Dr Fiona Rillotta

Senior Lecturer in Disability and Community Inclusions

College of Nursing and Health Sciences

place Sturt South (S275)
GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia

Dr Fiona Rillotta is a Senior Lecturer in Disability and Community Inclusion in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. She has a PhD in Psychology, and Bachelor of Social Science (Hons). She has coordinated, lectured and tutored in many undergraduate & postrgraduate topics in disability programs, and also has experience as Course Coordinator, Honours Coordinator & First Year Coordinator.

In Dec 2022 Fiona was invited to give evidence to Disability Royal Commission - vision for inclusive Australia.

Fiona has been awarded: College of Nursing and Health Sciences Vice President & Executive Dean's Research Award for Mid Career Researcher (2019), Impact Seed Funding for Early Career Researchers (2019), Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching (2017), and Australasian Research Prize (2007) -innovative contribution resulting in positive life changes for people with intellectual disability.

Fiona’s research includes: inclusive university for people with intellectual disability; enhancing social networks of adults with intellectual disability; family quality of life; and attitudes towards intellectual disability. Fiona has published several journal articles and three book chapters. She is Primary Supervisor to two PhD students; has attended/ presented at several national/ international conferences; and is peer reviewer for international journals.

She has been working with people with disabilities of various settings since 2001, including: supporting inclusion of adults with intellectual disability at university and in the community; self advocacy training/ mentoring for adults with intellectual disability; program evaluation; disability awareness; school classroom support for students with disability; and training/ supervising Special Olympics leaders.

Fiona is well connected internationally and she is an executive committee member of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD) - Inclusive Education Special Interest Research Group and Quality of Life Special Interest Research Group.

Qualifications

PhD Psychology,The University of Adelaide, 2011

Bachelor of Arts (Honours), The University of Adelaide, 2004

Bachelor of Social Science, The University of Adelaide, 2003

Honours, awards and grants

2021-2024 Australian Research Council, Linkage Project (LP200200326). Choosing the way forward: addressing post-parental housing transition needs of adults with intellectual disability and their older family carers. Walker, R., Bigby, C., Wiesel, I., Rillotta, F. & Hutchinson, C.

2021-2022 National Disability Research Partnership (NDRP) Grant. Designing a Continuum of Best Practices for the Inclusion of Students with Intellectual Disabilities in Higher Education.Wedgewood, N., O’Donovan, M., Rillotta, F.

2020-2023 South Australian Council on Intellectual Disability Evaluation. Strengthening involvement of people with intellectual disability. Rillotta, F., Robinson, S., & Idle, J.

2019 Vice President & Executive Dean's Research Award for Mid Career Researcher, College of Nursing and Health Sciences

2019 Impact Seed Funding for Early Career Researchers - "Further Up the Hill" – 20 years of inclusion of people with intellectual disability at university: Where to Next?

2017 Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching - The Up the Hill Project -An innovative, structured and sustained Work-Integrated Learning program in Disability and Community Inclusion that responds to student, community and industry needs.

2013 Faculty of Health Sciences Establishment Grant $10,000 - The Up the Hill Project - Post-Secondary Education for people with an intellectual disability at Flinders University: Areview of participant and mentor characteristics and outcomes.

2007 Australasian Research Prize - Australasian Society for the Study of Intellectual Disability (ASSID). Effects of an awareness program on attitudes of students without an intellectual disability towards persons with an intellectual disability. Paper judged to be the most innovative contribution resulting in positive life changes for people with an intellectual disability.

Key responsibilities

Chief Investigator, Researcher, Topic Coordinator, Lecturer, Tutor, Research Student Supervisor

Teaching interests
  • Advocacy
  • Intellectual disability
  • Learning and behaviour
  • Diversity
  • Families with a member with a disability
  • Persectives of disability
Topic coordinator
DSRS9054 Directed Study
DSRS2239 Introduction to Principles of Learning
DSRS4105 Independent Study
DSRS2220 Advocacy and Working in Partnership
HLTH7013 Research Methods 1
Supervisory interests
Attitudes and awareness
Higher education for people with intellectual disability
Inclusive practices
Inclusive research
Intellectual disability
Quality of life for people with disabilities
Self-advocacy
Self-determination
Higher degree by research supervision
Current
Principal supervisor: Autism Spectrum Disorder and Higher Education (1), Inclusive Research and self advocacy in South Australia (1), Emotional impact of acquiring a Guide Dog (1)