February 2025
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!
Dissemination
Teresa Girolamo & 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.
December 2024
Awards & Grants
Teresa Girolamo received an NIH-NIDCD Early Career Research R21 award (1R21DC021769)! In this three-year project, we will develop new communication assessment tools for autism.
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. HyeKyeung Seung, Professor & Chair of Communication Sciences & Disorders at California State University, Fullerton, spoke about her journey in CSD!
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.
November 2024
Awards & Grants
Teresa Girolamo and Abby Asare received a Weber Honors College Research Fellowship! This awards program matches undergraduate honors students with faculty to gain valuable experience as volunteer research assistants. Abby will support a project with campus and community partners on the experiences of autistic adults!
Student News
Ainsley was selected for a student American Speech-Language-Hearing Association award! This prestigious award provides leadership programming to 40 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 Convention. Congratulations, Ainsley!
October 2024
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!
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!
September 2024
Dissemination
Teresa Girolamo, lab alumna Alicia & Kyle presented at the 2024 Stanford Summit, focusing on research and initiatives to improve post-secondary outcomes in autism!
August 2024
Awards & Grants
Teresa Girolamo 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 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s PROmoting the next GENeration of Researchers (PROGENY) Program and received awards for being among the 10 PROGENY participants with the top-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 present and connect with others at the ASHA Convention to build a student-led learning network for autism and host an interprofessional speaker series.
July 2024
Awards & Grants
Teresa Girolamo received a Clinical Practice Research Institute Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association to prepare and submit a grant proposal with mentorship from senior experts across disciplines.
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. Congratulations, Ainsley and Brianna!
Edith, incoming AuD student, received an NIDCD-funded ASHA Research Mentoring-Pair Travel Award (RMPTA) with Teresa Girolamo to attend this year’s research symposium at the ASHA Convention on genetics in communication sciences & disorders. She is the third SDSU student – and first non-PhD student – since 2018 to receive RMPTA. Congratulations, Edith!
June 2024
Student News
Ainsley received a CSU STEM-NET Summer Student Research Award to conduct research on language variation in autism. Fewer than 10 students receive this CSU-wide award each year. Congratulations, Ainsley!
Community Engagement
The lab hosted a workshop 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 Connection
Teresa Girolamo & Kyle Greene-Pendelton 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.
May 2024
Community Engagement
Teresa Girolamo was featured on Spectrum Spotlight, the Mentoring Autistic Minds podcast, to talk about the experiences of autistic adolescents preparing to enter adulthood.
Interprofessional Connection
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 Connection
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 Girolamo 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 Connection
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
Community Engagement
Teresa Girolamo was featured on the Moments of Joy podcast to talk about robust sampling in autism research. Follow podcast host Camille here.