DOCTRID-MSU Hegarty Fellows

Fellows List

Sarah Louise Curtiss, Ph.D.

University: Michigan State University and Trinity College Dublin

Supervisor: Prof. Louise Gallagher

Email: Curti152@msu.edu

I study the lived experience of individuals with autism, their families, and support professionals. I then consider how to apply that understanding to create programs that foster resilience and facilitate positive development. My research is applied and has led to projects on human sexuality education, social skills, and family mealtimes. Throughout my research, I situate individuals with autism in context – in families, communities, schools, service systems, and cultures. My goal in doing this is to understand how to support and structure the systems that affect youth with autism.

As a Hegarty fellow, I am excited to continue this program of research in a collaborative, international, and interdisciplinary environment.  I am co-located in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education at Michigan State University and the Department of Psychiatry at Trinity College, Dublin.  I completed my Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During my fellowship, I will be working with Drs. Gloria Lee, Kristin Rispoli, and Louise Gallagher on online parent education, transition, and health.