My Internship 

Lab Summary:

My internship site is with Dr. Rebecca McNally Keehn and Angela Paxton in the Department of Pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine (Health Information & Translational Sciences building). The internship concentrates on early diagnosis of Neurodevelopment disabilities (focusing on autism spectrum disorder). The lab site focuses on a community-based hub system (EAE HUB system) to improve access to early diagnosis. Typically, a child to be diagnosed for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at Riley’s Children’s Hospital would take years, with the community hub the time substantially decreases. The younger a child can get their diagnoses, the sooner they can get the care they need to thrive. Current research is needed to analyze if early diagnosis leads to early intervention and community support. I assisted on the intervention study for service enrollment and access barriers following diagnosis of autism for young children. Surveys were sent to caregivers, post child's autism evaluation, through a survey link. It was sent at 3-month, 6-month, 12-month,18-month, and 24-month asking information about intervention enrollment of their child. The services included were applied behavioral analysis, developmental therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and developmental preschool.  After one week if the surveys did not reach the caregivers, phone calls would be made, and the surveys would be done over the phone. The data received from the surveys were stored in REDCap for analysis. Once the surveys were returned, a $15 Walmart gift card were sent to the caregivers for their completion at each of time intervals. I also added to the referring primary care physician data base; this will be used to determine where community EAE Hubs are receiving referrals.

Project Summary 

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be diagnosed before two years of age, but the average age of diagnosis is typically later (over four years old). When children are diagnosed later in life, they can miss early interventions that can improve developmental outcomes. These interventions include applied behavioral analysis, developmental therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and developmental preschool. Along with delays in receiving a diagnosis there comes other difficulties: wait lists, insurance barriers, cost, geographic location and lack of therapists hinder the ability to access intervention services. Community based models of early diagnosis can lead to earlier diagnosis and streamlined access to early interventions and community support. The younger a child can receive their diagnosis, the sooner they can be introduced to pivotal intervention services. The research I participated in studied rates of service enrollment and access barriers for children ages 14-47 months of age at six months after first ASD diagnosis, as well as whether community-based models of diagnosis lead to improved enrollment in intervention that can improve outcomes. 

Final Project:  

Learning and Skills 

Talents I hope to bring to my LHSI site is my experiences with Excel. When applying for this lab, I was told that there was Edata I could possibly be working with. This is exciting to me, because I took a course freshmen year that had a large focus on how to work with excel. Throughout this semester I have grown not only on using Excel but other data bases too, such as REDCap. In the beginning of the year, I was nervous that REDCap was going to seem overwhelming, but I quickly began to understand it. My lab was very quick to answer any questions I had, and ensured me that I knew what I was doing. 

Throughout this year in LHSI I want to work on being more independent within a task. I tend to not be confident in my knowledge, and rely on others to confirm what I already know. A lot of times I will second guess myself while working on a project, and I should trust my knowledge. Working independently is important for the lab I will be in, so I am excited to improve this skill. 

The skills I have used so far and become more confident in are asking questions and being able to communicate comfortably. My internship site has allowed me to open up, by being very accepting of anything I have to add, or helping me anytime I am confused on a topic. I would like to continue working on trying to tackle problems as they occur instead of relying on others. To grow this skill, I want to practice trying to handle a situation on my own first, and if I am unable to figure it out then reach out to others.  

Currently I am taking a statistics course that has followed my internship very well. Things that I learn in my internship that include Excel and different quantitative analysis are able to help give me a greater understanding within my statistics class, where I also use these tools. When we enter a new chapter a lot of it feels familiar because of my lab. Throughout this semester I have gained so much confidence in my own work. I attempted writing my first abstract which seems terrifying at the start, but now I’ve accomplished it. My favorite experience so far was talking to different participants about what interventions they use. I like listening to their stories, and getting to see the effects the research has. 

The Workplace 

My internship team is very open to any suggestions, or ideas that others may have. They have helped me to grow in communication, in my knowledge of autism spectrum disorder, and in professional experiences. 

It was been very exciting working with people who are on a different education level than me, because I have been able to learn so much. Just by observing my lab heads in meetings has been such an educational experience. When I started my internship, I was intimidated to be starting a new chapter of my education, but my team has been so welcoming. They are constantly answering questions and validating my work. It has been an amazing experience. 

Working with the people in my lab who have much more experience than me has been such an amazing opportunity. They all are incredibly hard working which has been very beneficial for me to be engaged. Working with my lab has definitely helped me to grow professionally because it has helped me to have more confidence in a work place. 

Successes and Challenges

My main successes in my internship have been learning how to better interpret data that has been given to me, and having a better understanding of intervention for children diagnosed with ASD. I want to be an occupational therapist post graduate school, so fully understanding the intervention process has been largely beneficial for me. The biggest obstacle for me was helping write the data for the undergraduate research conference, but my lab was incredibly helpful and it gave me a better understanding of the work I do within the internship.