Britt St. John, PhD, MPH, OTR/L

 Dr. St. John is an occupational therapist and assistant professor. 

Education and Training

• Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University (Melbourne, Australia), Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2024
• University of Wisconsin – Madison,
  • PhD Kinesiology: Occupational Science, 2022
  • Master of Public Health, 2022
  • MS Occupational Therapy, 2016
• Seattle Pacific University, BS Psychology, 2010

Board Certifications

• NBCOT certification: 379110
• WA OT License: OT61520332

Clinical Interests

Dr. St. John has clinical experience in outpatient pediatrics with expertise in partnering with families to address selective eating and build positive mealtime routines.

Teaching Interests

Dr. St. John is passionate about advancing the field of occupational therapy through evidence-based curriculum development and teaching, with a focus on developing exceptional therapists who can serve diverse populations. 

Research Interests

Dr. St. John’s research is focused on promoting the health and wellbeing of families, and their communities. Her current research is focused on understanding and addressing selective eating in autistic children, theoretical and contextual factors impacting family mealtime, and promoting the health and wellbeing for individuals with intellectual and developmental disability. 

Recent Publications

St. John, B. M.,  & Ausderau, K. K. (2024). The characterization of feeding challenges in autistic children. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 28(9), 2381–2393. doi.org/10.1177/13623613241227518

Ausderau K.K., St. John, B.M., Al-Heizein, M., Sideris, J., Damman, C., & Hope, S. (2024). Factor analysis of the Feeding and Eating in AutiSm Together; FEAST. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 118, 102469. doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2024.102469

St. John, B.M., Chen, H.T., Wooley, A.R., Ausderau, K.K. (2025). Convergent validity of the Feeding and Eating in AutiSm Together (FEAST) assessment. American Journal of Occupational Therapy. 79(4):7904205110. Doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2025.051077

St. John, B. M., Grey, M., Malzacher, A., Hladik, E., Laurie, S., Ausderau, K. K. (2021). Using photovoice with people with intellectual disability to illuminate definitions of health and factors influencing participation in health-promotion. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities. https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12868

St. John, B. M., Hickey, E., Winginton, D., Kastern, E., Russell, C., Russell, T., Mathy, A., Peterson, B., Pelin, C., Ausderau, K. K. (2022). Opening the door to university research: recommendations for increasing accessibility for individuals with intellectual disability. International Journal for Equity in Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-022-01730-4

Hladik, E., St. John, B. M., Carberry, M., Grey, M., Drew, John, & Ausderau, K.K. (2023). Benefits and challenges of a telehealth eating and mealtime intervention for autistic children: occupational therapy practitioners’ perspectives. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health. doi.org/10.1177/15394492231175069