Educational Background
EDUCATION
BA, Sociology (Minors in Education/Applied Psychology and Professional Writing), University of California, Santa Barbara
PhD, Education (Emphasis in Learning and Mind Sciences; Designated Emphasis in Writing, Rhetoric, and Composition Studies), University of California, Davis
FELLOWSHIPS
Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (Predoctoral) Fellow (US Department of Education) in Psychometrics and Assessment of Special Populations, University of California, Davis [2016-2018]
National Center for Special Education Research (Institute of Education Sciences) Postdoctoral Research Training Fellow in Autism Spectrum Disorders and Education, University of Virginia [2018-2020]
Institute on Mixture Modeling for Equity-Oriented Researchers, Scholars, & Educators (IMMERSE) Fellowship, Institute of Education Sciences [2023]
Scholarly Interests
My primary research interests focus on understanding and supporting the writing development of autistic individuals, with specific attention to theory, measurement and assessment, and instruction. I adopt interdisciplinary approaches to examine the intersections between the linguistic, cognitive, and social demands of writing and the diverse profiles of individuals on the autism spectrum. I am interested in how writing develops across the lifespan, including through early childhood; primary, secondary, and postsecondary education; and adulthood. Much of my recent work has focused on psychoeducational assessments of writing skills and considerations for the role of engagement during writing assessment.
My broader research interests include other areas of academic and related-skill development in autistic individuals (including reading and language development); writing development in children with other developmental disabilities or with learning disabilities; lifespan and longitudinal approaches to understanding the development of writing skills; systematic reviews; neurodiversity approaches to understanding and supporting autistic individuals; and assessment, measurement, and quantitative methodological issues in writing, autism, educational psychology, and special education research.
Current ongoing projects include a) assessing the writing skills and associated language and literacy domain skills of autistic children using teleassessment approaches; b) understanding the effects of COVID-19 on reading and writing development and instruction (with specific attention to autistic students and their families across primary and secondary educational contexts across the United States); and c) drawing on autistic, neurodiversity, and writing theory frameworks to understand the intersection of autistic identity and writing identity. I commonly draw on both quantitative as well as qualitative approaches across research projects.
Please click here to access my CV via Google Drive.
Dr. Zajic is accepting new doctoral students for the 2024 Fall semester. Feel free to email with questions.
Selected Publications
Zajic, M. C. (2023). Writing and autism spectrum disorder. In R. Horowitz (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of International Research on Writing (Vol. 2) (427-441). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429437991
Zajic, M. C., & Brown, H. M. (2022). Measuring autistic writing skills: Combining perspectives from neurodiversity advocates, autism researchers, and writing theories. Human Development, 66(2), 128-148. https://doi.org/10.1159/000524015
Henry, A. R., Conner, C., Zajic, M. C., & Solari, E. J. (2022). Feasibility and initial efficacy of an adapted telepractice listening comprehension intervention for school-aged children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05474-6
Zajic, M. C., Solari, E. J., McIntyre, N., Lerro, L., & Mundy, P. C. (2021). Observing visual attention and writing behaviors during a writing assessment: Comparing children with autism spectrum disorder to peers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and typically developing peers. Autism Research, 14(2), 356-368. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2383
Poch, A., Zajic, M. C., & Graham, S. (2020). Informing inquiry into writing across the lifespan from perspectives on children with learning disabilities and autism spectrum disorder. In R. Dippre & T. Phillips (Eds.), Approaches to Lifespan Writing Research: Steps Toward an Actionable Coherence. WAC Clearinghouse.
Zajic, M. C., & Poch, A. (2020). A conceptual overview of longitudinal quantitative methodological approaches to studying writing across the lifespan. In R. Dippre & T. Phillips (Eds.), Approaches to Lifespan Writing Research: Steps Toward an Actionable Coherence. WAC Clearinghouse.
Gillespie-Lynch, K., Hotez, E., Zajic, M. C., Bublitz, D., Riccio, A., Gaggi, N., DeNigris, D., Luca, K., & Kofner, B. (2020). Comparing the writing skills of autistic and nonautistic university students: A collaboration with autistic university students. Autism: International Journal of Research and Practice. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361320929453
Zajic, M. C., Solari, E. J., McIntyre, N., Lerro, L. & Mundy, P. (2020). Task engagement during narrative writing in school-age children with autism spectrum disorder compared to peers with and without attentional difficulties. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 76, 101590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2020.101590
Zajic, M. C., Solari, E. J., McIntyre, N., Lerro, L. & Mundy, P. (2020). Overt planning behaviors during narrative writing in school-age children with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 100, 103631. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103631
Zajic, M. C., Solari, E. J., Grimm, R., McIntyre, N., & Mundy, P. (2020). Relationships between reading profiles and narrative writing abilities in school-age children with autism spectrum disorder. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-020-10015-7
Zajic, M. C., & Wilson, S. E. (2020). Writing research involving children with autism spectrum disorder without a co-occurring intellectual disability: A systematic review using a language domains and mediational systems framework. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 70. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2019.101471
Zajic, M. C., Dunn, M., & Berninger, V. W. (2019). Case studies comparing learning profiles and response to instruction in autism spectrum disorder and oral and written language learning disability at transition to high school. Topics in Language Disorders, 39(2), 128-154. https://doi.org/10.1097/TLD.0000000000000180
Zajic, M. C., McIntyre, N., Swain-Lerro, L., Novotny, S., Oswald, T., & Mundy, P. (2018). Attention and written expression in school-age, high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorders. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 22(3), 245-258. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361316675121