Lauren Bishop

University of Wisconsin–Madison | UW · Waisman Center

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience increased morbidity and decreased life expectancy compared to the general population, and these disparities are likely exacerbated for those individuals who are otherwise disadvantaged. We conducted a review to ascertain what is known about health and health system quality (e.g., high quali...

Very little is known about the health problems experienced by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) throughout their life course. We retrospectively analyzed diagnostic codes associated with de-identified electronic health records using a machine learning algorithm to characterize diagnostic patterns in decedents with ASD and matched dece...

Relatively consistent findings from recent studies using population‐level data identify heightened physical and psychiatric morbidity in autistic people compared to the general population. Health problems that commonly present with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are generally discussed in the literature as “co‐occurring” or “comorbid” regardless of...

Background: People on the autism spectrum may have more physical and mental health conditions in midlife and old age compared to the general population. This study describes the physical and mental health of a unique sample of all middle aged and older Wisconsin Medicaid beneficiaries with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and tests differences...

The life span has profoundly increased for individuals with Down syndrome (DS), leading to a large, understudied population of middle-aged and older adults with DS.1 Clinical studies show individuals with DS are at higher risk and have earlier onset of dementia.2 Down syndrome is defined by trisomy of chromosome 21, the site of the amyloid precurso...

Background Cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) and executive function difficulties increase during later-life and are associated with depression symptoms among non-autistic older people. These associations, however, have not yet been explored among middle-aged and older autistic people. Methods Using data collected via Simons Foundation Powering Au...

BACKGROUND: The study of job interview training is an emerging area among transition-age autistic youth who face significant challenges when navigating job interviews. The autism field has limited measures that have undergone rigorous psychometric evaluation. OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the psychometric properties of adapted self-report measur...

BACKGROUND: Autistic transition-age youth are employed at rates far lower than their non-disabled peers as well as youth with other disabilities. Meanwhile, very few studies have evaluated the implementation of job interviewing practices within pre-employment transition services. OBJECTIVE: We conducted an initial implementation evaluation as part...

Approximately 40% of American adults are affected by cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors (e.g., high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and overweight or obesity), and risk among autistic adults may be even higher. Mechanisms underlying the high prevalence of CVD risk factors in autistic people may include known correlates of CVD ris...

Objectives Assessing the impact of interdisciplinary training programs is highly desirable and needed. However, there are currently no established methods to prospectively assess long-term outcomes of trainees compared to individuals who did not receive training. Our objective was to test the feasibility of a longitudinal, prospective cohort design...

Background Women with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) face stigma and inequity surrounding opportunity and care during pregnancy. Little work has quantified fertility rates among women with IDD which prevents proper allocation of care. Objective Our objective was to cross-sectionally describe fertility patterns among women with a...

Background Although research demonstrates that autistic children are at risk of poor sleep quality, very little is known about sleep quality and its impact on quality of life in autistic adults. We investigated the relationships between sleep quality, perceived stress, and quality of life for autistic adults. Method Data were prospectively collect...

Vocational outcomes among transition-age youth receiving special education services are critically poor and have only incrementally improved since the implementation of the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act. Few studies highlight whether interviewing may be critical to obtaining vocational outcomes such as competitive employment or internships....

Background: Neighborhood-level socioeconomic disadvantage has wide-ranging impacts on health outcomes, particularly in older adults. Although indices of disadvantage are a widely used tool, research conducted to date has not codified a set of standard variables that should be included in these indices for the US. The objective of this study was to...

The lived experience of being autistic and being Black in America both put youth at higher risk for developing depressive symptoms. However, there is a dearth of research examining potential disparities in autistic youth with depression. The current study examined disparities in depressive symptoms among a sample of Black and White autistic youth b...

Background: Women with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) face increased risk of adverse maternal pregnancy outcomes, yet less is known about infant outcomes. Objectives: To examine birth outcomes of infants born to mothers with IDD and assess associations with demographics and IDD-type. Methods: We used data from the Big Data f...

Importance: Quality of life (QoL) is a core outcome of occupational therapy, but it is decreased among autistic adolescents and adults. This is the first review of QoL from an occupational therapy standpoint. Objective: To identify self-reported QoL differences between autistic and nonautistic samples; investigate sex differences in QoL among autis...

Lay abstract: Autistic transition age youth struggle with obtaining employment, and interviewing is a critical barrier to getting a job. We adapted an efficacious virtual reality job interview intervention to meet the needs of autistic transition age youth, called the Virtual Interview Training for Transition Age Youth. This study evaluated whethe...

Emerging research tests the impact of United States Medicaid home and community‐based (HCBS) waiver policy on outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; however, this body of work has yet to be synthesized. We conducted a scoping review to establish what is known about the impact of Medicaid HCBS policy on the lives of pe...

Background Women with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) may face greater risk for poor pregnancy outcomes. Our objective was to examine risk of maternal pregnancy complications and birth outcomes in women with IDD compared to women without IDD in Wisconsin Medicaid, from 2007–2016. Methods Data were from the Big Data for Little Kid...

Lay abstract: Epilepsy is more common in autistic children compared to children without autism, but we do not have good estimates of how many autistic adults have epilepsy. We used data from a full population of 7513 autistic adults who received Medicaid in Wisconsin to figure out the proportion of autistic adults who have epilepsy, as compared to...

Lay abstract: Autism spectrum disorder and co-occurring symptoms often require lifelong services. However, access to autism spectrum disorder services is hindered by a lack of available autism spectrum disorder providers. We utilized geographic information systems methods to map autism spectrum disorder provider locations in Michigan. We hypothesi...

Autism spectrum disorder is a heritable, developmental disability that is characterized by challenges with social communication and the presence of restrictive and/or repetitive patterns of behavior. Autism spectrum disorder affects development and quality of life from very early development through old age. Social workers play a number of differen...

Our primary objective was to describe demographic characteristics and enrollment patterns in a unique 11‐year full sample of adult Wisconsin Medicaid beneficiaries with identified autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or intellectual disability (ID). We obtained de‐identified Medicaid claims data for adults with a recorded ASD or ID diagnosis aged 21 and...

The social work profession has not yet taken a leadership role in addressing the myriad of challenges that individuals on the autism spectrum encounter across the lifespan. In this essay, we argue that social workers are well equipped to engage in research and practice aimed at promoting full and meaningful inclusion in society, as well as social a...

Background: The rise in women's tobacco use and subsequent health complications has generated an increase in gender-related tobacco use research. However, no research has examined gender's influence on tobacco use among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Objective: To examine 1) tobacco use prevalence rates among men...

Identifying modifiable correlates of good quality of life in adults with autism spectrum disorder is of paramount importance for intervention development as the population of adults with autism spectrum disorder increases. This study sought to examine social support and perceived stress as potential modifiable correlates of quality of life in adult...

Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience marked challenges with social function by definition, but few modifiable predictors of social functioning in ASD have been identified in extant research. This study hypothesized that deficits in social cognition and motor function may help to explain poor social functioning in...

As the number of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) grows, the need to identify modifiable correlates of positive outcomes and quality of life (QoL) gains in importance. Research indicates that perceived stress is significantly correlated with QoL in adults with ASD. Studies in the general population of individuals without disabilities indi...

This study examined differences between adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; N = 40) and typical community volunteers (N = 25) on measures of stressful life events, perceived stress, and biological stress response (cardiovascular and cortisol reactivity) during a novel social stress task. Additional analyses examined the relationship between...

The literature on health care disparities is replete with reports of bias and disparity between individuals of European American and non-European American descent, and it appears as though early identification and subsequent services for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is no different in this regard. A combination of cultural norms...

This study aims to extend the definition of quality of life (QoL) for adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n = 180, ages 23–60) by: (1) characterizing the heterogeneity of normative outcomes (employment, independent living, social engagement) and objective QoL (physical health, neighborhood quality, family contact, mental health issues); and...

We examined factors related to subjective quality of life (QoL) of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged 25-55 (n = 60), using the World Health Organization Quality of Life measure (WHOQOL-BREF). We used three different assessment methods: adult self-report, maternal proxy-report, and maternal report. Reliability analysis showed that adul...

Throughout the United States, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are living longer due to medical advances and improvements in treatment and living conditions. These improvements in longevity mean that the vast majority of individuals with ASD may expect to experience many of the joys associated with continued development and transitio...

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face substantial challenges accomplishing basic tasks associated with daily living, which are exacerbated by their broad and pervasive difficulties with social interactions. These challenges put people with ASD at increased risk for psychophysiological distress, which likely factors heavily into social fun...

Background: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) categorically experience marked challenges with social-cognitive and social functioning. Specifically, they have difficulty understanding the intentions, desires, and beliefs of others. They exhibit poor social awareness, social interaction skills, and adaptive behaviors. However, the asso...

Background: Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face substantial challenges accomplishing basic tasks associated with daily living, which are exacerbated by their broad and pervasive difficulties with social interactions. These challenges put people with ASD at increased risk for psychophysiological distress, which likely factors heavily int...

Background and Purpose: Adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) face substantial challenges accomplishing basic tasks associated with daily living, which are exacerbated by their broad and pervasive difficulties with social interactions. These challenges, coupled with biobehavioral vulnerabilities inherent to ASD, put people with these conditio...

Adolescents constitute a large proportion of youth in foster care, but few foster care models specifically concentrate on their developmental or treatment needs. This study examined outcomes for an agency-developed, theoretically based treatment foster care (TFC) model using de-identified administrative data from 612 youth discharged from care over...

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) spend the majority of their lives as adults, and psychosocial interventions show promise for improving outcomes in this population. This research conducted a systematic review of all peer-review studies evaluating psychosocial interventions for adults with ASD. A total of 1,217 studies were reviewed,...

Since the early 1950s, trends in children's mental health have moved care from residential and office-based treatment to community-based interventions. The Pressley Ridge Treatment Foster Care (PRTFC) program was developed in 1981 in response to these trends. Currently, Pressley Ridge provides PR-TFC treatment in 15 programs in six states and the D...

To determine whether video-based coping skills (VCS) training with telephone coaching reduces psychosocial and biological markers of distress in primary caregivers of a relative with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia (ADRD). A controlled clinical trial was conducted with 116 ADRD caregivers who were assigned, alternately as they qualified for...