“My research focus is on quality of life for autistic individuals and their families”: Dr. Barbara D’Entremont’s Research in Autism

(Photo provided by Barbara D’Entremont)

“I heard that families and autistic individuals wanted to see research that had the potential to make a meaningful positive difference in their lives. In contrast, previous research has tended to focus on how autistic traits and associated characteristics lead to decreased quality of life.” ~ Barbara D’Entremont

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*In the following article, TS refers to The Synapse, and BE refers to Barbara D’Entremont

TS: Could you briefly introduce yourself and what brought you to UNB?

BD: My name is Barbara D’Entremont. I am a licensed clinical psychologist with a strong developmental psychology background. I teach at UNB and I also maintain a small private practice. I have a BSc and MSc in developmental psychology from Dalhousie University, and a PhD in clinical psychology from Queen’s University. I did a 1-year clinical internship at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax. After graduation, I worked at the University of Manitoba in the Department of Family Studies for 4 years.

I came to UNB in 2000 to teach in the developmental area and in the clinical program, which, as you can see, matches my education quite well.

TS: What is your research area, and how did you settle on this area?

BD: My research area is autism. Currently, my research focus is on quality of life and related factors for autistic individuals and their families. This was influenced in part by my clinical experience and in part from listening to the autistic community: I heard that families and autistic individuals wanted to see research that had the potential to make a meaningful positive difference in their lives. In contrast, previous research has tended to focus on how autistic traits and associated characteristics lead to decreased quality of life.

My students and I have tried to respond by researching positive factors, the presence of which will increase quality of life. We are also attempting to identify environmental or contextual factors that have the potential to support better quality of life and well-being. For example, my graduate student, Lindsey McCullough, is researching factors that might support better quality of life for autistic and/or intellectually disabled youth as they transition out of high school.

TS: How do you come up with research ideas, and gauge when an idea is worthwhile to pursue?

BD: I come up with ideas by keeping up to date with the research literature and by listening to the autistic community. I try to identify gaps while keeping in mind the framework I mentioned above.

I also try to build on work that has already been done in the lab. For example, my graduate student, Jay Best, discovered that families in Canada are deeply dissatisfied with the transition process as their autistic children transition out of high school. This finding has led to two transition projects to better understand this finding and identify ways to improve the transition process for autistic youth.

TS: What do you consider traits of a strong student and student researcher?

BD: I think all researchers, students included, need to have curiosity, openness to new ideas, and passion for discovery.

Research requires us to generate new ideas. Curiosity and openness to new ideas will facilitate this generativity. Research can also be tedious and painstaking when it comes to the nuts-and-bolts, such as programming online questionnaires, recruiting participants, or screening and analyzing data. Passion for discovery and the topic will help student researchers stay engaged with the entire process and see a project through to its completion.

TS: Why did you choose to study psychology, and at what point did you know you wanted to pursue it (e.g. high school, university, etc)? Is there any discipline you seriously considered other than psychology?

BD: I decided in high school that I wanted to study psychology. I wanted to understand how the mind works. My other consideration was computer science. I applied and got into both programs.

It happened that the computer science program I got into was at Acadia, which was closer to home. This was a detractor for me, so I accepted the offer from Dalhousie to go into their BA/BSc program. I loved my intro psych course, and knew right away that I had made the right decision. Up until my 3rd year, I had not considered developmental psychology or working with children. It was obligatory to take both child clinical and adult clinical psychology in 3rd year. To my surprise, I really enjoyed the child-focused content; I realized the potential for prevention and the importance of early intervention. I did some volunteering and realized how much fun it was to work with children.

At that point, I scrambled to get as much developmental course content as I could and I switched my minor from sociology to education. The rest, as they say, is history. I completed my Masters in developmental psychology and specialized in child clinical for my PhD.

TS: Have you conducted research in psychology that overlapped or involved collaboration with another field?

BD: Yes. From 2015-2019 I was involved in a multidisciplinary effort to evaluate the cost effectiveness of the early intervention programs for autistic preschoolers in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Along with psychologists, our team included an economist, a policy analyst, and government representatives. My role was to collect data from preschoolers and families, and look at the effect on parents of having their preschoolers enrolled in these programs.

TS: Do you have a favourite psychological film/ book/ song/ artwork/ etc? If so, which, and what do you like about it?

BD: Not really. I find that the portrayals in popular and mainstream media do not accurately reflect psychology.

I like to support local artists - that extends to art created by the neurodivergent community. I was pleased to support the “Art is a Spectrum” Gallery at Autism Connections Fredericton as well as that of Danny MacMillan.

TS: Is there anything else you wish to share about yourself as a psych professor and researcher?

BD: I want my classrooms and lab spaces to be accessible and inclusive. I want students to feel welcome to ask questions and make comments. I want students to come to our lab with ideas. It doesn’t matter if the ideas fit directly under the research umbrella of the lab: we can talk and try to morph the idea into something related that both interests the student and extends the work we are doing. Ψ

Created for The Synapse by Incé Husain.