Kristie Patten, PhD, OT/L, FAOTA, is Counselor to the President and she oversees the priorities of the Office of the President and is a key liaison to the Office of the Provost and major administrative units to coordinate planning, implementation, and assessment around these joint efforts. Dr. Patten has been at NYU since 2007 and is also a Professor of Occupational Therapy at NYU Steinhardt. She has served as Vice Dean of Academic Affairs at NYU Steinhardt and Chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy. As a professor, her research examines strength based practices in inclusive public school settings. Dr. Patten is the Principal Investigator of the NYU Steinhardt's ASD Nest Program, supporting New York City Public Schools’ largest inclusion program for autistic students and is on the NYCPS Special Education Advisory Council. She co-chairs the Global Center for Inclusion’s Research Collaborative and co-founded, along with colleagues from the Moses Center, the NYU Connections program for neurodivergent students at NYU. She is currently Co-PI of an NSF grant that engages autistic college students mentoring autistic high school students in STEM interests and career pathways.
These projects leverage strengths and interests of 5th through 12th grade students on the spectrum to develop social competence and potential career pathways. Dr. Patten has published and presented nationally and internationally on topics related to examining the efficacy of public school inclusion models and viewing autism from a strength-based or abilities-based model. She was awarded the 2022 Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship, by the American Occupational Therapy Association, the highest academic award in the profession for her work entitled "Finding our Strengths: Recognizing our Professional Bias and Interrogating Systems".
Selected Publications
- Murthi, K., Onwumere, D., Chen, Y.L., Shore, S., & Patten, K. (accepted). Strength-based practice to enhance mental health for autistic individuals: A scoping review. American Journal of Occupational Therapy.
- Murthi, K. & Patten, K. (accepted). "Improving executive functions using the Engineering Design Process: A peer-mediated problem-solving approach for autistic adolescents. American Journal of Occupational Therapy.
- Patten, K. (2022). The 2022 Eleanor Clark Slagle Lecture. Finding our strengths: Recognizing professional bias and interrogating systems. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 76(6). DOI: https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2022.076603
- Chen Y-L, Schneider M, Patten K. (2022). Exploring interpersonal and environmental factors of autistic adolescents’ peer engagement in integrated education. Autism. 26(5):1255-1266. doi:10.1177/13623613211046158
- Chen, Y-L., Murthi, K., Martin, W., Vidiksis, R., Riccio, A., Patten, K. (2021) Experiences of students, teachers, and parents participating in an inclusive, school-based informal engineering education program. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05230-2
- Chen, Y.L., Martin, W., Vidiksis, R. & Patten, K. (2021). A different environment for success: A mixed-methods exploration of social participation outcomes among adolescents on the autism spectrum in an inclusive, interest-based school club. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, DOI:10.1080/20473869.2021.2001729
- Chen, Y-L., Murthi, K., Martin, W., Vidiksis, R., Riccio, A., Patten, K. (2021) Experiences of Students, Teachers, and Parents Participating in an Inclusive, School-Based Informal Engineering Education Program. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05230-2
- Chen Y-L, Senande LL, Thorsen M, Patten K. (2021). Peer preferences and characteristics of same-group and cross-group social interactions among autistic and non-autistic adolescents. Autism. 2021;25(7):1885-1900. doi:10.1177/13623613211005918
- Chen, Y. L. and Patten, K. (2021). Shifting Focus from Impairments to Inclusion: Expanding Occupational Therapy for Neurodivergent Students to Address School Environments. American Journal of Occupational Therapy.
- Onwumere, D.D., Cruz, Y.M., Lauren I. Harris, L.I., Malfucci, K.A., Seidman, S., Boone, C., & Patten, K. (2020) The Impact of an Independence Curriculum on Self-Determination and Function in Middle School Autistic Students. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, DOI: 10.1080/19411243.2020.1799904
- Martin, W., Vidikis, R., Wu, J. & Patten, K. (2020). Promoting science, technology, and engineering self-efficacy and knowledge for all with an autism inclusion maker program. Frontiers in Education.
- Fang, C., Weinberg, S. & Patten, K. (2020) A comparison of the participation levels of Taiwanese children with autism spectrum disorders in inclusive vs. specialised settings. International Journal of Inclusive Education. DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2020.1777332
- Martin, W., Vidiksis, R., Patten Koenig, K., & Chen, Y. (2019). Making on and off the spectrum. Connected Science Learning, Issue 10.
- Patten Koenig, K. & Hough Williams, L. (2017): Characterization and Utilization of Preferred Interests: A Survey of Adults on the Autism Spectrum, Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, DOI: 10.1080/0164212X.2016.1248877
- Tomchek, S., Koenig, K. P., Arbesman, M., & Lieberman, D. (2017). Evidence Connection—Occupational therapy interventions for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71, 7101395010. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2017.711003
- Tomchek, S., & Patten Koenig, K. (2016). Occupational Therapy Practice Guidelines for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Bethesda, MD: American Occupational Therapy Association.