Mary Banach

Her past research examining the effectiveness of follow-up services for families who receive a diagnosis of autism or other neurological challenges for a child has resulted in both journal publications and national presentations. This area of research has expanded both to examine the benefits of interdisciplinary co-leadership of groups for parents of children with disabilities and to explore factors leading to sustainability of support groups for parents. The results of this research has also led to national presentations and published articles. Future plans entail developing and investigating mentoring programs for parents who have a child with a disability. The other area of research focuses on social work pedagogy. Specifically, she is exploring the effectiveness of using standardized clients to teach interviewing skills in social work practice classes. This research is being conducted in association with the UNH theatre department and uses theatre students as standardized clients.