Bio

Bio

Dr. Terry Bennett is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and clinician scientist with clinical and research interests in supporting Neurodivergent kids, teens and families through mental health prevention and family-centered care research.

Current Focus Areas

Current Focus Areas

• The FAIR Study (Family Check-Up® Autism Implementation Research) Study: in this study, with recruitment and data collection now closed, 82 families of Autistic children and youth aged 6-17 years of age were enrolled in a pragmatic randomized controlled trial evaluating the Family Check-Up® (FCU), a family-centered, strength-based mental health program plus follow-up parenting and service navigation support. This is the first evaluation of this evidence-based program for Autistic young people and their families. The team is interested in understanding whether families who participate experience fewer challenges with child behavioural concerns and emotional dysregulation, improvements in caregiver well-being and more positive caregiver-child interactions. The team also studied factors that promote or challenge this program’s introduction and sustained delivery to further refine the model and support other agencies who wish to provide strength-based support to children and families who experience stressful lives.
• The Pathways in Autism Study: This is a 20 year-old study that has followed children who were diagnosed as Autistic (or, with “Autism Spectrum Disorder”) between the ages of 2-4 years old through to the end of their adolescent years. The team hopes to continue learning about the experience of growing into adulthood in future years.

Career Highlights

Career Highlights

Family Check-Up® at McMaster Children’s Hospital: Dr. Bennett and her colleagues have led the implementation and scale up of this program across 4 programs at the Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre: Child and Youth Mental Health, Autism, Extensive Needs and Developmental Paediatrics. As the first site to import this program from the U.S., in 2016, their dedicated, talented front-line clinicians and supervisors have provided the model to over 1000 research and clinical families. They are now expanding their training model and planning new research and clinical ventures.

Hamilton Health Sciences News Article: MCH’s Family Check-Up® program partners with local day care to coach families in need

YouTube Video: Extensive Needs Services Program

Trajectories of Early Emotional Dysregulation in Autistic Children: The Pathways Study. In a 2025 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dr. Bennett and her colleagues found that Autistic children aged 2-4 years who showed high levels of emotional dysregulation (severe difficulties with meltdowns, tantrums, aggression) were at high risk of continuing to experience these challenges through childhood to pre-adolescence. While research has tended to focus on children’s Autistic traits, IQ and language, the team’s research found that family-level stress such as parental depression and family strain as well as income insecurity were more strong and reliable predictors of these “pathways” in emotional dysregulation. The impact of persistently high challenges with self-regulation was strong and negative, with higher rates of academic difficulties, social challenges and mental health problems at age 11-12 years in children at highest risk. This work underscores the importance of (1) early mental health assessment and support for children at time of an Autism diagnosis; (2) family-centered support aimed at supporting caregiver well-being and family relationships; (3) income support for families with high unmet-needs.