the quality of life for children and their families, and is dedicated to gaining practical research experience to support this goal.