T A Meridian McDonald, Ph.D.

Dr. T A M McDonald is the principal investigator of the Spectrum for Life (S4L) Lab at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is also a research investigator with the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and a member affiliate of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation. Dr. McDonald's work is focused on optimizing outcomes of adults on the autism spectrum through a) adapting, creating, and validating measures and b) adapting and developing interventions for autistic populations.  Through individual and collaborative interdisciplinary research projects, she takes a life course approach to autism research and has examined factors across the lifespan, from toddler to adulthood, to increase understanding of development and outcomes for individuals on the autism spectrum. She is interested in better understanding individual differences in the perspectives, experiences, and outcomes of adults on the autism spectrum through interlinked, longitudinal online studies. She is continuing research on autism identity, neurodiversity, and self-determination and is also currently working in the implementation science space by adapting an evidenced-based intervention for insomnia (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – Insomnia) to meet the learning and motivation needs of autistic individuals as well as the clinicians who serve them.