Dr. Aaron Dallman, Ph.D., OTR/L, is a licensed occupational therapist and translational social scientist with a research emphasis on improving the lives and wellbeing of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

Dr. Dallman works at the intersection of healthcare and community, employing a multi-informant and mixed-methods approach to enhance the quality of healthcare and educational interventions throughout the treatment process. For example, Dr. Dallman has partnered with health systems to evaluate practitioner attitudes and to develop scalable educational programs to improve high-value service delivery throughout the healthcare experience (e.g., primary care to specialty care). Dr. Dallman aims to create scalable and high-value interventions within health and educational systems.

Dr. Dallman’s research has been shown to meet community-centered priorities and improve transition outcomes for individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions. Their work has informed evidence-based practices that are now being implemented in partnership with a hospital system. Dr. Dallman also has a research interest in innovative philosophical approaches to understanding human participation and engagement in the world. They are particularly interested in embodiment theories and how they might help us better understand the experiences of those with disabilities.

B.M. (Music Therapy), Appalachiah State University
M.S. (Occupational Therapy), UNC Chapel Hill
Ph.D. in Occupational Science, UNC Chapel Hill

LHS Star Fellow Awarded by Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey (AHRQ P30HS029759), 2024
Teaching Excellence Award, 2024
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Faculty Fellow, 2022
Diversity International Society for Autism Research Travel Award, 2021

My program of ASD research emphasizes a methodological focus whereas autistic youth and adults can successfully participate in the research process and highlight their own strengths and experiences. For example, previous research indicates that autistic youth are not able to report on their emotions. However, my research suggests that, when given the right method of evaluation, autistic youth can discuss these significant experiences. I have also used strengths-based multi-modal interviews (i.e., interviews including video, text, and audio) to understand how autistic adults are experiencing and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.

My research also aims to undercover the phenotype of neurodevelopmental disorders to identify common profiles of dimensional symptoms that impact individuals with developmental disabilities. By identifying profiles of symptoms that overlap and thus share dimensional characteristics across disorders, I can identify how universal treatments can improve outcomes for a variety of developmental populations.

Lastly, my program of research also emphasizes how social determinants and factors outside of individuals impact access to therapy and the outcomes of that therapy. I use a justice-oriented perspective to develop a program of research that hopes to improve the capabilities of the clients and populations I serve.