Advancing Social-Communication and Play

Jessica Steinbrenner is a speech-language pathologist and autism researcher. Her research focuses on improving access to high-quality, evidence-based interventions for autistic individuals across the lifespan, with a particular emphasis on communication and social development. Drawing on my background as a speech-language pathologist, she collaborates with educators, families, and service providers to develop and evaluate practical, strengths-based programs that can be implemented in real-world settings such as schools and communities. Her work spans preschool through young adulthood and is grounded in both scientific rigor and real-world relevance. Her main areas of research interest include the development and testing of school- or community-based interventions, the identification and dissemination of evidence-based practices (EBPs), and the creation of reliable tools to measure progress in naturalistic settings.