Description of Research Expertise

My current research is grounded in developing methodology to assess affordances and barriers within the built environment and interstitial public spaces for individuals with autism. These efforts include autistic co-investigators. My work at MIXdesign has been presented internationally at the International Society for Autism Research as well as at the World Congress in Architecture, where I gave a panel presentation (“Multi-Sensory Wayfinding: Lessons from the Margins Towards the Design of Equitable and Healthy Spaces”) and moderated a scientific session on architecture and neurodiversity. I continue to develop research collaborations leveraging the complimentary skills of the artistic and scientific fields to better document and problem-solve barriers to autistic participation within hospitals, universities, museums and the outdoor spaces that run through campuses and cities.

I am active, contributing member of the First Place Translational Research Consortium, a national team of trisector leaders committed to coordinating investigation of neuroinclusive housing and its outcomes for residents as well as documenting economic and community impacts. I work on several core projects at the Institute for Exceptional Care, an organization focused on transforming healthcare for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This body of work supported my recruitment to a National Science Foundation thinktank on “Engineering Design to Equip a Neurodiverse Workforce.”

I am a contributor on a Dutch government grant entitled, “Building 4 Belonging,” through the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA), PI Carolien Rieff, University of Twente. This project, with international collaborators, seeks to study loneliness in autistic adolescents during the school day using novel heat mapping, smart watches with pop-up questions, and interviews. I led a Department of Pediatrics Chair’s Initiative on Clinical Event Debriefing that centered on a mixed methods multidisciplinary needs assessment and quality improvement project across the ED, PICU, NICU, oncology unit, and general medicine. This produced several publications and served as a foundation for CHOP organizational practice improvement. Recently, I co-authored a scoping review with national leaders in autism: “Optimizing Care for Autistic Patients in Healthcare Settings: A Scoping Review and Call to Action,” that was submitted in July 2023 to Hospital Pediatrics.

Newest projects include piloting the use of telehealth to support diagnostic capacity for autism within the Indian Health Service and as a consultant for Behavioral Imaging, a virtual care platform to bring behavioral health service providers as support to adult health care teams. I am also collaborating with the University of Pennsylvania Digital Humanities Lab to analyze static and moving images of autistic experiences in different spaces to highlight affordances.

I have been an active research mentor for undergraduates and fellows in Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Behavioral Health, as well as an advocacy mentor for multiple LEND fellows (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities) concentrating on autism.

Description of Clinical Expertise

I have developed deep expertise in the assessment and care of autistic youth in acute care and other hospital-based settings. My focus centers on understanding how autistic individuals are vulnerable within health care systems. Specifically, I led clinical program development supported by research initiatives to shape a comprehensive approach to the care of autistic children and those with related social and developmental disabilities within the hospital environment. Much of this work centered on translating successful interventions for autistic children within educational systems to health care settings. Additionally, I have helped to build capacity within the hospital for creating interdisciplinary advanced care plans for patients with behavioral health needs and improving resources, tools, documentation and supports to allow for high quality, safe, and effective evaluation and treatment. This work is helping to shape the landscape of this emerging health care concept nationally, as it is more forward thinking and further evolved than initiatives at peer institutions. Most recently, I have been recruited to multiple local and national streams of work dedicated to developing capacity for autism expertise within adult health care systems. This work has advanced robust programming within medical systems for educational, quality and safety initiatives. I have been asked to join the Innovation Catalyst Program "Optimizing the Care Continuum for Patients with Neurodevelopmental Differences" as well as a new Autism Family Advisory Council at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. I continue to share models for community inclusion and exemplary care practices for autistic individuals within national and international academic platforms, in peer-reviewed manuscripts and within lay media, including Sports Illustrated and 60 Minutes as well as through opinion-editorial pieces.

Description of Other Expertise

I am a founding member of MIXdesign, an inclusive-design consultancy of experts in architecture, design, public health, diversity and inclusion, and policy and have partnerships with several other architectural firms centered in inclusive design. I have formal training in Social Impact Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice and apply this background in work to advance a novel investigative methodology through which to study the impact of the built environment on autistic populations using public health tools, metrics, and measures. Importantly, I co-authored work presented at the Autism Europe Congress exposing the intersections and divergences between autistic priorities for accommodations within the built environment and those described in published design frameworks. I was invited to an elite roundtable discussion at this Congress on “Effective Public Education/ Acceptance Campaigns” to support the Irish Department of Children, Disability and Equality in developing Ireland’s Autism Innovation Strategy.

I am a board member of the Institute for Human Centered Design; here I am working to develop design guidelines acknowledging the needed accommodations for people with behavioral, developmental and cognitive disabilities. As well, I am active in legislative advocacy on Capitol Hill and with Pennsylvania State Government on health-related concerns and benefits for autistic patients. I attend several international conferences each year to present novel approaches to interdisciplinary collaboration around supporting community mobility and access for autistic individuals and co-developed a symposium at Yale University, "Mind the Gap: Neurodivergence and Art Museums,” to discuss recent developments in the accessibility and ease of experiencing cultural spaces and future possibilities for the inclusion of neurodivergent audiences.

Through coursework, “Mastering the Art of Writing Op-Eds in Health Policy” at the University of Pennsylvania Leonard Davis Institute I have refined skills in opinion-editorial writing. I authored an article, “Dismantle Barriers that prevent Disabled Americans from Voting” in the Philadelphia Inquirer in October 2024. I have a second editorial “Proud Gang Member” being considered for publication; this implores funders to support resource allocation for developing capacity within adult health care systems for autistic adults. A third piece under development calls attention to the largely unrecognized impact of intimate partner violence experienced by autistic women.