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Biography
Dr. Jackie Shinall is a clinical psychologist with over 14 years of experience working with the autism population, and over eight years of experience conducting diagnostic assessments and completing reports. She supervised doctoral students through diagnostic assessments and reviewed reports. At Prosper Health, Dr. Shinall focuses on ensuring clients feel heard and understood, and she aims to provide thorough and accurate diagnostic clarity for adults seeking an autism diagnosis.
Education
Doctorate of Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
Masters of Clinical Psychology (Psy.M.) Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
Masters of Science (M.S.) in Neuroscience and Education – Columbia University’s Teacher’s College
Bachelor’s degree (BA) in Psychology
Certifications
She is a licensed clinical psychologist in Florida.
Area of Expertise
- Autism in adults - particularly diagnosis and assessing - I have used a wide range of tools and techniques to best understand the adults presenting for a diagnostic assessment.
- Differential diagnoses and co-occurring diagnoses with ASD. Many adults and adolescents with ASD have prior or co-occurring diagnoses, and I help clients to understand the different symptoms to help them best learn to manage those symptoms.
- Psychoeducation – Helping clients learn about the different mental health conditions, traits/symptoms, and how those have impacted them across their lifespan.
Modalities
Affiliations
Research and Publications
Bal, V. H., Mournet, A. M., Glascock, T., Shinall, J., Gunin, G., Jadav, N., ... & Kleiman, E. M. (2024). The emotional support plan: Feasibility trials of a brief, telehealth-based mobile intervention to support coping for autistic adults. Autism, 28(4), 932-944.
Mournet, A. M., Gunin, G., Shinall, J., Brennan, E., Jadav, N., Istvan, E., ... & Bal, V. H. (2024). The impact of measurement on clinical trials: Comparison of preliminary outcomes of a brief mobile intervention for autistic adults using multiple measurement approaches. Autism Research, 17(2), 432-442.
Albright, J., Shinall, J. A., Tomczuk, L., Stewart, R. E., Mandell, D. S., Stahmer, A. C., ... & Pellecchia, M. (2024). A multi-constituent qualitative examination of facilitators and barriers to caregiver coaching for autistic children in publicly funded early intervention. Autism, 13623613241272993.
Bal, V. H., Mournet, A., Gunin, G., Shinall, J., Glascock, V., Zhang, D., ... & Chu, B. (2023). Transdiagnostic Approaches to Supporting Mental Health of Autistic Adults. INSAR 2023.
Mournet, AM, Shinall, J, Gravino A, etal. Mental health guide for autistic college students. Organization for Autism Research. 2022. https://researchautism.org/resources/mentalhealth-guide/
Ferretti, C.J., Taylor, B.P., Shinall, J., & Hollander, E. Psychiatric Assessment and Pharmacological Treatment. In Hollander, E., Hagerman, R., & Fein, D., (2018), Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Luo, S. X., Shinall, J. A., Peterson, B. S., & Gerber, A. J. (2016). Semantic mapping reveals distinct patterns in descriptions of social relations in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 9(8), 846-853.
How to Get Comfortable Stimming Around Others: A Guide for Autistic Adults
Stimming, or self-stimulatory behavior, is self-regulating behavior common among autistic individuals. Autistic people stim for many reasons, including combatting sensory overload, interrupting anxious thoughts or satisfying sensory-seeking needs.
When thinking of stimming, many people imagine rocking or hand flapping. These are common stims, but stimming can look many different ways. Stims can include behaviors like playing with a fidget toy, pacing, jumping, repeating words or phrases and many, many more.
While many autistic individuals frequently engage in stimming, it isn’t always something that they feel comfortable doing publicly. Often, stigma and mistreatment make us autistic individuals fear judgment or harassment when stimming around others. Stimming comes along with benefits, including helping us manage sensory input, regulate our nervous systems, unmask and live more authentically. However, it can take a lot of work to feel comfortable openly stimming. Read on to learn how to get comfortable stimming around others.
Transforming Your Space: Creating an Autism Sensory-Friendly Home
Most adults with autism spectrum disorder experience challenges with sensory processing. This can manifest as hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity. If an autistic individual experiences hypersensitivity, it means that they’re easily overwhelmed by sensory input. For example, music playing over grocery store speakers could sound so loud that it’s physically painful for a hypersensitive autistic individual. Conversely, a hyposensitive autistic individual may have little reaction to stimuli. For instance, they may not even notice that the same music is playing.
When an autistic adult is out in public, they have very little control over sensory input. Sure, they can use things like sunglasses or noise-cancelling headphones to help prevent sensory overload, but the amount of sensory input can still be overwhelming.
Home, however, should be a refuge away from the chaos of the outside world, without the looming threat of sensory overload or overstimulation. Therefore, having an autism sensory-friendly home is important.
Luckily, you don’t have to buy a whole new home to accommodate your sensory needs. With just a few modifications, your home can become the sensory-friendly oasis of your dreams.
Managing Stress: Strategies for Autistic Adults
Stress is a part of life, but excessive stress can make day-to-day activities difficult and even compromise a person's physical health. Autistic individuals tend to experience higher baseline stress levels, due to factors like stigma, social marginalization and unmet support needs. Many people still understand autism through stereotypes, or don’t understand autistic behaviors at all, leading to bullying and mistreatment. Environmental stressors like disorganized and loud public spaces, harsh fluorescent lights, and inaccessible communication norms also take a toll.
Furthermore, mental health conditions are very common among autistic individuals. Nearly half live with severe anxiety, up to 40% have experienced depression and as many as 45% of autistic adults have PTSD. Additionally, autistic people have higher rates of co-occurring health conditions like sleep disorders, seizure disorders, and GI issues like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). All of this can further contribute to stress.
In addition to degrading a person’s long-term mental and physical health, chronic stress can lead to unique challenges for autistic individuals. It can contribute to autistic burnout, the intense state of fatigue that autistic people confront due to many different sources of chronic stress, and an increased volume and intensity of meltdowns, which are involuntary responses to an overloaded nervous system.
For autistic individuals, who often face high levels of chronic stress, stress management strategies and coping skills are essential for long-term well-being. Read on to learn valuable strategies for autistic adults to manage stress.
