OISE alumna Dr. Sonia Mastrangelo’s long lasting work in disability education
From a young age, Dr. Sonia Mastrangelo was fascinated by the ways in which brains and minds function differently.
That curiosity eventually led to her appointment as a Professor in the Faculty of Education at Lakehead University, a position she has held for 17 years.
Growing up in Toronto, she remembers watching her mother care for a young boy on the autism spectrum, named Enzo, in her in-home daycare. “I remember being in the house and seeing my mom struggling, trying to get him to eat and to socialize,” she recalled.
“I was fascinated by Enzo because although he struggled with socialization, he could read newspapers—also known as hyperlexia.”
Her early exposure to special education piqued her interest, which she pursued by earning a Bachelor of Education at York University. There, she developed her initial understanding of how child development changes over time and how some children experience a range of disabilities.
That degree led her to apply to OISE, where she completed a four-year, part-time Master of Education. During this time, she felt her academic pursuits were truly recognized.
“It was a wonderful program. OISE offered so many different streams, with leading scientists in the area of disability studies teaching a wide array of courses,” said Mastrangelo.
“The professors were supportive and guided me along my educational journey, helping me understand the neuroscience of autism spectrum disorders,” she adds, “and to understand how students respond differently when there are sensory challenges.”
At OISE, she says, there was a dynamic hub of learning, where students from various cultural backgrounds and at varying stages of their graduate studies all shared ideas with one another, broadening everyone’s perspective of what constitutes exemplary teaching and learning. OISE also introduced her to the world of academic publishing, encouraging her to write about research, and engaging in qualitative analysis.
“I vividly remember spending countless hours at the OISE library, being fascinated by all the various authors that I was reading at the time.”
During her schooling, she balanced her studies with full-time teaching for the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board, working in a self-contained class for children with autism spectrum disorders. She was also recruited to Boston at the Language and Cognitive Development Centre, where she studied a specialized treatment approach for children with autism under the direction of clinical psychologist Dr. Arnold Miller. She applied what she learned in the teaching environment.
The foundational work of Dr. Miller’s cognitive developmental systems theory later helped her develop her master’s thesis on peer-mediated buddy programs for students with autism spectrum disorders.
The guidance of mentors
Every facet of the OISE community and particularly the faculty, contributed to her research such as mentors Professor Anne Jordan, who was instrumental in laying the foundation for her understanding of learning disabilities, student inclusion in the school environment and the need to adapt teaching practices accordingly.
She also benefited from the mentorship of Dr. Donna McGhee-Richmond, a former OISE faculty, and the late Professor Emeritus Dr. Charles E. Pascal.
Pascal became a mentor over the past ten years, after being introduced by Dr. Stuart Shanker. They were constant supporters of one another, with Pascal encouraging her to read the work he published with his daughter, Tai Pascal Notar, Too Far from Perfect: A Father-Daughter Conversation about Public Education, which Mastrangelo later used in one of her courses.
After the completion of her doctoral studies in 2009 at York University, she invited Pascal to deliver a keynote address at the First Global Conference on Holistic Early Learning and Development at Lakehead University.
“Charles was just amazing. He was a visionary, a forward thinker,” says Mastrangelo, who was sad to hear about his passing in 2023. “He believed in the importance of play in the early years, and I remember I once [asked him] how do you mentor so many PhD students? He said to me, ‘Sonia, I’m always learning [more] from them than I can ever teach them.”
This passion for developmental perspectives on child development sparked a long-time connection between Shanker and Mastrangelo. She was hired by Shanker as a research assistant at the Milton and Ethel Harris Research Initiative, an experience that went on to inform her PhD dissertation on family quality of life for those raising children on the autism spectrum.
She later returned to OISE briefly, to pursue a drama qualification, instructed by Larry Swartz, where she explored how to apply drama-based approaches with students with special needs.
Dr. Mastrangelo’s international opportunities
Post PhD, her research interests expanded as she continued to build additional skills.
She obtained a qualification in the intermediate division and completed certification in self-regulation courses at the MEHRIT Centre, led by Dr. Shanker and Dr. Hopkins.
“I [then] became a full-fledged Miller Method [cognitive development] clinician/therapist, so that I can train other teachers in the area of autism,” she says.
Mentorship came full circle as she took on supervisory and committee work with PhD and master’s students in the field of disability studies.
She executed dozens of academic and professional publications, research projects, and refereed journal articles on autism practices including in the International Journal of Play Therapy in 2009.
More recently, she has an upcoming Educational Psychology textbook being published next year alongside two Lakehead colleagues – Drs. Tanya Kaefer and Meridith Lovell-Johnston.
She also has facilitated presentations about self-regulations in Indigenous communities – including the Mishkeegogamang First Nation and established a long-term research partnership with Camphill Communities Ontario, an organization that supports youth and adults with developmental disabilities.
One of her most recent funded projects with Camphill entails developing employment pathways for adults with disabilities. She has also been invited to work on projects internationally in St. Lucia, South Korea, New Zealand, and parts of the Middle East and Latin America – supporting large scale research to support self-regulation initiatives.
She also continues to receive requests to train teachers, researchers, and principals in self-regulation such as with the Winnipeg board School Division.
She attributes many of her accomplishments to OISE. “Going back to my roots at OISE, allows me to reflect on the wonderful professors who gave me the gift of their time and helped me to effectively conduct research while supporting me to recognize my passion and interest in disability studies.”
She hopes her work leaves will continue to support children and adults with neurodivergences, ultimately leading to an improved quality of life for them and their caregivers.
“We can never underestimate all the amazing and heartfelt work that’s coming out of OISE, and how it has made significant positive impacts on society.”