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Biographical Sketch
Hilde Geurts is currently a professor in autism (Stichting Dr. Leo Kannerhuis) and an associate professor in clinical neuropsychology at the Department of Psychology of the University of Amsterdam. One day a week she works as a senior researcher and psychologist in the autism expert team of the "Dr. Leo Kannerhuis". She recently obtained a VIDI grant (MagW NWO) to study the effect of aging in autism.
She obtained a MSc in Neuro- and Rehabiliation psychology (1996) at the University of Nijmegen (Radboud University). Next she worked for approximately two years as a neuropsychologist in a psychiatric hospital for children. She received her PhD at the Department of Clinical Neuropsychology at the Vrije Universiteit. Her PhD project focused on Executive control in ADHD and Autism spectrum Disorders (ASD) with prof.dr. J.A. Sergeant, prof.dr. H. Roeyers and prof dr. J. Oosterlaan as advisors. In the meanwhile she worked as a lecturer at the Department of Clinical Psychology (UvA). From 2002 till 2009 she was assistant professor Clinical Neuropsychology at the Department of Psychonomics (UvA). In the summer of 2008, she visited the M.I.N.D institute of UC Davis (California) for a three month period to work with dr. B. Corbett and dr. M. Solomon.
Research Interests
The main focus of her work is on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), two of the major neurodevelopmental disorders. ASD and ADHD have some salient overlapping clinical characteristics, but the distinctiveness of these disorders is also apparent. The idea is that these disorders have some shared disrupted developmental pathways which can be studied by focusing on cognition and behavior. The main question of her work is whether there are dissociations between these neurodevelopmental disorders and how we can account for the overlap. She focuses on cognitive control (inhibition, cognitive flexibility), intra individual variability, and reinforcement learning across the life span. Recent ongoing projects focus on how deficient processes in people with ADHD and ASD can be ameliorated. Most of these studies are behavioural studies in children (4 to 16 years) and adults (20+ and even 55+ years). People who want to particpate in her studies are always welcome, please see for more information www.adhd-autisme.nl (in Dutch).
Selected publications
Please, see for overview of publications the publications page at the top of this website
Geurts, H.M., Corbett, B., & Solomon., M (2009). The paradox of cognitive flexibility in autism. Trends in Cognitive Science, 13, 74-82.
Geurts, H.M., Meel, van K., & Luman., M., (2008). What’s in a Game: The Effect of Social Motivation on Interference Control in Boys with ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 848-857.
Geurts, H.M., van der Oord, S., & Crone, E.C. (2006). Hot and cool aspects of cognitive control in children with ADHD: Decision-making and inhibition. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34, 811-822.
Geurts, H. M., Verté, S., Oosterlaan, J., Roeyers, H., & Sergeant, J. A. (2004). How specific are executive functioning deficits in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and autism? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 836-854.