| Dorothy Bishop | |
| Birth Name: | Dorothy Vera Margaret Bishop |
| Birth Date: | 1952 2, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Ilford, East London, UK |
| Thesis Title: | Comprehension of Grammar Normal and Abnormal Development |
| Thesis Url: | http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.449910 |
| Thesis Year: | 1977 |
| Doctoral Advisor: | Freda Newcombe |
| Website: | |
Dorothy Vera Margaret Bishop (born 14 February 1952) is a British psychologist specialising in developmental disorders[1] specifically, developmental language impairments. She is Emeritus Professor of Developmental Neuropsychology at the University of Oxford, where she worked from 1998 until her retirement in 2022.[2] She is an honorary fellow of St John's College, Oxford.
Bishop was born in Ilford, East London, on 14 February 1952.[3] In 1973, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours in Experimental Psychology from St Hugh's College, Oxford.[4] In 1975, she completed her Master of Philosophy in Clinical Psychology at the University of London. In 1978, Bishop completed her Doctor of Philosophy at University of Oxford.[5]
While studying for her undergraduate degree, Bishop developed an interest in cognitive disorders. After her MPhil, she returned to Oxford to work with Freda Newcombe[5] at the Neuropsychology Unit in Radcliffe Infirmary.[4] Newcombe steered Bishop towards cases of children with developmental language disorders and launched her career as a developmental neuropsychologist.
Bishop's research spanned Psychology, Neuroscience, Genetics, Language and Developmental Disorders[6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] .
She is one of the co-founders of the video-led campaign, RALLI ("Raising Awareness of Language Learning Impairments", now called RADLD), which aims to develop awareness of language learning impairments, including Specific language impairment.[12]
Bishop has published some of her academic work as D.V.M. Bishop. This is to avoid any prejudices that may be held against her as a female academic.[13]
Dorothy Bishop was Professor of Developmental Neuropsychology at the University of Oxford[14] where, funded by the Wellcome Trust, she led a series of research of children's communication disorders. Her research has also been funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC).[15] She retired in 2022.[16]
In 1998, Bishop created what she called the Children's Communication Checklist (CCC).[17] The goal of the CCC was to help diagnose children who did not have an apparent reason for communication errors. The CCC specifically looked to identify pragmatic language and specific language impairments. The CCC allowed Bishop and other researchers to reliably identify language impairments but give clues to other potential disorders which may not have been apparent such as high functioning autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or Williams syndrome.[18] A second, updated, edition of the CCC was released in 2001.[19]
When Bishop began her studies of cognitive disorders, research to language development was relatively limited. Though more research has been conducted, there is not a cohesive framework of research for specialists to rely on when assessing and diagnosing children with language disorders. In 2016, Bishop began a multiple part Delphi project. In this particular project, Bishop is attempting to define a set criteria for identifying children who may need intervention through a multinational and multidiscipline study.[20] In the first phase of this study, 59 experts of various fields such as education, speech-language therapy, and pediatrics from different countries such New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and United States of America participated in this study to provide a range of expertise and experience. The researchers submitted findings to a panel who agreed with an 80% consensus. In phase two of this project, similar parameters were followed to determine what terminology should be accepted in studies and treatment.
Because of her intense study of children's language impairments, Bishop co-founded RADLD ("Raising Awareness of Developmental Language Disorder", formerly known as RALLI).[21] RADLD is an international advocacy organisation, with a mission statement to "foster a substantial increase in international awareness of DLD".[22] Its committee comprises members from the UK, USA, Canada, China and Australia. RADLD provides resources in over 20 languages, and has ambassadors in over 40 countries.[23]
Bishop was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2014 for "substantial contributions to the improvement of natural knowledge". Her nomination reads:[1]
On 25 November 2024, Bishop announced that she had resigned from the Royal Society because Elon Musk was also a member, and she no longer wanted to share this affiliation in view of his anti-scientific statements.[24]
Bishop is also a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci).[25] She has honorary degrees from Lund University, the University of Western Australia and Newcastle University.[26]
Bishop married fellow psychologist Patrick Rabbitt in 1976. As "Deevy Bishop", Bishop has written several humorous crime novels for Amazon Kindle.[27]