Nonprofits and charities across the world utilize volunteers to make a tangible impact, and yet the mutualistic benefits that volunteers themselves receive are explored much less. This study explores the psychological impact of volunteering and whether gender, age, and motivations affect these impacts. Previous literature argues positive psychological impacts due to volunteering exist, though those without selfless motivations or younger volunteers didn’t experience these effects as strongly or at all. A survey administered to 379 volunteers at Our Big Kitchen Los Angeles soup kitchen utilized Likert scales to explore how volunteering affected mood, social connection, and outlook/perspective. The survey corroborated overall positive effects, as well as older volunteers typically experiencing more benefits than younger volunteers in terms of mood and social connection. Contrary to previous studies, motivation type, external or internal, held little significance in the level of benefits found, and younger volunteers still found positive psychological effects and even saw greater effects for outlook and perspective versus older adults. Women also tended to experience more benefits on average compared to men. This study shows that organizations relying on volunteers can reframe their opportunities as beneficial for all regardless of motivations, and slightly prioritize marketing towards men and younger participants as well.

Lebanon’s healthcare system is shaped by political instability, economic collapse, and structural inequities, disproportionately affecting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs). Despite Lebanon’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, disability-inclusive healthcare remains inconsistently implemented and largely dependent on NGOs and private institutions. Existing literature is fragmented and rarely centers family experiences. This project asks how disability healthcare in Lebanon is structured through policy and practice, and what barriers shape access for families of children with IDDs. I conducted a scoping review of academic literature, NGO reports, and policy documents (WHO, UN, Human Rights Watch, and local organizations), following PRISMA guidelines to map existing knowledge and identify key gaps. The review was analyzed thematically, focusing on access barriers, institutional limitations, and the role of families as informal caregivers. Findings highlight a persistent gap between disability rights frameworks and lived realities. This scoping review also establishes the foundation for my future mixed-methods research, including interviews and surveys with individuals themselves and their caregivers. This project is significant because it consolidates dispersed knowledge into a framework that informs future research, NGO programming, and disability policy reform in Lebanon, while contributing to global disability studies in crisis-affected contexts.

Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) affect over 7 million Americans. To carry out daily tasks and obligations, individuals affected by ADRD are often supported by caregivers, some of whom have familial ties to the affected individual. Both individuals with ADRD and their caregivers often encounter barriers to accessing healthcare resources and education, particularly those who identify as African American. This study seeks to identify knowledge gaps among African American caregivers regarding ADRD, heredity, and novel anti-amyloid therapies while examining their experiences in clinical settings. To explore these topics, a focus group was held with caregivers of individuals with ADRD who were asked to give feedback on educational resources, share lived experiences in clinical settings, and describe their knowledge of genetics. Qualitative analysis was performed using Dedoose software, revealing preliminary themes of barriers to sharing family history, experiences in diagnosis, and advocacy. Results show most participants have not heard of the APOE gene or anti-amyloid therapy and highlight experiences contributing to mistrust of healthcare. These results may support efforts to rebuild communication, understanding, and confidence within marginalized communities of healthcare. Further research efforts should be placed towards conducting further focus groups, expanding to ADRD affected individual interviews, and continuing the development of educational materials.

There is an increasing understanding that people with autism process sensory stimuli differently from their neurotypical peers, supported by scientific studies and autistic lived experiences (Clément et al.). Applied behavioral analysis therapy (ABA therapy), the most widely practiced form of autism therapy, often seeks to modify these sensory sensitivities and “extinguish” negative self-stimulatory behaviors. However, interviews with previous ABA patients conducted by UCSF reveals criticism of how therapy restricts access to regulatory behaviors and does little to help patients manage overstimulation (Gardner). This ethnography will study how a partial hospitalization ABA clinic dictates access to stimulation for patients. This ethnography will include a catalogue of the toys available during free play time, how therapists gate access to direct stimulation, and cases of stimulatory behaviors deemed negative and therapists’ response. I will use a neuroaffirmative lens to assess how therapists support the expressed needs of patients. The results of this ethnography can be used to inform future neuroaffirmative sensory interventions to better meet patient needs.