Elizabeth Choi-Tucci MS, CCC-SLP(she, her)
Faculty Mentor:
Grace Baranek PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA
Research Lab: Innovations in Neurodevelopmental Sensory Processing Research (insp!re)
Year of Entry: 2018
My career interests include bridging the knowledge gaps between occupational science and speech, language, and hearing sciences and moving both disciplines and related professions toward societal and global action. I hope to contribute to the development and support of multidisciplinary knowledge mobilization teams and research-clinical-stakeholder partnerships.
The Parent Expectations, Aspirations, and Concerns for Children (PEACCh) study is my mixed-methods dissertation project exploring the impact of sociocultural/socioeconomic and birth-related influences on infant development. One major goal of this research is to address persistent disparities in autism diagnoses that impact families from historically marginalized groups. Using an intersectional framework, I am explicitly incorporating sociodemographic factors as interdependent, intertwined, and reflective of social and power dynamics (such as racism and oppression). Part of my research includes using narrative-based interviews to gain a contextualized understanding of one aspect of developmental surveillance — caregiver concerns — that is crucial for taking steps toward addressing existing service gaps, changing public policies for promoting infant and child health, and improving early infant care.
In the insp!re lab, I am supporting research in the Sensory and Social Development in Infants and Toddlers project, a longitudinal study examining individual differences in sensory regulation and social communication development in infants using biobehavioral and neurophysiological measures. I was also the project coordinator of the Southern California Child Development Survey, an ongoing study to obtain norms on early sensory regulation and social communication development in 6- to 16-month-old infants through parent report.
Education
Master of Science (MS)
in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
2017 | University of Arizona
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
in Applied Linguistics
2011 | University of California, Los Angeles
Selected Publications
Book Chapters
Isaac, N., & Choi, E. (2018). Infant anatomy and physiology for feeding. In S. H. Campbell, J. Lauwers, R., Mannel, & B. Spencer (Eds.), Core curriculum for interdisciplinary lactation care (pp. 37-55). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Full text
Journal Articles
Campi, E., Choi, E., Chen, Y.-J., Holland, C. M., Bristol, S., Sideris, J., Crais, E. R., Watson, L. R., & Baranek, G. T. (2022). Sensory reactivity of infants at elevated likelihood of autism and associations with caregiver responsiveness. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05764-z Show abstract
Infants at elevated likelihood of developing autism display differences in sensory reactivity, especially hyporeactivity, as early as 7 months of age, potentially contributing to a developmental cascade of autism symptoms. Caregiver responsiveness, which has been linked to positive social communication outcomes, has not been adequately examined with regard to infant sensory reactivity. This study examined the multiplicative impact of infant sensory hypo- and hyperreactivity on caregiver responsiveness to sensory reactivity and regulation cues in 43 infants at elevated likelihood of autism. Sensory hyperreactivity was found to moderate the association between sensory hyporeactivity and caregiver responsiveness, such that caregivers of infants with moderately high sensory hypo- and hyperreactivity demonstrated higher responsiveness.
Keywords. Early risk signs; Sensory reactivity; Caregiver responsiveness; Community sample
Conference Presentations/Proceedings
Campi, E., Sideris, J., Holland, C., Sopkin, E., Chen, Y.-J., Choi, E., Agostine, S., Bristol, S., Dallman, A., Wiles, A., Watson, L., Crais, E., & Baranek, G. (2020). Caregiver stress & the association between clinically observed and caregiver-reported sensory responsiveness. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(4_Supplement_1), 7411505245. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S1-PO9209 Show abstract
Sensory-processing challenges are measured by caregiver report and clinician observation and affect many people with autism spectrum disorder and their caregivers. It is unclear how caregiver stress influences the correlation between scores on caregiver reports and observational measures. The present analysis explored correlations between two formats of tools to assess sensory processing and indicated that caregiver stress moderates the association between sensory-seeking scores on the measures.
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