Dara Chan, ScD, focuses her research on improving community participation, integration, and inclusion for autistic adults and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Chan, who is an associate professor in the Division of Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling in UNC’s Department of Health Sciences, often collaborates with colleagues in the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) where she is an FPG faculty fellow.

Chan’s most recently funded research project is a collaboration with FPG Fellows Claire Harrop, PhD, and Laura Klinger, PhD, examining the association of social connections and community participation with suicidal thoughts and behaviors in older autistic adults. This National Institute of Mental Health (R21) grant-supported project is building on a project Chan recently completed, which explored a similar topic, focusing on autistic adults. The newer project is expanding to a broader population base and is also using a control group of older adults who are not autistic. This will allow the researchers to compare data on the community activities and locations of autistic adults with a day in the life of a non-autistic adult.

In this project, as in much of her research, Chan innovatively applies her expertise in geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning system (GPS) data. GIS creates, manages, analyzes, and maps data, which Chan uses to better understand patterns, relationships, and geographic context of the individuals in her studies and to measure the impact of accessibility to resources on community participation for people with disabilities. GPS enables researchers to collect real-time data reflecting the locations and services that individuals access as well as how much time is spent away from home and the distances people travel within the community.

During her doctoral studies at Boston University, Chan became interested in the use of these technologies. She stayed an extra year in the program to learn spatial analysis, statistics, and GIS. She notes that these skills are a big part of her mixed methods research, which typically includes surveys, travel diaries, social diaries, quantitative data, qualitative data, and interviews. With a background of working with people with psychiatric disabilities, Chan came to her current work with the autistic and IDD communities thinking about the evidence-based practices for people with psychiatric disabilities. In 2018, she received a NIDILRR Switzer Research Fellowship to use GIS and GPS techniques to understand meaningful participation for adults with autism spectrum disorder.

Another of Chan’s projects is leading the UNC Higher Education, Employment, and Living Success (HEELS) 2 Transition (H2T) program, which is comprised of three initiatives: HEELS UP; HEELS Prep; and Week Away. These programs focus on improving or developing critical skills to support the transition of young adults with IDD to adulthood. HEELS UP, led by FPG Fellow Brianne Tomaszewski, provides an inclusive postsecondary education program for young adults while HEELS Prep, which Chan directs, focuses on developing skills and knowledge in: career exploration and development; self-management and goal setting; independent living skills; community safety; mental health; and sexual health education. The last two components were more recently added as the team realized the need for them.

The Week Away program, which is offered to the young adults who have completed HEELS Prep, invites participants to stay in UNC’s Craige North dorm for a week. During this immersive experience, now in its third year, the young adults practice the skills that they have learned in Prep and build new skills such as grocery shopping, using public transportation, and planning and attending social events. Chan is partnering with FPG Senior Implementation Specialist Wendy Morgan, PhD, FPG Educational Technology Specialist Julie Chin, and their development team to turn the HEELS Prep content into e-learning modules and online resources in a new NIDILRR-funded project funded, “HEELS 2 Participation.” This will enable the material to be more broadly disseminated since only 10 to 12 young adults can be enrolled in the summer program.

“One of the reasons we involve UNC students in our HEELS 2 programs is that it is important to train the next generation of professionals to have the skills, competence, and self-efficacy of being able to work with individuals and their families,” says Chan. “It’s also important to offer greater visibility of the ongoing needs of adults with autism, developmental disabilities, and intellectual disabilities.”

Chan is committed to improving community participation for adults with IDD and autistic adults and improving access to resources and support, including mental health resources. She brings to the classroom what she and colleagues are gaining from research projects so that her students better understand the need for counselors trained in working with adults with IDD. “One of the reasons we involve UNC students in our HEELS 2 programs is that it is important to train the next generation of professionals to have the skills, competence, and self-efficacy of being able to work with individuals and their families,” she says. “It’s also important to offer greater visibility of the ongoing needs of adults with autism, developmental disabilities, and intellectual disabilities.”

Chan says that being an FPG fellow gives her access to FPG speakers and talks, which she greatly enjoys. Getting to know other researchers with similar passions and desired outcomes and having an opportunity for collaboration is a gift. Chan notes that without the introduction to Morgan, Chin, and others from FPG’s Interim Director Brian Boyd, PhD, she would not have known that FPG contained a wealth of resources for this innovation. Most recently, Chan has been working with FPG Senior Research Scientist Ann Sam, PhD, and FPG Faculty Fellow Desiree Murray, PhD, on the developmental disabilities and mental health subgroup of FPG Next, which is exploring new strategic initiatives.

“I was not, and still do not feel like, an expert in autism or developmental disabilities,” says Chan. “But I have learned a lot in my last 10 years with great collaborations through TEACCH, FPG and of course, with participants and families themselves. This is now my world and I am hoping to make an impact.”