Improving Medical Care for Autistic Patients

Alexa Lendzinski, BS ’26, is looking to change the landscape of medical care for autistic patients through her research with Saint Joseph’s University’s Summer Scholars program.

Lendzinski, a pre-med biology major with a minor in autism studies, is a member of the Jefferson Medical School Autism Knowledgeable Medical Training Program as part of a partnership with Saint Joseph’s. 

After spending time working in a pain clinic, Lendzinski recognized the gaps in her knowledge when it came to working with autistic patients. 

“The experience made me aware of where my knowledge stops in clinical situations,” she explains. “I would like to be a well-rounded physician in the future and know how to treat each patient efficiently, which means recognizing my weakness and fixing that.” 

She knew she wanted to focus on neurodivergent populations for her Summer Scholars project, and drew on her experience with anesthesia and patient care at the pain clinic to develop a project that addressed the disparities she saw. 

“When autistic people and their families talk to doctors, many doctors do not have a full understanding of what autistic patients are feeling and experiencing, and there is also limited accessibility,” explains Joseph P. McCleery, PhD, Lendzinski’s research advisor and the executive director of academic programs for the Kinney Center for Autism Education and Support. “Sitting in a waiting room for 45 minutes with bright lights and beeping, having unclear directions about where to go, and even issues with travelling to medical care can all make the experience negative for autistic patients.” 

This can lead to autistic patients struggling with higher levels of pain during procedures if sensory, communication, or other differences create challenges when receiving anesthesia — something Lendzinski and her team hope to address.

Lendzinski’s research aims to catalog the opportunities for change that both autistic and non-autistic medical doctors see within the patient care process. Through her involvement with Jefferson’s Center for Autism and Neurodiversity, Lendzinski was able to secure a collaboration with the hospital’s anesthesiology department, as well as a network of autistic doctors from across Europe and the United States. 

She spent the summer designing a list of questions for participating doctors, analyzing their current practices with autistic patients, their thoughts about amending these practices, and any ideas they have for changes in the future.

After recently receiving approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), Lendzinski has begun the interview process, which will continue throughout the academic year with additional help from Shafy Jalal, BS ’27, another St. Joe’s biology major and student researcher. 

Next summer, the group will compile the information from their interviews and develop suggestions for changes in practice. 

“Alterations or new standards of critical care would be our ultimate goal,” Lendzinski explains. “Right now, we’re evaluating the barriers, and hopefully by the time we’re done, we’ll be able to make solutions from them.”

Lendzinski also sees potential for expansion in the project through interviewing affected patients in addition to the doctors who treat them. 

According to Lendzinski, her over 500 hours of work with autistic people through the Kinney Center have been valuable learning experiences as she prepares for medical school at Thomas Jefferson University next fall. 

“Approaching patients differently based on their backgrounds is an important skill that I’ve been able to learn,” she says. “I hope it will help me as I try to make these processes easier and improve health outcomes for the autistic population.” 

Lendzinski’s work is a point of pride for those at the Kinney Center.

“We’re still in the early stages of the process, but we’re very excited for this great collaboration with clinical experts at Jefferson and expanding our research focus further into medicine and healthcare here at SJU,” McCleery says.