The mission of the Disparity Reduction and Equity in Autism Services (DREAmS) Lab, led by Dr. Amber Angell, is to identify, measure, understand, and reduce disparities in autism diagnosis and services. The lab is composed of a multidisciplinary team of researchers, clinicians, students, and volunteers who use a range of health services and clinical informatics research methods, and a participatory, community-engaged research approach. Current projects focus on: 1) the autism ‘diagnostic odyssey’ for girls, 2) mental health services for autistic children and youth, and 3) gastrointestinal (GI) problems that co-occur with autism across the lifespan.
Gastrointestinal (GI) problems are among the most common concern reported by families of autistic children and youth, but efforts to understand the nuances of GI symptoms are stymied by a lack of longitudinal research using real-world clinical datasets. We will use a multimethod, participatory…
Delayed diagnosis and under-identification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have significant personal, public health, and economic impacts; and girls and Latino children are disproportionately impacted by this problem, in part because clinicians are less likely to recognize ASD risk factors in them…
Autistic youth have high utilization of acute psychiatric healthcare, including psychiatric hospitalizations and using the emergency department for psychiatric reasons, which may indicate that they do not receive sufficient lower-level health services. Community-based therapeutic services like…
Girls and women are increasingly identified and diagnosed with autism; however, very little research has focused on their health and healthcare needs. Emerging research suggests that autistic women may face disparities in women’s healthcare access and utilization compared to neurotypical…
Pre-pandemic, telehealth occupational therapy (OT) for autistic children appeared promising, but research was limited. The pandemic provided a unique opportunity to investigate how clinics transitioned to telehealth. The purpose of this study was to examine barriers and facilitators that influenced delivery of OT services through telehealth for autistic children during the pandemic. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 13 participants (three administrators, six OTs, and four parents of autistic children) at three Los Angeles area clinics over a 7-month period. We used narrative and thematic analysis to identify four themes. We identified (a) Challenges and (b) Facilitators to Conducting Telehealth OT, including practical strategies for successful facilitation, and (c) Negative and (d) Positive Outcomes of Conducting Telehealth OT. As telehealth will likely remain a viable means of OT service delivery in the future, our findings provide insight into ways that it can be improved and sustained.
July 10, 2024
New article explores how occupational science might reconcile authentic belonging and autistic camouflaging among intersectional populations.
