Autism Scholars Award 2023

Carly’s Magnacca’s research focuses on examining the long-term outcomes of children with autism following participation in intensive interventions to further improve and inform policy and families’ intervention decisions.

Based on a two-part study, the research will compare the long-term outcomes of youth with autism who received an intensive intervention to those who did not.

The purpose of the research is to address the gaps in Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) follow-up research. Gaining a better understanding of the long-term outcomes of intensive interventions is essential to inform families’ intervention decisions. Moreover, this information will be helpful for policymakers in education and social service systems to allocate resources towards the interventions that should be funded and made widely accessible.

Magnacca is a doctoral candidate in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program at York University. She received Bachelor of Arts with Specialized Honours and Master of Arts degrees from Brock University and a second Master of Arts degree from York University. Her previous research has focused on exploring the mental health of individuals with autism, and interventions to support the mental health and well-being of caregivers of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Magnacca was a recipient of the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Alaa Ibrahim’s focus of research examines flourishing in youth with autism, a group that are often excluded from research. Flourishing is the term used to describe individuals achieving wellness and is associated with high levels of positive mental health. While there is a breadth of evidence documenting the mental health problems and deficits of youth with autism, there are few studies which examine strengths and positive mental health.

Ibrahim’s research involves a three-stage approach: examining existing positive mental health interventions for youth with autism, with a systemic review of their efficacy and how results intersect with Intellectual Disability (ID) and visible minority involvement; examining an innovative positive mental health intervention on physiological and psychological indicators of flourishing for autistic youth with ID, and understanding the experience of flourishing in marginalized/racialized communities with autism in Canada.

The research will help to gain an understanding of Canada’s marginalized groups in terms of their flourishing and well-being, inform intervention design for these populations, and provide researchers, clinicians and policymakers with experiences of those with autism that may lead to flourishing.

Ibrahim is a doctoral student in the Clinical-Developmental Psychology program at York University. She has also completed her Master of Arts in the same program. Ibrahim was the recipient of the Frederick Banting & Charles Best Canada Graduates Scholarships Master’s Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Quebec Autism Training Program and has participated in projects with the Word Health Organization as a therapist and a trainer.

Kai Jacobsen’s research focuses on the experiences of trans autistic people when accessing gender-affirming care. Jacobsen’s research is concentrated in topics such as the health impacts of misgendering non-binary people and how trans people in Canada are incarcerated. The research challenges the harmful legacy of pathologizing medical research conducted on trans autistic people.

Jacobsen used community-based methods in their research and the findings indicate that trans autistic people are currently underserved by health-care systems and require specific strategies to improve their access to health-care services.

Jacobsen’s research aims to understand how trans autistic people describe their dual identities, their positive and negative experiences with gender-affirming health-care systems and the impact of these experiences on their lives. Ultimately, the goal of the research is to improve trans autistic people’s experiences of health-care services and assist health-care providers in meeting the needs of their autistic trans patients.

Jacobsen is a Master’s student in Sociology at Carleton University and holds a BA with Honours in Sociology from the University of Victoria, with a thesis focus on gender euphoria and trans people’s positive, joyful experiences of gender. They have previously worked with Trans PULSE Canada and the Community-Based Research Centre on research topics such as the health impacts of misgendering non-binary people and the prevalence of incarceration among trans people in Canada.