As part of our celebration of Black History Month, we take this opportunity to recognize just a few of our many Black community members who share the Autism Society of North Carolina mission to ensure all families affected by autism are empowered to get what they need to thrive. In their different roles and professions, these individuals focus their energy on understanding and mitigating the disparities and unique challenges often experienced by Black individuals and families impacted by autism. We are grateful for their contributions and those of so many others who share a commitment to improving the lives of people on the spectrum.
Khadijia Tribié Reid, M.D.
Khadijia Tribié Reid, a pediatrician at the Pediatric Medical Director of MedNorth Health Center in Wilmington, North Carolina. Dr. Tribié Reid is the co-founder of MedNorth’s Intellectual and Developmental Delay (IDD) Model which connects families impacted by autism and other developmental disabilities to diagnoses and resources. As Co-Principal Investigator for BFAST, (Black Families and Providers Accessing Services Together), she participates in BFAST implementation design and strategic community engagement. BFAST is part of the UNC TEACCH Autism Program and was created in partnership with members of the Black community as a place where easily accessed, culturally sensitive, and personally tailored information could be shared regarding early intervention services for Black autistic children in North Carolina. ASNC collaborated with TEACCH to help establish the BFAST website, which features Black families sharing their stories on a variety of topics and includes interactive tools and links to resources. More about Dr. Tribié Reid here. More about BFAST can be found here.
Brian Boyd, Ph.D.
Brian Boyd, Ph.D. is a William C. Friday Distinguished Professor in Education in the UNC School of Education, an Autism Spectrum Disorder researcher at the UNC Autism Research Center, and director of UNC’s Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG). He is deeply engaged in research that involves the most vulnerable, and often marginalized, populations. Most recently, he has engaged in a research study to explore the disparities in the diagnosis, intervention, and access to services experienced by Black families with autistic children. During a presentation he made at the Autism Society of North Carolina’s conference in 2024, Dr. Boyd noted that while the underdiagnosis of autism in Black, Hispanic and other underserved communities was improving, research shows that disparities still exist. Dr. Boyd discussed his work and findings in an interview on WUNC’s “Due South” in March of 2024. Listen to that interview here and learn more about Dr. Boyd and his work here.
Jamie Pearson, Ph.D.
Jamie Pearson, Ph.D., a former behavioral interventionist and program consultant, is an Associate Professor of Special Education in the Department of Teacher Education and Learning Sciences and North Carolina State University. Dr. Pearson earned her Ph.D. in Special Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she developed FACES (Fostering Advocacy, Communication, Empowerment, and Support), a parent advocacy program designed to support Black families raising autistic children and youth. She is the director of FACES of Autism at NC State, leading its mission to “inform and strengthen empowerment among Black families and caregivers of autistic children and adolescents by addressing inequities in access to support services.” (FACES for Autism) Dr. Pearson’s broad research interests include supporting racially marginalized families supporting children with disabilities. More specifically, her interests include investigating disparities in the diagnosis of autism and access to services for Black autistic children and their families; assessing the impact of parent-advocacy and empowerment training on family dynamics and child outcomes; implementing classroom-based interventions that promote effective learning and engagement for Black autistic students; and building positive partnerships between educators and parents of disabled youth who come from racially marginalized backgrounds. More about Dr. Pearson can be found here.
Helpful resources
The Autism Society of North Carolina (ASNC) offers a wide range of services and programs designed to improve the lives of individuals with autism, support their families, and educate communities. To learn more about the many ways ASNC supports the North Carolina autism community, please visit our website at autismsociety-nc.org.
Go back