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Nisonger Institute 2023

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When: May 19, 2023 1:00-4:30PM ET
Where: Zoom
Title: ABCs of Inclusive Research: Accessible Measures and Better Therapy Guidelines through Community Engagement

Purpose: To provide a framework and strategies for producing inclusive, authentic, accessible, and actionable research on mental health in intellectual disability (ID) through community engaged research.

PANELISTS:

Panel 1 – On the Value of Engaging the Community in IDD Research: Strategies and Lessons

Andrew Buck, PhD

Andrew Buck, PhD

Andrew Buck is a Research Scientist at The Ohio State University (OSU) Nisonger Center and earned his PhD and MA in Educational Policy from OSU. Dr. Buck facilitates the Disability Experience Expert Panel, a group of research partners with lived disability experience who advise Nisonger’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center project and support knowledge translation activities. He is also part of the center’s Mental Health National Training Initiative team, which is collecting information through interviews, focus groups, and surveys to inform the development of training for disability professionals and mental health providers who treat adults with intellectual and other developmental disabilities in Ohio. Dr. Buck leads the Northeast Hub team on a National Science Foundation INCLUDES Alliance that aims to increase the quantity of students with disabilities earning STEM degrees by scaling-up a mentoring initiative.

Gloria Krahn, PhD

Gloria Krahn, PhD, MPH

Dr. Gloria Krahn PhD, MPH (moderator) is adjunct Professor (retired) at Oregon State University and consults to government, academics and organizations. Previously, Dr. Krahn served as the Barbara E. Knudson Endowed Chair in Family Policy at Oregon State University, director of the Division of Human Development and Disability in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and director of the Oregon Institute on Disability & Development/University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, director of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Health of People with Long Term Disabilities. Her professional interests are to support collaborations for innovative initiatives that promote health and wellbeing, particularly for underserved populations such as people with disabilities. Most recently, she has directed attention to improving population survey and administrative data for persons with intellectual disabilities.

Richard Chapman, PhD

Richard Chapman, PhD

Dr. Richard Chapman is the Assistant Director for Disability Leadership at the Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University. This position is designed to amplify the voices of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, studying self-determination intervention and assessment. He considers himself a disability studies scholar. He conducts research in the area of self-determination. He is a licensed mental health counselor in the state of Florida. He is also a certified rehabilitation counselor. He has a bachelors degree, master’s degree, and a PhD all from the University of South Florida in beautiful Tampa, Florida. He currently lives in Richmond, Virginia.

Jessica Kramer, PhD

Jessica Kramer, PhD

Dr. Kramer’s research draws upon theoretical concepts and methodologies from occupational therapy, disability studies, education and rehabilitation to: 1) Partner with youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in the development and evaluation of rehabilitation products; 2) Develop community-based interventions that equip youth with I/DD and their families with the skills to identify and resolve environmental barriers to participation; and 3) Design high quality patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) using contemporary measurement approaches. Dr. Kramer uses quantitative, qualitative, and participatory approaches to design projects that harness the optimal method needed to answer complex research questions and meet the needs of multiple stakeholders, including youth and young adults with disabilities, their families, and rehabilitation professionals.

Marci Straughter

Marci Straughter 

Ms. Marci Straughter is a Self-Advocacy Consultant, an Ohio Tech Ambassador, a Project STIR Trainer, and Co-Host of the Ohio DD Talks Podcast. Ms. Straughter serves The Ohio State University Nisonger Center in two ways: (1) She is an Advisory Board Member for the Building Bridges project; and (2) She is a Disability Experience Expert Panel member for the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center project. In this role, Ms. Straughter has advised the research team on the development of accessible health measures and collaborated on the translation of scientific manuscripts into clear language products. Ms. Straughter, a Columbus State Community College alum, is the first person with developmental disabilities to ever have a seat on the Franklin County Board of Developmental Disabilities.

Panel 2 – On the Importance of Self-Report in Health Assessment/Research

Walton, Katie

Katherine Walton, PhD

Katherine Walton, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry and Behavior Health at The Ohio State University. She is also the Director of the Nisonger Early Learning Program, which provides early education and early intervention services to young children with and without disabilities. Dr. Walton’s research and clinical interests focus on understanding, assessing, and improving early social communication skills in children with autism. She is also interested in supporting and understanding the experiences of family members of children with autism. Throughout her work, Dr. Walton focuses on integration of stakeholder perspectives and experiences, including actively involving autistic stakeholders and parents as research collaborators.

Andrew Jahoda, PhD

Andrew Jahoda, PhD

Professor Jahoda was appointed as Chair of Learning Disabilities in October 2007, as part of the Glasgow UCEDD. He also works as an Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the Glasgow Learning Disability Partnership. He carried out research for his doctorate at Stirling University and completed his clinical training at Edinburgh University.

Professor Jahoda’s research interests include the mental health and well-being of people with intellectual disabilities, and the contribution made by a range of psychological and social factors. He is also interested in adapting psychotherapeutic approaches, particularly Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, for people with intellectual disabilities.

Recent and current research projects have been funded by the Chief Scientist’s Office, the Baily Thomas Trust and NHS R&D.

Dan Davies

Daniel K. Davies

Daniel K. Davies is the Founder and President of AbleLink Smart Living Technologies, LLC in Colorado Springs. He has been actively involved in research and development of technology for individuals with intellectual and cognitive disabilities for over 30 years. He has been closely associated with issues important to individuals with disabilities and their families, as his oldest brother John lived with severe intellectual and physical disabilities. Mr. Davies has directed over 85 research projects focused on technology and cognitive disabilities consequently in 2006 received the Technology Museum of Innovation’s prestigious Katherine M. Swanson Equality award for “pioneering information technology for individuals with cognitive disabilities.” He has authored over 100 publications, reports and book chapters related to cognitive technology for individuals with disabilities.

Brown, Christine

Christine Brown

Christine Brown is a clinical research assistant and self advocate faculty in the LEND program at The Ohio State University Nisonger Center.

Panel 3 – On Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Adults with ID

Andrea Witwer, PhD

Andrea Witwer, PhD

Dr. Witwer a faculty member of the Intellectual and Developmental Disability Psychology Doctorate Program at Ohio State University and the Associate Director of the Nisonger Center’s Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities Training Program (LEND). Within these roles she provides ongoing interdisciplinary graduate training related to the assessment and treatment of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Clinically, Dr. Witwer is the lead psychologist of the interdisciplinary training clinics at the OSU Nisonger Center serving children, adolescents and young adults with a range of developmental disabilities including autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Witwer supervises psychology graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and provides supervision in the Nisonger Clinics.

Ashley Poling

My name is Ashley Poling. I am 28-year-old from Dublin, Ohio who is a person with lived experience with someone who has a disability. I am also a recent LEND Trainee Graduate as a self-advocate trainee through the Ohio State Nisonger Center. I have been part of the Can you Hear Me Now medical project through the RRTC since 2018 as a DEEP member (Disability Experience Expert Panel). In my free time I like to spend time with my family, listen to music, watch movies, read, and go out in the community.

Andrew Jahoda, PhD

Andrew Jahoda, PhD

Professor Jahoda was appointed as Chair of Learning Disabilities in October 2007, as part of the Glasgow UCEDD. He also works as an Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the Glasgow Learning Disability Partnership. He carried out research for his doctorate at Stirling University and completed his clinical training at Edinburgh University.

Professor Jahoda’s research interests include the mental health and well-being of people with intellectual disabilities, and the contribution made by a range of psychological and social factors. He is also interested in adapting psychotherapeutic approaches, particularly Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, for people with intellectual disabilities.

Recent and current research projects have been funded by the Chief Scientist’s Office, the Baily Thomas Trust and NHS R&D.

Yona Lunsky, PhD

Yona Lunsky, PhD

Yona Lunsky was a trainee at The Ohio State University Nisonger Center between 1994 and 1998 where she earned her PhD in clinical psychology.

She is now a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Temerty Faculty of medicine, University of Toronto, and Director of the Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She is very interested in partnering with people with developmental disabilities and their families to develop innovative approaches to improving mental health.

Nirbhay Singh, PhD

Nirbhay N. Singh, PhD, BCBA-D

Nirbhay N. Singh, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Health Behavior at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia, USA. His current research interests include mindfulness and assistive technology for supporting individuals with severe/profound and multiple disabilities. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders and editor emeritus of Mindfulness. He is the developer of four evidence-based mindfulness-based programs: Mindfulness-Based Positive Behavior Support (MBPBS), Soles of the Feet (SoF), Mindfulness-Based Health Wellness (MBHW), and Mindfulness-Based Pause, Discernment, and Response (MBPDR).

With the support received from the US Maternal & Child Health Bureau Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) grant # T73MC24481 to The Ohio State University Nisonger Center (Dr. Paula Rabidoux, PI), we can offer this webinar free-of-charge to all attendees. 


The Nisonger Institute is an annual conference with a focus on research-to-practice activity. It had always been an in-person event prior to the COVID pandemic.  Since, we have hosted the Nisonger Institute as a virtual webinar – providing more flexibility to our speakers and attendees, although, we do not preclude returning to an in-person format in the future.

The Nisonger Institute is an opportunity for professionals from different disciplines, direct support professionals, parents, siblings, individuals with lived DD experience, and other stakeholders to come together to share research, clinical, educational, and other relevant information related to a topic of concern for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. At the Nisogner Institute, we strive to provide an opportunity for all who attend to learn about current scientific knowledge and know-how and to provide examples of best practices around the country and right here in Ohio.

For more than 55 years, the Nisonger Center, a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, has provided services and supports, community engagement, education/training, and research in the area of intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder and related neurodevelopmental disorders across the lifespan. Now in its 12th year, the Nisonger Institute strives to bring together nationally prominent translational researchers, practitioners, and community advocates to share and exchange with the goal of improving services/supports and the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families.


Prior Nisonger Institute Events:

2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016