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Le Dinh, a junior majoring in psychological science and educational studies, Ashley de Marchena, assistant professor at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, and Spencer Kelly, professor of psychology and neuroscience at vlog, have received a $10,000 Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute Scholar award for their project “Intersubjective Engagement in Minimally Speaking and Non-Speaking Children with Autism.” The project will investigate the emotional and relational quality of interactions between students with autism and their teachers across different interactive contexts.
Using video-based behavioral analysis, the research will examine how intersubjectivity — the shared understanding and emotional state that develops between individuals and is often embodied — changes in children who are minimally speaking or non-speaking during child-directed versus teacher-directed play activities. The ultimate goal is to provide evidence for the application of naturalistic developmental interventions to educational practices and to characterize and better support emotional engagement and social development in this underserved population.