:)

About the research I'm doing (from a FU Advantage post I wrote):

"A little update to supplement my shabby introduction.. I am working at TRIAD, Vanderbilt's center for the study of autism. We are evaluating an early intervention program called Hanen More Than Words, a promising option for families with children at risk for autism. The program is unique, as parents are trained with specific methods for interacting with their children so that they become the primary means for intervention. We are measuring both the child's behavioral progress as well as the parent's levels of depression, anxiety, and positive well being. This HUGE project (3 sites accross the eastern US) is funded by AutismSpeaks.

So far, everything has been amazing; I am working with a prominent teams of researchers from Vanderbilt, BC, and U of Miami (they're kind of rockstars in my psychology world). I have my own office at Vanderbilt's Kennedy Center, where I'll be working with data, coding videotapes, learning assessments, and doing literature reviews. I will also be assisting at the home and group interventions and videotaping sessions. Tomorrow morning is my first conference call between all of the sites; the researchers involved have written a lot of the tests used in autism diagnosis, so I'm looking forward to putting faces to names! I'm in nerdy psychology heaven :)"

Just for anyone who may want to know what I'm actually doing in Nashville...