My interest in speech-language pathology stemmed from a summer volunteering I did when I was 14, for children with varied abilities. I completed my undergraduate education in India at Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research. At the time, I was interested in the impact of professional singing on the voice of singers. Being a singer myself, this area of study fascinated me. One of my professors got me interested in research as an undergrad, and I cannot thank him enough for that seed that he planted in me very early in my career. In my final year of undergrad, I had the opportunity to complete an internship at a school for children on the autism spectrum. These children fascinated me and I realized that I had more questions than answers. I would spend hours in libraries and internet browsing cafes (that’s right! Ancient times!) reading and learning about autism.
I then went on do my master’s at the same university. Similar to my undergraduate education, I double-majored in speech-language pathology and audiology. Interestingly, my master’s education left me extremely confused about my future. I had a decent foundational knowledge in understanding communication disorders across the lifespan, and thousands of hours of clinical experience (both independent and supervised), but I felt less equipped to work with one special group of children – children on the autism spectrum. Immediately after my master’s, I took up a job at the very first autism center in India. The clinical interactions with parents and children, and the mentoring I received from my interdisciplinary colleagues and supervisors paved the way for my specialization in working with individuals on the autism spectrum and their families. I moved to the United States, not knowing what my future held and most importantly, not knowing anyone except for a short conversation with my doctoral advisor. It was a life-changing move as you can imagine. I completed my PhD at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), Ohio, and I continue to be immensely grateful to my mentors at BGSU for supporting me in my life and learning. My doctoral experiences led me to an interdisciplinary post-doctoral work at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. This experience made me familiar to Colorado and families in Colorado. My varied experiences working in early intervention, autism diagnostic clinics, and with school-age children and adults on the autism spectrum during the last decade have shaped me into the clinical, teacher, and research that I am today. I now teach full time at Metropolitan State University of Denver, and lead a program for college students on the autism spectrum at MSU Denver; the program is called Integrated Supports for Students with Autism in College (ISSAC), and is one of the first programs in Colorado that serves college-age adults.
My research focuses on two main areas:
1. I am interested in developing and implementing support-based interventions for adults on the autism spectrum. In my life time, I would like to have made a positive impact in the lives of adults on the autism spectrum so they can have a meaningful college experience and continue to lead meaningful lives in what they choose to do beyond college.
2. Being a multilingual myself and as someone who has been exposed to multiple cultures very early in my life, I am interested in promoting equity in access to services and access to communication for children on the autism spectrum and their families from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
I have several interests and hobbies outside of my work. I meditate and practice a form of meditation called Vipassana. I am trained in Indian classical music; I sing and continue to learn singing. I paint and do pencil sketches; I love to read non-fiction. I am an avid gardener. My husband and I sustain on home-grown veggies for about 4 months a year. I enjoy playing board games with family and friends, and solving crosswords. I speak, read, and write in Tamil and Hindi in addition to English. I am conversationally fluent in French, and am currently learning Spanish.