Honors Contract for PSY-B 320

Elevator Pitch
Hello Professor! My name is Jill Gonsalves. I am a sophomore here at IUPUI. I am a psychology
major, pursuing a minor in medical humanities and health sciences while also getting a
certificate in child abuse and neglect. With this degree, I plan on going to graduate school to
become a therapist for children and adolescents. I recently got accepted into the honors
program and am looking for professors who are willing to sign a contract with me. Would you
be interested in letting me work on an honors project for your course? (30 seconds)

Honors Contract
Title: How research and therapy treatment changed over the years for Autistic individuals

Description: For my Honors contract in PSY B320: Behavioral Neuroscience, I will look into how
research and therapy treatment has changed for people with autism. For this project, I will read
Love Anthony by Lisa Genova along with three to four other research papers about autism. Love
Anthony is a story about a mother dealing with the death of her son, who was diagnosed with
autism at age three, and ultimately, finding the courage to start over. I will then compare the
progress made over the years in understanding autism and how to treat it.
I want to become a mental health counselor for children and adolescents, so it is crucial that I
know the history of people from all backgrounds since I will be working with a diverse group of
children and families. This experience will give me a better understanding of autism, along with
what discoveries have been made within recent years, and how to help families cope. Since this
is a behavioral neuroscience course, not only will I learn about autism, but I will also learn the
science behind it. Though it will take years for me to actually become a therapist, it is good in
the meantime to stay updated on recent discoveries and news on autism.

Timeline: (Using dates from this semester since I don’t know when honors contracts are due
next semester)
September 9 - Finalize honors contract
September 16 - Start reading Love Anthony
September 23 - Find 3-4 research papers
November 4 - Finish readings and start writing paper
November 18 - Rough draft of the paper due
December 9 - Final paper due

How your project might fulfill the expectations of an engaging experience such as research,
service learning, international study, or other opportunities to apply classroom learning:
Research: I will be reading multiple research papers. In the project, I will be researching how
much knowledge society has gained on autism.

How your project might contribute to the IUPUI and Honors College learning goals such as
developing your skills as a problem solver, communicator, innovator, or community
contributor:
- Communication: This experience will allow me to develop my skills as a communicator since I
will be using my written communication skills to share my findings.
- Community Contributor: This experience will allow me to develop my skills as a community
contributor by contributing what I learned from my research.