Congratulations to Lauren Duvall, a second-year graduate student in the Clinical Science research area in the MSU Department of Psychology, on being awarded a 2025-2027 Early On Faculty Grant to support her master’s project.
Given by Clinton County Regional Educational Service Agency’s Office of Innovative Projects, this multi-year grant is intended to support research and practical application projects in the field of early intervention within the State of Michigan. The focus is on professionals prepared to serve infants and toddlers, birth to age three, with disabilities and/or special needs and their families.
“I feel so grateful to receive this grant so I can continue to do the work that I am passionate about, especially as a graduate student,” said Duvall. “It means a lot to me that this organization, that is directly affiliated with the population that we’re trying to learn more about, is also excited about this work.”
Duvall, who works in the MSU Autism Lab with advisor Dr. Brooke Ingersoll, is working to better support autistic children and their families, but she’s also interested in finding out what kind of provider level supports could be implemented.
Duvall’s study collected online survey data from early intervention providers serving children aged 0-3 who are eligible to receive public early intervention services like parent coaching, speech therapy, or physical therapy. The survey examined providers’ attitudes toward parent coaching, how frequently they use parent-coaching strategies, and the structure of their professional social networks.
"These providers are working so hard to deliver high-quality clinical services to families. If this study shows that there are ways to better support these providers in their delivery of services, then we can establish new supports to better aid providers and their ability to care for the families that they work with," said Duvall.
This grant not only covers participant compensation and research costs, but it also creates opportunities for community engagement. Duvall will present her findings at Early On meetings and will also lead workshops on parent-coaching interventions developed by her mentor.
“It’s very cool to be able to present the findings back to the people who it matters the most to,” said Duvall. “The MSU Autism Lab has worked so hard to establish community trust over the years, and I'm so honored to be able to continue developing those relationships across the years of this grant.”