Doreen Granpeesheh ( fa, درّین گرانپیشه, April 8, 1963) is an
Iranian-American
Iranian Americans are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry or who hold Iranian citizenship.
Iranian Americans are among the most highly educated people in the United States. They have historically excelled in busine ...
psychologist and
board certified behavior analyst who works with children diagnosed with
autism spectrum disorder
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental disorder, neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) ...
.
Life and Career
Granpeesheh was born in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
, Iran in 1963. She attended the
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
(UCLA), where she worked with
clinical psychologist
Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...
Ole Ivar Lovaas
Ole Ivar Løvaas (8 May 1927 – 2 August 2010) was a Norwegian-American clinical psychologist and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is most well known for his research on what is now called applied behavior analysi ...
on his 1987 study regarding
applied behavior analysis
Applied behavior analysis (ABA), also called behavioral engineering, is a psychological intervention that applies empirical approaches based upon the principles of respondent and operant conditioning to change behavior of social significance. ...
.
In 1990, Granpeesheh founded the
Center for Autism and Related Disorders The Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Inc. (CARD) is an organization that provides a range of services based on applied behavior analysis (ABA) for children and adults on the autism spectrum.
CARD was founded in 1990 by Doreen Granpeesheh. T ...
(CARD).
The Blackstone Group
Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate bu ...
, a private equity firm, acquired CARD in 2018. Granpeesheh and the management at CARD invested in the company alongside Blackstone, and Granpeesheh remained the CEO until December 2019, when she was replaced by Anthony Kilgore and moved into the role of executive director. Granpeesheh is also the founder of Autism Care and Treatment Today!, a
nonprofit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
which provides financial support to families unable to pay for autism treatment.
In 2008, Granpeesheh produced the documentary
Recovered: Journeys Through the Autism Spectrum and Back, which depicts the progress of four children throughout autism treatment.
In 2014, Granpeesheh published ''Evidence-Based Treatment for Children with Autism: The CARD Model'' with co-editors Jonathan Tarbox, Adel Najdowski, and Julie Kornack.
In 2016, Granpeesheh participated in
Andrew Wakefield
Andrew Jeremy Wakefield (born September 3, 1956) is a British anti-vaccine activist, former physician, and discredited academic who was struck off the medical register for his involvement in ''The Lancet'' MMR autism fraud, a 1998 study that ...
's ''
Vaxxed
''Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe'' is a 2016 American pseudoscience propaganda film alleging a cover-up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of a purported link between the MMR vaccine and autism. According to Variety ...
'', a
pseudoscientific
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...
propaganda film
A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...
which pushes his widely debunked theory that
the MMR vaccine causes autism. Granpeesheh features prominently in the film, falsely claiming that
autism is caused by children "not detoxifying from the vaccinations" and
can be treated with detoxification.
Granpeesheh had previously worked for Wakefield at his clinic Thoughtful House.
Notable awards received by Granpeesheh include the
George Winokur Clinical Research Paper Award from the American Academy of Clinical Psychiatrists
and the Wendy F. Miller Professional of the Year Award from the
Autism Society of America
The Autism Society of America (ASA) was founded in 1965 by Bernard Rimland and Ivar Lovaas together with Ruth C. Sullivan and a small group of other parents of children with autism. Its original name was the National Society for Autistic Childre ...
.
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Granpeesheh, Doreen
1963 births
American people of Iranian descent
American women chief executives
American women psychologists
21st-century American psychologists
Autism researchers
Iranian psychologists
Iranian women psychologists
Living people
People from Tehran
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
Iranian expatriate academics
21st-century American women
20th-century American psychologists