Kristy Anderson, PhD

National Autism Data Center

Florida State University - Florida

I am a Research Scientist at the AJ Drexel Autism Institute, having received my PhD in Social Welfare at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I am committed to research that has the potential to inform policies and practices that promote equity and justice among socially vulnerable and historically marginalized communities. My interdisciplinary program of research examines the causes, consequences, and response to health inequities among adolescents and emerging adults with disabilities. My research encompasses two primary areas: 1) exploring the prevalence, distribution, and determinants of economic hardship among autistic children and adults with single and multiple disadvantaged social identities and 2) identifying factors that influence disparate health outcomes and social determinants across the life course, with particular attention to the role of Medicaid and antipoverty programs. My work is grounded in life course frameworks, systems theory, and critical social science. I use a variety of statistical methods to analyze administrative and survey data and complement these analyses with qualitative inquiry.