Roz Zulla

Dr. Rosslynn (Roz) Zulla

MEd, PhD
Pronouns: she/her

Positions

Assistant Professor

University of Calgary

Joint Appointment

Cumming School of Medicine

Joint Appointment

Werklund School of Education

Contact information

Phone number

office: 780-492-8073

Background

Educational Background

Masters in Education (M.Ed.) Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, 2008

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Health Promotion and Socio-Behavioral Sciences, University of Alberta, 2021

Biography

I have  over 10 years of experience working with neurodivergent children, immigrant, refugee families, and LGBTQ2S+ communities. My research tackles the intersectional barriers these groups face through participatory, community-based methods. My research program spans child/youth mental health/disability, community development, and well-being. My work ultimately seeks to improve the quality of life for children with health/mental health/neurodevelopmental conditions and their families. 

Research

Areas of Research

Qualitative, participatory, arts-based methods

Projects

Working and adapting together: Exploring how immigrant and refugee families with neurodiverse children and service providers make decisions together to support the needs of a neurodiverse child.

This SSHRC-funded project explores the service delivery experiences between immigrant and refugee families with neurodivergent children and different service providers who work at the intersection of settlement and disability (e.g., cultural health broker, youth worker, disability educator, speech language pathologist and pastor). Specific goals of this project is to explore the individual, relational, organizational and systemic influences that shape how families and service providers work together and make decisions to support the needs of a neurodivergent child. 


Working with each other, our families and our communities: A guideline for partnered research initiatives that support immigrant and refugee families of children who are neurodiverse.

There is a growth of partnerships in research involving immigrant and refugee families with neurodivergent children and organizations supporting them.  However, guidance is rarely given to researchers on how to build research relationships with communities who often have intersecting identities (e.g., speakers of minoritized languages, those who are racialized and who are neurodivergent).  In this Child Bright Network-funded project, a written and video guide is created for researchers to provide guidance on how to build meaningful research relationships with a variety of stakeholders. The guide focuses on relationship-building in key research phases, present and reflect on examples of meaningful research processes and products employed by our community-university partnership. 


Accessibility and usability of city of Edmonton resources for immigrant and refugee families with neurodiverse children.

This City of Edmonton-funded study seeks to explore the experiences of navigating public spaces from the perspectives of immigrant and refugee families with neurodivergent children and service providers who support them.  Key areas explored in this study include the meaning of space, considerations to access and use spaces and recommendations to help public spaces be more welcoming and safe for immigrant and refugee families with neurodivergent children.