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Social determinants of health as key contributors to clinical outcomes in neurodevelopmental disabilities and associated conditions

April 8, 2025 from 8:30 am to 9:50 am

Social determinants of health (SDOH) capture “the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks” (US Department of Health and Human Services). Mounting evidence suggests that SDOH significantly influence cognitive and mental health outcomes in the general population, including IQ and internalizing symptoms. Less is known about the impact of SDOH on these clinical outcomes in individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities and associated conditions (e.g., FMR1 premutation). This symposium will review new findings from three studies that provide evidence of the impact that neighborhood and housing characteristics have on clinical outcomes in individuals with Fragile X Syndrome, FMR1 premutation carriers, and intellectual and developmental disabilities. Implications for targeted intervention development and public policy solutions will be discussed.

Chair: Walker McKinney, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center,
Second Chair: Lauren Schmitt, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center,

Discussant: Leonard Abbeduto, University of California, Davis

First Presentation: Beyond the Protein: How Neighborhoods Shape IQ and Adaptive Behavior in Fragile X Syndrome
Walker McKinney, Department of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Austin Corsmeier, Loewenberg College of Nursing, University of Memphis; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Ashley Dapore; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Christina Gross; Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine; Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Kelli C. Dominick; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Craig Erickson; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Lauren M. Schmitt; Department of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine; Phelan-McDermid Syndrome Foundation

Second Presentation: Social Determinants of Health and Risk for Anxiety and Depression in the FMR1 Premutation: Neighborhood Deprivation and the Mediating Role of Loneliness
Thomas Christensen, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Carolina, Jessica Klusek, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Carolina

Third Presentation: Child Opportunity Index and Mental Health in Youth with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Iulia Mihaila, University of Illinois Chicago,