Autism
Building on previous work on autism and moral responsibility, I am exploring ethical and philosophical questions that can help us understand, among other things, our responsibilities toward autistic people.
Research Ethics
Over many years as an IRB Chair, I noted that when retrospective chart reviews are submitted for human subjects review, investigators and IRBs identify only patients as the research subjects even for studies where conclusions are being drawn about provider behaviors (such as prescribing patterns). Julia Alessandra Harzheim and Joanne Doucette have joined me to characterize a body of published retrospective chart review research, to highlight how many of these studies ignore that providers were among the research subjects being studied, and recommend improved practices.
Building on previous work on autism and moral responsibility, I am exploring ethical and philosophical questions that can help us understand, among other things, our responsibilities toward autistic people.
- Do “Restricted, Repetitive Patterns of Behavior, Interests, or Activities” Reduce Wellbeing? Monotropic Attachments, Richness, and Neurodiversity: With Raffaele Rodogno, I am developing a paper re-framing established theories of wellbeing in light of concepts such as "monotropism" developed by autistic authors.
- Masking Injustice: Unpacking What is Wrong when Autistic People Camouflage: With Joel Anderson, I am developing an account of when autistic camouflaging (masking) is the result of injustice.
Research Ethics
Over many years as an IRB Chair, I noted that when retrospective chart reviews are submitted for human subjects review, investigators and IRBs identify only patients as the research subjects even for studies where conclusions are being drawn about provider behaviors (such as prescribing patterns). Julia Alessandra Harzheim and Joanne Doucette have joined me to characterize a body of published retrospective chart review research, to highlight how many of these studies ignore that providers were among the research subjects being studied, and recommend improved practices.