History
History
Embedded Files
The S.K.I.P. Lab was created in July, 2013, co-directed by Dr. Sandy Thompson-Hodgetts (Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy, University of Alberta) and Dr. Shanon Phelan (now Associate Professor, Dalhousie University, formerly University of Alberta).
Please see below for a list of current and past members of the S.K.I.P. Lab.
Current Lab Members
Current Lab Members
Sandy Thompson-Hodgetts, OT, PhD
Sandy Thompson-Hodgetts, OT, PhD
Director, S.K.I.P. Lab
Director, S.K.I.P. Lab
Sandy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at the University of Alberta. She completed her undergraduate training at McMaster University, clinical training in OT at Western University, a PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences from the University of Alberta, and Post-Doctoral training in Pediatrics at the University of Alberta. Sandy is interested in collaborative, interdisciplinary research on interventions, supports and services that improve the health and participation of individuals with autism and their families. She is also committed to improving occupational therapists’ use of evidence-based, strengths-based and family-centered approaches with children and families. You will regularly find Sandy running the Edmonton's beautiful river valley, or sharing activities such as playing games, skiing or camping with her two daughters and friends.
Lesley Pritchard, PT, PhD
Lesley Pritchard, PT, PhD
S.K.I.P. Lab Faculty
S.K.I.P. Lab Faculty
Lesley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Alberta. She is interested in research related to participation of children with motor disability in theri schools and communities, families perspectives on rehabilitation service delivery - implications for service delivery and policy, the effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions for children with cerebral palsy, and pediatric rehabilitation service delivery. For leisure, Lesley enjoys cooking, traveling, sea kayaking, and trying new and interesting restaurants.
Jackie Ryan, PhD,
Jackie Ryan, PhD,
Research Associate
Research Associate
Jackie has a PhD in Rehabilitation Science. She holds a Master’s Degree in Leadership from Royal Roads University where her research on leadership to promote self-determination of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder won the University Founders’ Award. Her doctoral research was on understanding autonomy and autonomy-support from the perspective of autistic adults with intellectual disabilities using a community-based participatory research approach. She also used a community-based participatory research approach to create Research 101, Collaborating in Participatory Autism Research. Jackie is autistic and mom to an autistic young adult son. She is passionate about the inclusion of autistic people in all that affects them including research, policy-setting and service provision. Jackie views autism with a neurodiversity lens and is interested in recent research that calls into question the assumption that autistic individuals struggle with social communication and that perhaps it is a two-way problem.
Mica Pabia, MSW, RSW,
Mica Pabia, MSW, RSW,
PhD Student
PhD Student
Mica (she/her) is an Autistic, queer and Asian researcher, disability justice advocate and social worker passionate about anti-oppressive practice and critical theories. Her PhD research, supervised by Sandy, is centered on the intersectional experiences of ableism, racism, queer/transphobia and sexism that Autistic people face. Mica has a Master of Social Work from the University of Waterloo, as well as a Bachelor of Social Work and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Kinesiology (both from the University of Calgary). She is also a Registered Social Worker with the Alberta College of Social Workers. Mica's social work career spans from crisis mental health, to EDI consulting, to anti-racist policy work. When not at school or work, she can be found at the boxing gym, in Sephora, or organizing your local human rights protest.
Danielle Johnston, OT,
Danielle Johnston, OT,
PhD Candidate
PhD Candidate
Danielle’s vision is to conduct research that will inform current processes and guidelines for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) diagnosis. Danielle has both a Bachelor of Arts (major: Physical Education) and a Bachelor of Science (Occupational Therapy). She has been a pediatric Occupational Therapist in Camrose for 17 year and currently works as a team member of a diagnostic clinic that assesses children for a variety of conditions including FASD. Her research focus as a PhD student, co-supervised by Sandy and Lesley, is on clarifying which motor assessment tools are most relevant and accurate when assessing children for FASD. Danielle has published one journal article on this topic and has presented the results of the study at both national and international conferences. She plans to conduct a follow up project to her first to continue her quest to help ensure children receive a correct diagnosis and in turn, appropriate supports and services. In between work and school, she likes to squeeze in physical activity – she plays on a women’s soccer team and enjoys mountain biking, hiking, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing.
Erin Branton, PT,
Erin Branton, PT,
PhD Candidate
PhD Candidate
Erin Branton aims to enhance the research evidence of motor abilities and motor assessment in Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Erin has published a manuscript on the accuracy of motor assessment in children with FASD and presented the results at national and international conferences. Erin is currently a PhD student, co-supervised by Lesley and Sandy. She also obtained her Masters of Science in Physical Therapy at the University of Alberta. She works clinically as a Physical Therapist with Children’s Rehabilitation Services, Alberta Health Services in Camrose. She is a member of the Pediatric Specialty Clinic, a multi-disciplinary diagnostic clinic that assesses children for a variety of conditions including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Coordination Disorder and other developmental concerns. In her leisure time she enjoys camping, hiking, swimming and spending time with her husband and 2 kids.
Sheija Abraham, OT,
Sheija Abraham, OT,
MScRS Student
MScRS Student
Having worked as an Occupational Therapist with children with varied diagnosis for over 16 years, Sheija has been able to identify gaps in service with regards to Pediatric Rehabilitation. Her research aims to identify Approaches to Support Inclusion for students with Autism during school recess. With research in this domain, Sheija hopes to increase the opportunity for school based staff to have an approach to increase interaction between Autistic children and their peers. Sheija presently works as an Occupational Therapist with the Calgary Board of Education. She has previously worked at the Child Development Centre in Vancouver as well as in Surrey, BC as and with Children Autism Services of Edmonton. Sheija graduated in 2003 with a Bachelors in Occupational Therapy and is currently pursuing her Thesis based Masters in Rehabilitation Science, supervised by Sandy.
Santwana Carstensen-Sinha, OT,
Santwana Carstensen-Sinha, OT,
MScRS Student
MScRS Student
Bio coming soon.
Recent Lab Members
Recent Lab Members
Sheri Klassen, MD, MScRS
Sheri Klassen, MD, MScRS
Sheri Klassen is passionate about exploring best practices to promote the well-being and inclusion of marginalized individuals. This comes from raising two children with disabilities, as well as her 16 years of service as a family physician. Her professional and personal experiences have highlighted for her that deficit and stigma frequently define autistic individuals. Sheri obtained her medical degree from the University of Alberta (2001), and currently works in addictions medicine. She successfully defended a MSc.RS, supervised by Sandy, in early 2024, titled: Exploring Effects of Participating in PEERS on Self-Esteem: Time for a Reframe of Group Social Skills Interventions. When not parenting or working, she is determined to learn piano, and loves to get outside for a run or a ski - ideally listening to a podcast.
Ashley McKillop, PhD, PDF
Ashley McKillop, PhD, PDF
Ashley has a BSc (Specialization) in Psychology and PhD in Rehabilitation Science. She was a postdoctoral fellow under Sandy and Lesley in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, although she had the privilege of spending much of her pdf 'calendar' time on parental leave with her two beautiful sons (born approx. 2 years apart). She moved on to a research and evaluation job with Alberta Health Services in early 2024. Her research interests include the development of clinically relevant approaches to improve rehabilitation interventions and service delivery for children with disabilities and their families. She also has a particular interest in strategies that enhance uptake of research into clinical practice for clinicians, children and families. Ashley also loves spending time outdoors with her spouse, sons, and little dog.
Mila Zenith, DDS, MSc (Dentistry)
Mila Zenith, DDS, MSc (Dentistry)
Mila is a general dentist who is passionate about helping dentists to support autistic patients who experience difficulties with the dental environment, often due to sensory processing differences. She started a MSc in Dentistry in September 2023, co-supervised by Dr. Minn N Yoon and Sandy. Although Mila decided not to continue with the MSc program, we are still collaborating on a project algined with her research interests. In her spare time Mila keeps busy with her two young sons.
Previous Lab Members (alphabetical order)
Previous Lab Members (alphabetical order)
Marcela Barahona Ortega, MD, Developmental Pediatrics Subspeciality Fellow research project
Oliver Bild, MSc.SLP thesis
Stephanie Chiu, Undergraduate Research Initiative summer student
Carmen Dubland, King's University, BSc honours thesis
Lu'an Fan, Master's of Rehabilitation Science
Hannah Furness, MScOT Scholar Stream
Fanny Lacelle-Webster, Developmental Paediatrics subspeciality fellow
Kamaldeep Gill, MScOT Research Intensive
Noelle Mack-Peterson, MScOT Scholar Stream
Rinita Mazumder, Master's of Rehabilitation Science
Katie Miller-Ulmer, King's University, BSc honours thesis
Marghalara Rashid, Post-Doctoral Fellow
Kate Richards, MScOT Research Intensive
Karisa Teindl, MScOT Research Intensive
Parisa Wazir, MScOT Scholar Stream
Ongoing Collaborators
Ongoing Collaborators
Heather Brown, PhD
Heather Brown, PhD
Dr. Heather Brown is an associate professor in the Dept. of Education Psychology in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta. She is also an autistic professional who studies autism. Her research focuses on examining what it means to “thrive” for individuals on the spectrum. She aims to create reasonable expectations around what it means to "function adaptively" with autism and to highlight all the ways in which people with autism are already thriving. By doing so, her research is poised to empower individuals with autism to be more self-confident in their neurodiversity and to develop a better understanding of the factors that most support their well-being. Heather and Sandy collaborate on a number of studies related to thriving, and also support each other related to graduate student supervision and committees. They also developed a co-facilitated, graduate-level, self-directed reading course related to autism, which is available on an ongoing basis to their graduate students.
David Nicholas, MSW, PhD
David Nicholas, MSW, PhD
David is a Professor of Social Work, University of Calgary. He is nationally and internationally recognized as a key knowledge leader in addressing health and disability issues related to people who experience autism and related conditions. David's work has consitently related to lived experience, family experience, neurodiversity and social justice, and transition to adulthood in the realm of autism and beyond.
David's commitment to leadership and national capacity building and community develpment, and his thoughtfulness and deep theoretical understanding, has been instrumental to many of Dr. Thompson-Hodgetts' and her graduate students' studies.
Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, MD
Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, MD
Lonnie is a developmental paediatricianand Professor of Paediatrics, University of Calgary. He is the Edmonton zone clinical department head for child health, a clinician scientist supported by the Stollery Children’s Hospital chair in autism, and was chosen as a Distinguished Researcher with the Stollery Science Lab.
Lonnie is internationally recognized as an expert in research related to early identification of autism, genetics in autism, and intervention approaches in autism. He brings expertise in autism, research methodology and social participation to many of Dr. Thompson-Hodgetts' and her graduate students' studies.
Centre for Autism Services Alberta
Centre for Autism Services Alberta
The Centre for Autism Services Alberta is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children, teens and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Established in 1997, the Centre has grown to offer a wide range of services to individuals on the spectrum and their families, and is the largest accredited autism service provider in northern Alberta. Its mission is to provide comprehensive and innovative supports and services to those affected by ASD. Some of those supports include: early childhood services; sports, leisure, social and skills programs; and pre-employment programs. The Centre’s vision is to support individuals with autism in leading meaningful, engaged lives. Together we can change outcomes, foster independence, enrich lives, empower families and transform communities. Together we can transform Alberta.
Website: centreforautism.ab.ca
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