Alison Lane, PhD, OTR/L

Nisonger Center UCDD The Ohio State University Occupational Therapy 614-247-6392 alison.lane@osumc.edu

Discipline(s):
Occupational Therapy

Education
My teaching responsibilities are primarily in the Masters of Occupational Therapy program in the School of Allied Medical Professions. I prepare these professional students in professional skills and behaviors, research methods, evidence-based practice and pediatric occupational therapy evaluation. I also provide an Advanced Topics course for PhD and research Masters students in the school in the area of interdisciplinary research. Throughout the year, I offer independent study experiences to graduate students interested in enhancing their research and evidence-based practice skills.

Research
My research focuses on understanding the contribution of sensory processing dysfunction to characteristic autism behaviors. My recent work has revealed three distinct sensory subtypes within Autistic Disorder that may explain different patterns of adaptive behavior. I am extending this work to Asperger’s Disorder. In other studies, I am examining associations between sensory processing function and problem eating behaviors, motor function and handwriting performance. I am collaborating with faculty in cognitive psychology to determine if sensory processing dysfunction can be detected in children at-risk of, and with an autism diagnosis using Event Related Potentials (ERP).

Service
Through the LEND program, I provide occupational therapy evaluation services to the Autism Clinic at Nisonger Center. I am also on the Editorial Boards for two occupational therapy journals – Occupational Therapy Journal of Research and the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal – and provide ad hoc reviews for manuscripts submitted to these journals as well as the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. I am currently a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, the Ohio Occupational Therapy Association and the International Society for Autism Research. I am the faculty advisor for the Occupational Therapy Students Honors Society – Phi Theta Epsilon.