Personal Research, Projects, and CV
I am always involved in lots of personal growth projects and independent research. Recently, I have been doing the following:
Beyond Empathy: Validation of Emotion Differences in Autistic Culture As emotion perception and expression are culturally constructed, therefore the differences in autistic expression should be seen as culturally relevant rather than viewed entirely through a medical/disability lens.
Language of Emotion I am interested in the language of emotion: how we learn to use language to express our feelings, how we can improve this ability, how different cultures develop particular emotion vocabularies as opposed to others, and what influences this language development.
How Do You Know? I am working on a project about how children know things so that I can write a children's style book about processing information via the 5 senses and from memories. I am interested in teaching neurodiverse individuals to express "I know because I ___ it," i.e. "I know because I saw it" or "I know because I remember..." This way, they can properly advocate for themselves, debate using their perspectives, and defeat misinformation about potentially harmful events.
Emotion regulation as a result of environment and culture: I am interested in how emotion regulation is taught through natural environment teaching for neurotypical and neurodiverse children. I have given many talks on the matter of "teaching through play" and love reading research about the socialization and cultural aspects of emotion regulation, including what children are expected to do and say in response to adverse events within their homes and schools, and how cultural differences impact how children learn to self regulate.
Play and outdoor activity as a "right" for children. People talk about how important it is for children to get outside and play (and to reduce their screen time). I have been researching outdoor access from a human rights perspective, especially considering that children in urban environments and those with disabilities are often at a disadvantage, not having access to clean, safe, outdoor spaces in which to play. Also, I am interested in risky play as a natural avenue for teaching problem-solving and risk-taking.
Of Palaces and Projects I am working on a book about the disparities in mental healthcare from a clinical perspective. I have been slowly acquiring stories and experiences over many years and plan to complete it during and after my Ph.D. program. This book will be about the experiences of health care professionals, specifically working in therapy settings for children, and how differences in socioeconomic status impact access to, and quality of, treatment options. Further, this book will highlight similarities among parents, regardless of demographic differences, in their fight to find the best care for their children.