Doreen Granpeesheh | |
---|---|
Born | April 8, 1963
Tehran, Iran |
Alma mater | UCLA |
Known for | Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) |
Scientific career | |
Fields |
Clinical psychology Behavior analysis |
Institutions | University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) |
Thesis | The effects of teaching common preschool games to autistic children on increasing peer interaction (1990) |
Doreen Granpeesheh ( Persian: درّین گرانپیشه, April 8, 1963) is an Iranian-American psychologist and board certified behavior analyst who works with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
Granpeesheh was born in Tehran, Iran in 1963. She earned a PhD in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), [1] where she worked with clinical psychologist Ole Ivar Lovaas on his 1987 study regarding applied behavior analysis. [2] [3]
In 1990, Granpeesheh founded the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD). [4] The Blackstone Group, a private equity firm, acquired CARD in 2018. Granpeesheh and the management at CARD invested in the company alongside Blackstone, [5] [6] and Granpeesheh remained the CEO until December 2019, when she was replaced by Anthony Kilgore and moved into the role of executive director. [7] She resigned from the board in 2022 and retained a minority stake in the company. [8] CARD filed for bankruptcy in June 2023 and Granpeesheh offered $25 million to buy the company back from Blackstone. [9] [8]
Granpeesheh is also the founder of Autism Care and Treatment Today!, a nonprofit organization which provides financial support to families unable to pay for autism treatment. [2]
In 2008, Granpeesheh produced the documentary Recovered: Journeys Through the Autism Spectrum and Back, which depicts the progress of four children throughout autism treatment. [2]
In 2014, Granpeesheh published Evidence-Based Treatment for Children with Autism: The CARD Model [10] with co-editors Jonathan Tarbox, Adel Najdowski, and Julie Kornack.
In 2016, Granpeesheh participated in Andrew Wakefield's Vaxxed, a pseudoscientific propaganda film which pushes his widely debunked theory that the MMR vaccine causes autism. [11] Granpeesheh features prominently in the film, [12] falsely claiming that autism is caused by children "not detoxifying from the vaccinations" and can be treated with detoxification. [13] [14] [15] [16] Granpeesheh had previously worked for Wakefield at his clinic Thoughtful House. [14] [17] [13]
Notable awards received by Granpeesheh include the George Winokur Clinical Research Paper Award from the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists [18] and the Wendy F. Miller Professional of the Year Award from the Autism Society of America. [2]