Matt Zellner
PhD Candidate &
Speech-Language Pathologist
Early Intervention Research Group
Department of
Communication Sciences & Disorders
Northwestern University
About me
I’m a PhD candidate and speech-language pathologist in the Early Intervention Research Group (PI: Dr. Megan Y. Roberts) in the Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders at Northwestern University.
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My research is centered around expanding access to diagnosis and communication intervention for autistic children. My primary line of research involves leveraging state and national datasets to explore community and geographic factors influencing access to and utilization of diagnostic and early intervention services, as well as the influence of COVID-19 on these services.
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My broader interests include developing and evaluating interventions that leverage theatre and drama methods to support the communication skills of autistic children and adults.
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I’m also passionate about teaching the next generation of clinicians at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, and building pathways for undergraduate students to engage in research.
Interests
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Early intervention access, utilization, & effectiveness
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Autism diagnostic approaches and access
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Theatre and drama-based communication interventions
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Teaching graduate and undergraduate students in CSD
Education
PhD, Communication Sciences & Disorders (in progress)
Northwestern University
MA, Communication Sciences & Disorders
University of Texas at Austin
BA, Psychology & Radio/Television/Film
Northwestern University
Projects
Improving access to autism diagnosis
Children in the United States face long waitlists for autism diagnostic appointments and are often diagnosed after critical periods for intervention. I’m currently examining the influence of diagnostic and referral provider geographic accessibility on age at diagnosis using state autism registry data.
Previously, I examined caregiver satisfaction with a tele-diagnostic autism assessment using qualitative thematic analysis. I’ve also helped to develop training materials for the EIRG’s Reduce the Wait Project for early intervention SLPs and DTs learning to diagnose autism in Illinois.
Examining the impact of COVID-19 on Part C early intervention
The COVID-19 pandemic massively disrupted healthcare and education, including Part C early intervention for children with disabilities. I obtained data from 42 state Part C coordinating agencies to examine differences in the impact of the pandemic across states and based on race/ethnicity and active-duty military status. Papers in preparation.
Previously, I was part of team that conducted a survey of providers in Illinois to document changes in early intervention service provision following the onset of pandemic restrictions.
Developing improv theatre interventions for autistic individuals
Improv programs for autistic children and adults are increasingly popular as a means to improve social communication skills; however, there have been limited attempts to evaluate their efficacy.
I currently co-lead an improv theatre program for adults with developmental disabilities at the Piven Theatre Workshop and plan to use this program as a model for a future qualitative pilot study.
Teaching
I am committed to training the next generation of speech-language pathologists using evidence-based pedagogy and inclusive teaching and course design. I have experience teaching at both the graduate (clinical master’s) and undergraduate level, and I have a particular interest in engaging undergraduate students in the research process.
In additional to serving as teaching assistant and guest lecturer in a variety of courses (listed in my CV), I served as a co-course designer and leader of the Northwestern University Institute for Innovations in Developmental Sciences’ Research Methodology Intensive Summer Series program for undergraduate research assistants.
I currently serve as a graduate assistant in Northwestern’s Office of Residential and Academic Engagement, where I help to develop and implement faculty-undergraduate student engagement opportunities within Northwestern’s residential college living-learning communities.
Talks
Upcoming presentations:
Zellner, M.A., Kaat, A.J., & Roberts, M.Y. (2024, June). How does Illinois stack up? Examining the impact of COVID-19 on early intervention service provision in the Land of Lincoln and nationwide. Early Childhood Research Alliance of Chicago (EC-REACH) Annual Research Conference.
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Recent presentations:
Zellner, M.A., Kaat, A.J., & Roberts, M.Y. (2024, February). Examining the Uneven Impact of COVID-19 on EI Using Service Provision Data. Conference on Research Innovations in Early Intervention 2024.
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Zellner, M.A., Kaat, A.J., & Roberts, M.Y. (2023, November). Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on Early Intervention: A Nationwide Analysis of Part C Data. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Convention 2023.
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A full list of presentations is available in my CV.
Publications
Zellner, M.A., Kaat, A.J., & Roberts, M.Y. (2023). Examining the impact of COVID-19 on Part C early intervention service provision: a nationwide interrupted time series analysis. Under review; abstract presented at ASHA 2023.
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Zellner, M.A., Grauzer, J., Kaat, A.J., & Roberts, M.Y. (in press). Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on Early Intervention Service Provision for Military Families: a Brief Report. Journal of Early Intervention.
Roberts, M.Y., Thornhill, L., Lee, J., Zellner, M.A., Sudec, L., Grauzer, J., & Stern, Y.S. (2022). The Impact of COVID-19 on Illinois Early Intervention Services. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 31(2), 974-981.
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Jones, M.K., Zellner, M.A., Hobson, A.N., Levin, A., & Roberts, M.Y. (2022). Understanding Caregiver Satisfaction With a Telediagnostic Assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorder. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 31(2), 982-990.
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Zellner, M.A., Grauzer, J., Kaat, A., & Roberts, M.Y. (2023). Parent Generalization of NDBI Intervention Strategies to High-Risk Siblings. Manuscript in preparation; abstract presented at CRIEI 2022.