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