Meet Hannah, one of READi Lab’s diligent graduate students! Learn more about her and her motivations to help autistic children and their families below.
- What motivated you to study with the READi lab?
I delved into the autism world in my undergraduate years at UCLA and never looked back! I’m really passionate about helping children and families directly while also creating larger change on the system and societal level. When applying to child psychology graduate schools, I knew that I wanted ASD research that went beyond the lab setting and I think the research that READi lab conducts does an incredible job at thinking about not only the larger healthcare/service system but also the individual families within real world contexts.
- What are the implications of your current work?
My master’s thesis is on parenting stress and its possible impact on parent intervention fidelity within parent implemented interventions. Parents already wear so many different hats in their various roles for their children and I’m hoping that I can do more work on this to better understand how to best support parents in their role as treatment provider. My other work focuses on closing the gap between parent concerns and autism evaluation & treatment through mapping out different family’s journeys within the pipeline. I hope that through this research we can continue to find ways to get children and parents the support they need.
- What do you want to be when you grow up?
That’s the million dollar question in grad school! Every day it changes, but I know that I always want to work with children and families and strive to make their lives even just the tiniest bit less stressful!
- Do you identify as an early bird, a night owl, or a perpetually exhausted pigeon?
I’m definitely a perpetually exhausted pigeon, but my dogs have forced me to become an early bird! Nothing like a 6 am wake up call from the cutest little faces.
- Do you have any pets?
Yes! Two adorable and super hyper mini aussies named Buzz Lightyear and Flynn Rider. They are the best and most exhausting thing that’s ever happened to me.
- Please share two truths and a lie about yourself. (Scroll down to discover Hannah’s fib!)
- I’m a vegetarian who hates tomatoes.
- I’ve independently flown a plane.
- I studied abroad in Australia for a few months.
I did not study abroad in Australia!