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Teresa Sellitto

Teresa Sellitto

Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy, York University (in progress)
  • Master of Arts, York University
  • Honours Bachelor of Science, University of Toronto

Research Interests

I am interested in understanding the factors that promote positive well-being outcomes for people with developmental disabilities. My Master’s thesis employed a positive psychology lens to investigate the links between community assets, thriving, and mental health problems among youth and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I also explored the association between COVID-19-related stressors and mental health problems, and if thriving acted as a protective factor in this association. For my dissertation, I am interested in developing an autism-informed conceptualization of flourishing and its predictors for autistic youth.

Albaum, C., Chan, V., Sellitto, T., Vashi, N., Hastings, R. P., Weiss J. A. (Online First). Redressing the balance: A systematic review of positive psychology in the intellectual disability literature. International Review of Research in Developmental Disabilities. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.irrdd.2021.08.003

Vashi, N.,Lee, V., Sellitto, T., Roudbarani, F. H., Pouyandeh, A., Ameis, S., Elkader, A., Gray, K., Kerns, C., Lake, J., Legree, M., Thomson, K., & Weiss, J. A. (2022, August). Associations between parent and child characteristics and acceptability of a community-based cognitive behaviour therapy program for autistic children [Poster presentation]Developmental Origins of Health and Disease World Congress 2022, Vancouver, Canada.

Sellitto, T., Lee, V., Vashi, N., Roudbarani, F., Pouyandeh, A., & Weiss, J. A. (2022, May). Thriving in autistic children seeking socioemotional supports in a virtual group-based cognitive behavioural therapy program [Poster Presentation]. International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Hybrid Conference, Austin, Texas, United States.

Vashi, N.,Lee, V., Sellitto, T., Roudbarani, F., Pouyandeh, A., Ameis, S., Elkader, A., Gray, K., Kerns, C., Lake, J., Legree, M., Thomson, K., & Weiss, J.A. (2022, May). Exploring the acceptability of a community-based cognitive behaviour therapy program for autistic children: A mixed-methods approach [Poster Presentation]. International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) Annual Meeting, Austin, Texas, United States.

Lee, V., Vashi, N., Sellitto, T., Roudbarani, F., Pouyandeh, A., Weiss, J. A. (2021, May). Evaluation of the Secret Agent Society Small Group Program for Autistic Children [Oral Presentation]. Child Health Symposium, Western University, London, Canada. 

Sellitto, T., Weiss, J. A., & Bassett-Gunter, R. L. (2021, July). What aspects of sport participation are related to thriving in youth with intellectual disability? [Poster Presentation]. The 6th International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disabilities (IASSIDD) Europe Hybrid Congress 2021, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

Sellitto, T., & Weiss, J. A. (2021, May). A positive youth development framework to understand positive mental health in autistic youth [Poster Presentation]The 2021 International Society for Autism Research Hybrid Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

Vashi, N., Lee, V., Sellitto, T., Roudbarani, F., Pouyandeh, A., & Weiss, J.A. (2021, April). Therapist attitudes towards the implementation of a manualized socioemotional intervention for autistic children in community-based agencies [Poster Presentation]. The 2021 Gatlinburg Virtual Conference on Research and Theory in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Philipp, D., Sellitto, T., Hayos, C., Zarb, T., Yabsley, S., & Cohen., N. (2020, June) Reflective Family Play 2.0: Adaptations for Separated Coparents, Single Parenting and Preliminary Within Case Outcomes. Part of paper symposium entitled Reflective Family Play: Experiences in Working with Whole Families Across a Variety of Contexts submitted for presentation at the World Association for Infant Mental Health, Brisbane, Australia. (Conference cancelled).

Sellitto, T., Jambon, M., & Malti, T. (2019, August). The Roles of Power Assertion and Emotional Control in Children’s Sympathy Development. Poster presented at the University of Toronto Mississauga Summer Research Celebration, Mississauga, Canada.

Sellitto, T., & Farb, N. (2019, May). The Effects of Sleep Quality, Mindfulness, and Self-Care Preference on Undergraduate Well-Being. Poster presented at the Ontario Psychology Undergraduate Thesis Conference, Waterloo, Canada.

Funding

  • 2022-2026 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship
  • 2022-2023 Ontario Graduate Scholarship (Declined)
  • 2021-2022 LaMarsh Graduate Student Research Award
  • 2020-2021 LaMarsh Graduate Student Research Award
  • 2020-2021 Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canadian Graduate Scholarship – Master’s Award, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
  • 2020-2021 Ontario Graduate Scholarship (Declined)

Contact

Email: tsellitt@yorku.ca

Twitter: @TeresaSellitto_