Sandra Hodgetts, PhD, OT

Area of Study / Keywords

Autism children and families social participation inclusion intervention goal-setting self-determination

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About

Education

Post-doctoral Fellowship, Paediatrics, University of Alberta (2010-2013)

PhD, Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Alberta (2004-2009)

MSc, Occupational Therapy, Western University (1998-2000)

BSc Kinesiology, McMaster University (1994-1998)

Affiliations

Director, Supporting Kids Inclusion and Participation (SKIP) Lab, University of Alberta

Associate Member, CanChild (School of Rehabilitation Science, McMaster University)

UofA Co-Site Lead and mentor, ENRICH (enrichyourscience.ca) 

Academic Member, Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI), University of Alberta

Research Affiliate, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, Alberta Health Services

Clinical Experience

I worked clinically as an occupational therapist with children on the autism spectrum and their families in homes, schools and communities (2002-2017), and in hospital and community-based contexts with youth and adults diagnosed with developmental disabilities and co-occuring challenges with mental health (2000-2002). Although I have stopped direct clinical practice (for now), much of my research, teaching and graduate student supervision continues to involve direct collaboration and partnership with clinicians and service providers.

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Research

I am Director of the Supporting Kids Inclusion and Participation (S.K.I.P.) Lab, which is home to many trainees, staff and collaborators from a variety of professional and educational backgrounds who conduct research aimed at supporting inclusion and participation of children, youth and young adults diagnosed with autism and other neurodevelopmental, intellectual and/or developmental conditions and their families in meaningful activities and life choices. This often means in homes, schools, communities, and workplaces. I strongly value collaborative, interdisciplinary research. My approach tends to focus on targeting the social environment (other people's knowledge, practices and policies), rather than 'fixing' or remediating impairment 'in' the person who experiences disability. I am also committed to improving occupational therapists' use of neuro-diversity affirming approaches with children and families.

For more information about trainees, staff and collaborations of the S.K.I.P. Lab, and current and past research projects, please visit our website:

https://sites.google.com/ualberta.ca/s-k-i-p-lab/home

Current Projects: 

Supporting inclusion and belonging of autistic students: Co-design of a diversity awareness program within a universal approach to learning (Kule Research Team grant; WCHRI CRISP, 2023-2025)

Campus Belonging: Exploring accessibility and belonging for autistic post-secondary students in Canada (PI: Heather Brown; SSHRC; 2023-2027)

Research 101: An online training program to empower autistic adults to be effective and active collaborators in research (CIHR; 2023-2025)

Amplifying autistic "voices": Learning from and with autistic adults to enhance self-determination (funded by a SSHRC Partnership Development grant), 2021-2025

Evaluating the effectiveness of child-oriented goal-setting in paediatric rehabilitation (the ENGAGE approach): A pragmatic randomized controlled trial and economic analysis (co-PI, Lesley Pritchard; funded by the Maternal Newborn Child and Youth Strategic Clinical Network, Health Outcomes Improvement Fund), 2019-2025 (extended due to pandemic restrictions)

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Teaching

I am not teaching in the 2023-2024 or 2024-2025 academic years.

I am the primary instructor for Occth555, Enabling Occupation and Participation for Children and Youth, co-instructor for Occth530 (Theory, evidence and skills in practice: Synthesis), and instructor for the elective module, Autism and OT (in conjunction with graduate trainee developers and instructors).

I am on sabbatical for the 2023-2024 academic year and may be slower to respond to emails than normal.

Please note that I am unlikely to accept new graduate students at this time as I am at capacity. 

S. Thompson-Hodgetts, A. McKillop, M. Couture, S. Shire, J.A. Weiss, L. Zwaigenbaum

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2023 June; online early 10.1007/s10803-023-06024-4

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Sandy Thompson-Hodgetts

Autism. 2023 January; 27 (1):259-261 10.1177/13623613221121432

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Thompson-Hodgetts, S., Labonte, C., Mazumder., R. Phelan, S.

Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 2020 January; 77 10.1016/j.rasd.2020.101598