By supporting a University that educates students in mind, body, and spirit, Sorin Society members and donors to the Notre Dame Fund instill a value of service that continues long after students’ time at Notre Dame.
Ashley Murphy ’16 is just one example of how, with the help of the donors, Notre Dame graduates continue to be forces for good.
“I just really firmly believe that everyone should have the chance to live a life that brings them joy and allows them to be their best selves and live authentically. That is something that drives everything I do.”
Through her teaching, research, and clinical work, Ashley Murphy ’16 is a force for good, empowering those with disabilities. As a clinical psychology doctoral student and disability advocate, Ashley produces life-changing research devised to improve the relationship between healthcare professionals and parents to help children with disabilities receive more support.
Although she had interest in furthering her education after graduating from Notre Dame, Ashley took a leap of faith and turned down multiple medical school acceptances. Instead, she chose to work as a special education teacher at a charter school in Chicago.
“I had a feeling that medical school just wasn't what I was supposed to be doing. There was a voice inside of me that told me I had another path. I listened to that voice, shifted gears, and became a teacher. Listening to that gut voice has led me to really great places."
While working as a special-education teacher, Ashley saw firsthand that many children with disabilities only receive critical therapy services through school, and limited resources prevented many children from getting the amount of therapy they needed. The disparities in access to socio-emotional resources for her students strengthened her pursuit of mental health equity for children with disabilities and their families.
Dedicated to improving the situation, she left teaching after two years and partnered with Heather Risser, a professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. There, Murphy worked with parents and providers to develop an assessment measure that increases clinician understanding of what parents need to best engage with their children’s therapy services.
Through her research, she consistently found high rates of unmet parent needs, which are exacerbated for families of color and families with limited resources.
“There are huge gaps in these school-parent collaborations, and the ones suffering are the kids.”
To help combat this, Ashley has broadened her research, partnering with individuals with disabilities, their families, providers, and policymakers, to develop community-based interventions to improve family engagement and delivery of publicly funded therapies.
After completing her Ph.D., she desires to work somewhere where she can participate in both research and clinical work, but more than anything, she wants to continue doing work that promotes change.
“It's not my job to 'save' the disability community. My job is to be an ally and create opportunities that empower the disability community to lead these initiatives and improve care while also advocating for equitable services for everyone. My role is to create seats at the table for the disability community.”