Matt Harrison

Associate Professor Matthew Harrison serves as Associate Professor in Learning Intervention within the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. He earned his PhD in Education from the Melbourne Graduate School of Education between 2015 and 2020. An experienced teacher, researcher, and digital creator, Harrison advocates for the use of cooperative digital games and technologies to develop social skills and understanding among neurotypical and neurodiverse students, particularly those with autism and ADHD. His work emphasizes social inclusion, neurodiversity, collaborative gaming programs, eSports, virtual reality in education, and supporting neurodiverse teens in fostering collaboration and belonging.

Harrison leads projects in the Learning Intervention team and is co-founder and Chief Research Officer of Next Level Collaboration, a strength- and interest-based social capacity building program derived from his doctoral research. His key publications include the book Using video games to level up collaboration for students: A fun, practical way to support social-emotional skills development (Routledge, 2022). Notable peer-reviewed papers are 'Repeating purposefully: Empowering educators with functional communication models of echolalia in Autism' (Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 2022; 54 citations), 'Overcoming barriers to inclusion in education in India: A scoping review' (Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 2022; 35 citations), '‘Let me tell you, I see echolalia as being a part of my son’s identity’: Exploring echolalia as an expression of neurodiversity from a parental perspective' (Autism, 2024; 16 citations), 'Echolalia as defined by parent communication partners' (Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 2023; 16 citations), and 'Neurodiversity and digital inclusion: creating the conditions for inclusive education through universal design for learning' (2024; 10 citations). He has also published articles in Pursuit by the University of Melbourne, including 'How gaming is finding its place in education' (2025), 'Why Autistic Barbie matters' (2026), 'Supporting kids’ social lives, without social media,' 'How a gaming program is giving neurodivergent kids a power up,' and 'It’s OK for kids to lose: 10 tips and tricks for playing games with the kids these holidays.' Harrison's contributions advance inclusive education practices through neuro-affirming approaches and gaming interventions.

Professional Email: matthew.harrison@unimelb.edu.au