Dr. Kristie Patten, PhD, OT/L, FAOTA
Dr. Kristie Patten is Vice Dean of Academic Affairs at NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development and Professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at New York University.
Her research examines strength based practices in inclusive public school settings. She authored a Strength Based Frame of Reference for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum as a guide for practice and her work has been recognized with the awarding of AOTA’s 2021 Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lectureship. She was awarded and delivered the 2022 Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture, entitled “Finding our Strengths: Recognizing Professional Bias and Interrogating Systems”, which is one of the highest recognitions within the occupational therapy profession.
Dr. Patten is the Principal Investigator of the NYU Steinhardt’s ASD Nest Program, an inclusive program for autistic students. She is currently Co-PI of an NSF grant entitled “IDEAS: Inventing, Designing and Engineering on the Autism Spectrum” that leverages STEM interests of autistic middle school students to develop social competence and potential career pathways.
Dr. Patten has published extensively and presented nationally and internationally on topics related to examining autism from a strength-based or abilities-based model.
