Interdisciplinary Connections

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding and Improving Self-injurious Behaviors Workgroup

This workgroup aims to develop and expand new and current activities with MIDB collaborators related to using telehealth technology to improve our understanding of and the quality of life for children and youth who engage in or are at risk for self-injurious behavior.

Workgroup Presentations on Self-injury

Watch the following presentations from members of our working group

Improving research on depression and self-injury in adolescents

An interdisciplinary approach to self-injury: From mental health to developmental disabilities

Self-injurious behavior

MIDB Colloquium Katie Cullen, MD - January 25, 2024

Involved Collaborators, Labs, and Teams

Stacey Brandjord, Ph.D., LP, Psychologist, Center for Neurobehavioral Development, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain

Andrea Castillo, BS, Research Professional, TeleOutreach Center, Institute on Community Integration

Laura Chubb, M.ADS, Department of Educational Psychology, Ph.D. Candidate and Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellow

Kathryn R. Cullen, MD, Associate Professor, Division Director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

Adele Dimian. Ph.D., Research Associate, TeleOutreach Center, Institute on Community Integration

Julie B. Eisengart, Ph.D., LP, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Director, Neurodevelopmental Program in Rare Disease , Division of Clinical Behavioral Neuroscience

Amy Esler, Ph.D., LP, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Co-director of MIDB Clinical Services

Rachel Freeman, Ph.D., Director of State Initiatives, Institute on Community Integration, Minnesota DHS Regional Organization-Wide Training and TA on Person-Centered Positive Behavior Support

Rebekah Hudock, Ph.D., LP, Department of Pediatrics, MIDB Autism & Neurodevelopment Clinic, Assistant Professor and Pediatric Neuropsychologist

Bonnie Klimes-Dougan, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts

Seunghee Lee, Ph.D., Research Associate, TeleOutreach Center, Institute on Community Integration

Tim Moore, Ph.D., LP., Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School

Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos, Ph.D., Director of the Minnesota Robotics Institute, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, McKnight Presidential Endowed Professor

Caroline Roberts, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Associate, Institute on Community Integration

Jessica J. Simacek, Ph.D., TeleOutreach Center + Service Hub, Institute on Community Integration/College of Education + Human Development

Frank Symons, PhD., Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education + Human Development

Katelyn Visina, MS, BCBA, Research Professional, Center for Neurobehavioral Development, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain

Jason Wolff, Ph.D., Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education + Human Development

Recent Publications from the Workgroup

Byiers, B. J., Gunderson, J., Huebner, A., & Symons, F. J. (2025). Prospective characterisation of age‐related changes in self‐injurious behaviour in a sample of children with global developmental delay aged 2–12 years. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. https://doi.org/10.1111/jir.13228

Dimian, A. F., & Symons, F. J. (2022). A systematic review of risk for the development and persistence of self-injurious behavior in intellectual and developmental disabilities. Clinical Psychology Review, 102158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102158

Dimian, A. F., Estes, A. M., Dager, S., Piven, J., & Wolff, J. J. (2023). Predicting self‐injurious behavior at age three among infant siblings of children with autism. Autism Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2981

Moore, T. R., Lee, S., Freeman, R., Mahmoudi, M., Dimian, A., Riegelman, A., & Simacek, J. J. (2024). A meta-analysis of treatment for self-injurious behavior in children and adolescents with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Behavior Modification, 48(2), 216-256. https://doi.org/10.1177/01454455231218742

Roberts, C. L., Avina, A. H., & Symons, F. J. (2023). A qualitative analysis of family caregiver experiences accessing treatment for self-injurious behavior in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 17(4), 346–368. https://doi.org/10.1080/19315864.2023.2223546

Roberts, C. L., Larsh, M., & Symons, F. (2024). Interdisciplinarity and self-injury: Toward an inclusive research and treatment paradigm. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3109/13668250.2024.2370564

Roberts, C. L., Larsh, M., & Symons, F. (2024). Self-injury and the treatment gap: An interdisciplinary exploration of beliefs about causal variables and treatment goals among caregivers, researchers, and clinicians. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/19315864.2024.2424744

Roberts, C. L. & Symons, F. J. (2024). The critical insight of family caregivers of individuals with intellectual and developmental disability and severe self-injurious behavior. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmcn.16212

Roberts, C. L. & Symons, F. (2023). Self-injurious behavior in individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities: An interdisciplinary family systems review. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12548

Get Involved in Interdisciplinary Work

Please email: telehealthstudy@umn.edu