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About the Internship
The work that Dr. Fodstad and her team are conducting involves learning more about evidence-based methods to help individualize the treatment of autism and related intellectual disabilities, such as Down syndrome. In particular, we are focused on researching the various treatments of behavioral problems for individuals with Down syndrome by analyzing previous literature. The articles that are being extracted are case studies that have human participants with Down syndrome go through interventions that target the individual's problem behaviors. To evaluate this research further, a scoping review is being created that will provide data on the treatment of Down syndrome. Scoping reviews follow a sequential methodology, which is seen in the video across and the poster file below.
This video demonstrates the key differences between a literature, or systematic review, and a scoping review. The scoping review is the type of report that is being created for my LHSI presentation with Sri.
LHSI Showcase Presentation Summary
For this project, we are focused on researching the various treatments of behavioral problems for individuals with Down syndrome (DS) by analyzing previous literature. A select group of articles have been screened and data has been extracted from the articles that are relevant for our scoping review, which is a form of evidence synthesis that involves several steps. The general procedure for making a scoping review is to answer a research question, screen references, extract data from the references, and evaluate conclusions and implications based on the data that was collected. The articles that were extracted for this scoping review involve case studies that have human participants with Down syndrome go through interventions that target the individual’s problem behaviors. These behaviors include, but are not limited to, aggression, noncompliance, tantrums, and property destruction. This topic was selected due to the lack of literature in the field relating to treatment of conduct problems related to DS, which emphasizes the importance of finding and analyzing data related to the topic and presenting it in a scoping review format.
Workplace
My current strengths as a team member are that I am reliable when it comes to getting work done in a timely manner, and I have been able to work well and in a collaborative manner with Dr. Fodstad and her research team. My role as a part of the research team has been to focus on my research project while also taking on smaller tasks. These smaller tasks include checking references for book chapters and formatting articles and book chapters that Dr. Fodstad is working on. As the internship has gone on, I have been asked to do more compared to when I started, as the team and I have built more rapport and trust in each other. The contributions I have made have helped the team get closer to producing a scoping review on the evidence-based methods that are available for the treatment of behavior problems in Down Syndrome. This relates to the impact of the work, which is to help caregivers, medical professionals, and others treat individuals with intellectual disabilities in a more individualized manner.
I would like to grow as a communicator, as I sometimes have trouble notifying the team of scheduling conflicts in a timely manner. I would also like to gain more experience in a professional sense by going to conferences, participating in shadowing opportunities, and learning more about psychiatry as a profession. In the winter, I was able to go to Indiana University Undergraduate Research Conference (IUURC) to present a poster on ASD research. This experience helped me develop a better understanding of the impact of the research we were doing, as well as giving me a good opportunity to continue working on skills like time management and public speaking. I would like to pursue shadowing opportunities over the summer to help gain a better understanding of psychiatry and other medical professions to further my aspirations of becoming a physician.
While the research team that I am on only consists of four people, I have benefitted greatly from the experiences that they have. Dr. Fodstad is great at problem solving and being very flexible with our schedules, and we have been able to split up the work a little bit to get tasks done more efficiently. These tasks include screening over 300 references, data extraction, and helping with different projects that Dr. Fodstad is taking on. The flexibility and helpfulness of the team to meet each other's goals has led to an efficient and cohesive operation that has worked very well in progressing in our research.
Successes and Challenges
I have felt successful during this internship by working on and completing reference screenings on Covidence, and working on data extraction for my research project. Working with my research team and inquiring them if I have questions has been a crucial part of my success, as they have been in my corner and helped me out when I was confused, especially at the beginning of the data extraction phase, which requires very specific data to be found from each article. I can use these experiences and skills to persevere in regards to my academic and future career goals, and I plan to continue to rely on my team as a resource if I need help.
A challenge that I have dealt with during this internship is that I sometimes do not feel like I have enough time to get quality work done due to a busy schedule. Also, working virtually presents challenges, as I do not have a set schedule for working, which can lead to procrastination and waiting until deadlines to finish my work. To overcome this challenge, I have worked on blocking out time during the week to devote to the LHSI internship, and I have communicated conflicts I may have with my team further in advance. I plan to continue to combat this challenge by reaching out to my team for help and making sure I devote adequate time to the research.
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