Dr. Andreia COSTA

Andreia Costa is a Research Scientist working at the Institute for Health and Behaviour within the Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences Department of the University of Luxembourg.

She studied psychology at the University of Minho (Portugal) where she received her Master’s Degree in experimental psychology. She then worked in a centre for children with autism spectrum disorder using applied behaviour analysis therapy. In 2016 she completed her PhD entitled “Emotional Reactivity and Emotion Regulation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder” under the supervision of  Prof. Dr. Georges Steffgen  at the University of Luxembourg.

Since then Andreia has focused her research on autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in particular understanding which emotional difficulties people with ASD have, what are the causes of these difficulties, their consequences, as well as exploring possible solutions. Andreia was awarded a grant by the Luxembourg National Research Fund in 2019 (2020-2023; 397,000€ – C19/SC/13651499/ASA) to study the impact of emotions and multilingualism in the academic success of children with ASD.

Furthermore, she is implicated in improving the situation of autism in Luxembourg. In collaboration with local stakeholders and institutions dedicated to ASD, she is implementing guidelines to improve the care of people with ASD and their families.

Andreia serves as expert on the following topics:

• Emotional ability in autism spectrum disorder

• Alexithymia

• Family dynamics in emotional ability

• Emotional ability interventions

Current projects:

• Academic Success in Autism: The impact of emotions and multilingualism (ASA)

• The Situation of Autism in Luxembourg (SAUL)

Website: autisme.uni.lu