Megan Krantz, a fourth-year Clinical Psychology PhD student in the Department of Psychology, has been announced as a winner of the Sleep Special Interest Group student poster competition at the Society of Pediatric Psychology Annual Conference (SPPAC).
Along with student co-authors and faculty mentors, Dr. Cameron Neece and Dr. Tori Van Dyk, Megan examined differences in, and risk factors for, sleep difficulties in preschool youth with autism compared to typically developing youth. Although youth with autism had more sleep difficulties, separation anxiety was a risk factor for poor sleep across both groups. It is possible that interventions for separation anxiety may also effectively address sleep disturbances in these youth. The poster is titled "Understanding Sleep Difficulties among Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder from Underserved Populations: Practical Considerations for Clinicians."
Megan is also one of just five graduate students selected to participate in the 2021 Gatlinburg Conference Graduate Student Symposium today. The submission that earned Megan this presentation slot, "Spillover of Parenting Stress and Marital Interactions Among Parents of Children with ASD," is available to read on the conference website.