Office of Research and Scholarship

My research is focused on improving language and literacy outcomes for children with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities (SIDD), including those who are also deaf and hard of hearing. I was first hired as the Project Director of a 5-year U.S. Department of Education grant, Tar Heel Shared Reader, which involved the development of a complete implementation model that supported 316 professionals in providing shared reading to 442 students with SIDD, most of whom required augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). In my role as project director, I led several sub-studies that examined: a) the quality of teacher interactions during shared reading; b) the impact of training on teacher use of shared reading strategies, and; c) the impact of shared reading with AAC modeling on the communication of students with SIDD who require AAC. In ongoing work on Project Converse, funded by the Engelke Family Foundation, I am leading several studies involving detailed microanalysis of videos documenting classroom interactions during literacy instruction with children with SIDD who require AAC. One such study in press applies conversation analysis to examine growth in expressive language and communication of children with SIDD-AAC over the course of a year as a result of shared reading with AAC modeling of core vocabulary. While successfully directing a large implementation project and leading the publication of several related manuscripts, I secured funding as the PI for a foundation grant and an internal award. These two awards enabled me to take the first steps to document the hearing health needs of students with SIDD and address the widespread under-identification of hearing loss in this population, including co-authoring the first publication on school-based hearing screenings with students with SIDD in the United States.

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.

I strive to help adults with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases stay active and engaged in the activities that matter most to them. Towards this goal, my vision is to ensure that everyone who needs high-quality rehabilitation can access it. Through our research, we aim to create and implement care models that make it easier for clinicians to identify patients who need rehabilitation, connect them to the right resources, and deliver effective rehabilitation care.

As a research methodologist, I study the rigor and effectiveness of research methods that combine quantitative and qualitative approaches. As a health services researcher and methodologist specializing in the analysis of large complex secondary databases, I work with various research projects using state-of-the-art research strategies and large databases such as Healthcare Cost & Utilization Project, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, & National Survey of Children’s Health. At UNC-Chapel Hill, I have expanded my research to examine interventions and outcomes for priority populations, which include individuals with special health care needs such as autism.