You can find lab publications here. This page includes mostly non-publication-related news!
September 2025
Awards & Honors
Teresa was selected to be co-chair, along with Dr. Shubha Kashinath, of the 2026 ASHA Convention Topic Committee for Considerations for Autistic and Neurodivergent Populations Across the Lifespan! Along with other topic committee chairs (pictured below), they will shape programming for the premier annual meeting for speech-language hearing. She was also selected to serve on the International Society for Autism Research Early Career Committee, which provides programming and support to junior faculty in building academic research careers.
Student News
The lab received a College of Health & Human Services Instructionally Related Activities (IRA) Award! Led by undergraduate sophomore Abby (Advisor: Teresa), in this proposed project, students will expand upon previous efforts – also supported by an IRA award – to build infrastructure for alt-ac career pathways, focusing on language and learning in neurodivergent populations. Activities include a hands-on workshop and mentorship that spans different disciplines in higher education and parts of industry!
August 2025
Awards & Honors
Teresa was selected as the incoming editor-in-chief for Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, including the following areas: Language Learning and Education, Fluency and Fluency Disorders, Craniofacial and Velopharyngeal Disorders, Augmentative and Alternative Communication, and School-Based Issues. She is the first SDSU faculty member to serve as editor-in-chief of an ASHA journal!
Community Engagement
Teresa and lab alumna Alicia Escobedo presented about self-determination at a conference hosted by with community partner Mentoring Autistic Minds. We are grateful to Mentoring Autistic Minds for inviting us to present and to attendees.
Dissemination
The lab’s work was mentioned in a Times of San Diego article about the Mentoring Autistic Minds conference, San Diego nonprofit hosts conference on neurodiversity-affirming care future. Also, a paper co-authored by lab alumna Alicia Escobedo and first-authored by Teresa was accepted to Autism. This is the third Autism article co-authored with student mentees and the second article resulting from Dr. Escobedo’s lab rotation during her time in the SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders!
Student News
Ainsley was selected to be a Student Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Graduate Mentor! She will serve as an ambassador to the College of Health & Human Services (CHHS), be a peer mentor for Student Undergraduate Research Program students, and represent CHHS students on the Student Research Committee.
June-July 2025
Awards & Honors
Teresa received one of 11 ASHA Early Career Contributions in Research Awards, which is designed to acknowledge significant scientific accomplishments by early career researchers beyond the dissertation. She is the first SDSU faculty member to receive this award!
Interprofessional Collaboration
Teresa collaborated with Samantha Ghali and Alicia Escobedo to mentor Ainsley in successfully applying to ASHA SPARC. Thank you to Alicia and Samantha for coming together to support the next generation of clinician scientists!
Dissemination
The lab had 4/4 submitted abstracts accepted to the 2025 ASHA Convention! Three are student first-authored or co-authored presentations, including an invited session on self-determination on autism and two posters on caregiver linguistic input to minimally speaking autistic youth and language skills in autism. One session is a panel with UF department chair Charles Ellis, UW department chair Sara Kover, and MUSC associate professor & admissions co-chair Sabrina Horvath that will address models to cultivate student talent and workforce readiness in communication sciences and disorders. Congratulations to Ainsley, Alicia & Natalie, and thank you to Speech-Language Clinic Director Taylor Hye & clinical faculty member Danaee Donovan for collaborating on these projects as leading and senior authors!
Student News
Lab members received several awards and honors. Ainsley, a SDSU graduate and an incoming MA-SLP student, received one of 14 ASHA Students Preparing for Academic-Research Careers (SPARC) Awards! Her project focuses on research translation to increase quality of care in service delivery. Alicia, a Joint Doctoral Program in Language & Communicative Disorders graduate who did a lab rotation, received one of 10 ASHA Advancing Academic-Research Careers (AARC) Awards. Finally, senior undergraduates Kelsey and Natalie were accepted to San Diego LEND as medium-term trainees!
May 2025
Awards & Honors
Teresa and lab members received mentored research awards. Undergraduate junior Clarisse received a CSU Biotech Presidents’ Commission Scholar Grant, one of 11 awards across all CSU schools. This participatory project focuses on human-centered design in neuroscience. Another undergraduate junior, Kelsey, received an SDSU Student Undergraduate Research Program Award, with Sonja Pruitt-Lord as a co-mentor. This award will support analysis of unconventional language in autism.
Dissemination
Teresa moderated the Student/Trainee Workshop and gave an invited panel at the International Society for Autism Research Annual Meeting on participatory autism research. Many thanks to the INSAR Student/Trainee Committee and to the Scientific Committee!
Student News
The lab received an SDSU Student Success Fee award to support interprofessional learning beyond the classroom, focusing on language in autism.
April 2025
Awards & Honors
Teresa received an SDSU Assigned Time Award for Exceptional Service. This time will be spent formalizing our lab-internal student resources to help students across campus (and beyond) navigate opportunities for student funding and career development, focusing on communication sciences and disorders and autism.
Interprofessional Collaboration
Erin Isbilen visited us as our last SDSU Rising Stars Lecture Series speaker of the year. Many thanks to the SDSU Division of Research & Innovation and to Co-Sponsor Inna Fishman in Psychology!
Dissemination
Teresa gave an invited panel at the Society for Biological Psychiatry Annual Meeting on quality scanning and robust sampling in neuroscience and psychiatry. Many thanks to the Community Engagement Committee!
March 2025
Awards & Honors
Teresa received a Weber Honors College Community Engagement Fellowship as Faculty Adviser! This awards program matches undergraduate honors students with faculty to gain high-impact learning experiences and interdisciplinary learning as research assistants.
Dissemination
Teresa visited Boys Town Research National Hospital as part of their T32 seminar series to share some of the lab’s work and new projects. Thank you to Sponsor Brittany Williams!
Interprofessional Collaboration
Sabrina Horvath and Nichol Castro each visited us as part of SDSU Rising Stars Lecture Series. Many thanks to the SDSU Division of Research & Innovation and to Nichol’s Co-Sponsor, Marí Luís Zúñiga in the School of Social Work!
February 2025
Dissemination
Teresa & Alicia spoke to healthcare practitioners, self-advocates, and family members at San Diego LEND about working to develop research that is clinically relevant and supports communication.
Interprofessional Collaboration
Kristy Johnson visited us as part of SDSU Rising Stars Lecture Series. Many thanks to Co-Sponsor Jessica Suhrheinrich in the College of Education and the SDSU Division of Research & Innovation!
December 2024
Awards & Honors
Teresa received an NIH-NIDCD Early Career Research R21 award (1R21DC021769)! In this three-year project, we will develop new communication assessment tools for autism.
Dissemination
Students had a successful trip to the 2024 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention! From left to right, top to bottom: 1) First author Ainsley and co-authors Teresa, Natalie & Makenna presenting an ASHA Visionary Session & ASHA PROGENY award-winning poster; 2) Ainsley and ASHA CEO Vicki Deal-Williams; 3) Teresa, Makenna, and Natalie meeting with Holly Storkel; 4) Teresa (L) and Edith (R), AuD student, at the NIDCD-funded Research Symposium as an RMPTA awardee pair; 5) Makenna, Ainsley, Alicia & Teresa presenting an invited panel.
Interprofessional Collaboration
Thank you to our visiting scholars for speaking to us about their work! Sara Kover, Associate Professor & Graduate Program Director of Speech and Hearing Sciences at University of Washington, spoke about her research and graduate training in educational psychology. HyeKyeung Seung, Professor & Chair of Communication Sciences & Disorders at California State University, Fullerton, spoke about her interdisciplinary career pathway to CSD!
November 2024
Awards & Honors
Teresa Girolamo and Abby received a Weber Honors College Research Fellowship! This awards program matches undergraduate honors students with faculty to gain valuable research experience. Abby will support a project with campus and community partners on the experiences of autistic adults!
Student News
Ainsley received one of 40 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association MSLP awards! This national award provides leadership programming to undergraduate senior and graduate students in communication sciences and disorders. Along with her other ASHA awards and honors, it is impressive that this is Ainsley’s first-ever time attending the Convention. Congratulations, Ainsley!
October 2024
Dissemination
Teresa Girolamo visited Vanderbilt Hearing & Speech Sciences as part of their October seminar series to share some of the lab’s work and new projects. An unexpected perk was visiting labs on Music Row!
Student News
Artah was selected to be a Student Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Graduate Mentor! Artah will serve as an ambassador to the College of Health & Human Services (CHHS), be a peer mentor for SURP students, and represent CHHS students on the Student Research Committee. Congratulations, Artah!
September 2024
Dissemination
Teresa, lab alumna Alicia, and lab partner Kyle presented at the 2024 Stanford Summit, focusing on research and initiatives to improve post-secondary outcomes in autism!
August 2024
Awards & Honors
Teresa and Mentoring Autistic Minds were awarded the inaugural Community Scholar Grant from Drexel University’s Autism Transitions Research Project. Our project will examine the experiences of post-secondary autistic students in order to identify research priorities.
Student News
A student first-authored ASHA presentation, “Unmet Service Needs and Barriers in Autistic Adolescents and Adults”, was designated as an ASHA Convention Visionary Session, which is awarded to just 150 of 3,300 (4.5%) sessions! Congratulations to Ainsley, Brianna, Makenna & Alicia! Ainsley and Brianna were selected to participate in the ASHA PROmoting the next GENeration of Researchers (PROGENY) Program and received awards for having top 10-rated posters!
Students in the lab & NSSLHA, including Brianna, received two College of Health & Human Services Instructionally Related Activities Awards to support student-led interprofessional programming with faculty mentors Teresa Girolamo and Taylor Hye! Students will build a student-led learning network for autism and host an interprofessional speaker series.
July 2024
Awards & Honors
Teresa received one of 2 ASHA Clinical Practice Research Institute Awards to prepare and submit a grant proposal focusing on evidence-based practice research with mentorship from senior experts. Many thanks to Letty Naigles from UConn, Alfonso Martinez from Fordham, and Jessica Suhrheinrich from SDSU!
Student News
Ainsley and Brianna, SLHS undergraduate students, had accepted first-author ASHA presentations, with student co-authors Makenna, Noa, and mentorship from Alicia Escobedo! Ainsley and Brianna also received SDSU CHHS Travel Awards to present their work.
Edith, AuD student, received an NIDCD-funded ASHA Research Mentoring-Pair Travel Award (RMPTA) with Teresa as faculty mentor to attend the ASHA Convention Research Symposium on genetics in communication sciences & disorders. She is the third SDSU student – and first clinical doctoral student – since 2018 to receive RMPTA. Congratulations to all!
June 2024
Dissemination
The lab hosted a workshop with community partner Mentoring Autistic Minds. We enjoyed learning together about what is important to people in the community. It also helped us develop new ways to work together on projects!
Interprofessional Collaboration
Teresa & lab partner Kyle spoke with SDSU Project MAINSAIL alumni about quality of care in service delivery. Project MAINSAIL was an interdisciplinary program funded by the Department of Education Office of Special Education Preparation to prepare early childhood special educators and speech-language pathologists.
Student News
Ainsley received one of <10 CSU STEM-NET Summer Student Research Awards to conduct research on language variation in autism. Congratulations, Ainsley!
May 2024
Dissemination
Teresa was featured on Spectrum Spotlight, the Mentoring Autistic Minds podcast, to talk about the experiences of autistic adolescents preparing to enter adulthood.
Interprofessional Collaboration
Our lab presented on the transition to adulthood in autism to multidisciplinary health professionals via the Autism Research & Practice Continuing Medical Education Seminar at UC San Diego/Rady Children’s Hospital. We enjoyed learning from healthcare practitioners about their clinical practice needs, priorities, and experiences!
April 2024
Interprofessional Collaboration
Our lab presented a workshop series to campus community workers on communication in autism in partnership with University Police Department! Many thanks to campus professionals for sharing their insight.
Teresa spoke to multidisciplinary healthcare practitioners, self-advocates, and family members at San Diego LEND about assessment development for self-determination.
Student News
Ainsley and Brianna were accepted as San Diego Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Other Related Disabilities (LEND) mid-term trainees, a unique, interdisciplinary leadership training program funded by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. Congratulations, Ainsley & Brianna!
February 2024
Interprofessional Collaboration
Our lab presented a workshop series to faculty and staff across campus on autism and neurodevelopmental disorders in the classroom. Many thanks to our campus partners for inviting us!
March 2023
Dissemination
Teresa was featured on the Moments of Joy podcast to talk about robust sampling in autism research. Follow podcast host Camille here.