Margaret Janse van Rensburg
PhD Student
Education:
MSW (Carleton University),
G. Cert: Autism and Behaviour Sciences (George Brown College)
BA Hons. Archaeology and Medieval Studies (Wilfrid Laurier University)
About me:
I have a Bachelor of Arts in Archaeology and Medieval Studies, and a Graduate Certificate in Autism and Behaviour Sciences. I completed my Master of Social Work at Carleton University and am a Registered Social Worker with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. My research focuses on adult Autistic mental health, and the barriers to, and facilitators of practitioners and professionals providing Autistic adults with mental health support. My work is informed by ecological systems theory and research methods that include Autistic people and members of the adult autism community. My PhD research interviewed 24 Practitioners’ and Professionals’ barriers to and facilitators of providing Ottawa Autistic adults with mental health support, informed by ecosystems theory, and employing participatory methods with the Ottawa Adult Autism Initiative. I work as a Contract Instructor, Teaching Assistant, and Faculty Liaison at Carleton University.
Outside of my PhD research, my work is interested in supporting Autistic adult mental health, wellbeing, and inclusion. Right now I am on a few projects, notably I work as a Community Outreach Liaison for the Neuroinclusivity in Housing project. In the past I worked as a Research Coordinator for the AIDAN Lab, as a Research Assistant for the Bridging the Silos project, under the supervision of Dr. Karen Sewell investigating the organizational outcomes of supervision. In the past, I was a research assistant for the Oral Histories of Disability Rights Movement project, and was a coordinator and facilitator of the EAAA Sexual Assault Resistance Education program at Carleton University.
You can find most of my published work here: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0780-7945