Bio

Bio

Dr. Vivian Lee completed the Lawson Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Offord Centre for Child Studies, and CIHR-funded postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Jonathan Weiss at York University. She is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Carleton University where she leads the Community Autism ResEarch Lab (CARE Lab), as well as an Affiliated Scientist with the Neurodevelopmental Health Team at CHEO.

Current Focus Areas

Current Focus Areas

• Dr. Lee is currently working on the PARC Study project through MacART. Her research program focuses on the emotional and mental health of Autistic children and youth and other neurodevelopmental differences.
• Her work includes the investigations of child-, parent-, and system-level characteristics, and the relationship between these factors, that either support healthy emotional development or exacerbates difficulties in the child and for the family. She is also interested in the impact of these factors on overall parent and family well being.
• She works alongside community-based autism providers (e.g., CHEO) and advocacy groups (e.g., Autism Ontario, Autism Alliance of Canada) who promote psychosocial interventions on the mental health and well being of Autistic children and their caregivers.
• Dr. Lee’s student, Jennifer Crookshank, won the Ontario Autism Scholarship award for her work exploring child-, parent-, teacher- relationships on school absenteeism in Autistic children and youth.
  • Carleton University Graduate Studies News: Psychology Master’s Student Wins Autism Scholars Award

Career Highlights

Career Highlights

Here is a list of Dr. Lee’s recent publications:

• Parkhill, M., Salmaso, N, D’Angiulli, A., Lee, V. & Aguilar Valles, A. (2025). Emerging autism and fragile X syndrome treatments. Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, Apr;46(4):357-371, http://10.1016/j.tips.2025.02.004
• Ibrahim, A., Lee, V., Vashi, N., Roudbarani, F. H., Tablon Modica, P., Pouyandeh, A., Sellitto, T., Ameis, S., Elkader, A., Gray, K., Kerns, C., Lake, J., Thomson, K., & Weiss, J. A. (2025). Parent Outcomes Following Participation in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Autistic Children in a Community Setting. Autism Research, http://doi.org/10.1002/aur.70001
• Lee, V., Vashi, N., Roudbarani, F., Modica, P.T., Pouyandeh, A., Sellitto, T., Ibrahim, A., Ameis, S.H., Elkader, A., Gray, K.M. and Kerns, C.M., Lai, M-C., Lake, J., Thomson, K., & Weiss, J.A. (2024) Utility of a virtual small group cognitive behaviour program for autistic children during the pandemic: evidence from a community-based implementation study. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), p.685. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11033-9
• Sellitto, T., Fraser-Thomas, J., Bassett-Gunter, R.L., Lee, V., Lunsky, Y., Balogh, R., & Weiss, J.A. (2024) The Role of Thriving in Mental Health Among People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 37(1), e13177. http://doi.org/10.1111/jar.13177
• Black, K. R., Lai, M. C., Desrocher, M. E., Lee, V., Sellitto, T., Vashi, N., & Weiss, J. A. (2023). A coping subscale for autistic children: Revisiting the dimensionality of the emotion regulation and social skills questionnaire. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 105, 102-167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2023.102167
• Lee, V., Albaum, C., Tablon Modica, P., Ahmad, F., Gorter, J. W., Khanlou, N., McMorris, Lai J., C., Harrison, C., Hedley, T., Johnston, P., Putterman, C., Spoelstra, M. and Weiss, J. A. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on the mental health and wellbeing of caregivers and families of autistic people: A Scoping Review. Autism Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2616
• Lee, V., Roudbarani, F., Tablon Modica, P., Pouyandeh, A., and Weiss, J.A. (2021) Adaptation of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Autistic Children During the Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Program Evaluation. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/23794925.2021.1941432
• Weiss, J.A., Lai, J.K., Lee, V., and Lunsky, Y. (2021). Predictors of Changes in Daily Activity in Transition-Aged Youth with Autism. Autism Research, 14(2), 324-332.
• Lee, V., Duku, E., Zwaigenbaum, L., Bennett, T., Szatmari, P., Elsabbagh, M., Mirenda, P., Smith, I. M., Ungar, W., Vaillancourt, T., Volden, J., Waddell, C., Thompson, A., and Georgiades, S. (2020). The Relationship between Temperament, Symptom Severity and Adaptive Functioning Skills in School-aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism, 24(8), 2057-2070.