Carly Gilson

Dr. Carly Blustein Gilson is an Associate Professor of Special Education in the Department of Educational Studies at The Ohio State University. She received her Ph.D. in Special Education from Vanderbilt University, with a focus on Severe Disabilities. Her research interests center on equipping adolescents and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) for integrated employment and inclusive higher education; supporting individuals and families through the school-to-work transition; and equipping strong educational team collaborations among secondary special education teachers and paraprofessionals. She is the developer of the Job Coaching Academy, a professional development series for transition educators focused on employment readiness skills and promoting student independence and workplace integration.

Prior to coming to OSU, Dr. Gilson spent five years as an assistant professor at Texas A&M University, where she founded the Aggie ACHIEVE inclusive postsecondary program and served as Principal Investigator on a model demonstration grant from the U.S. Department of Education Transition Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID) and co-Principal Investigator on a doctoral preparation grant from the Office of Special Education Programs. She began her career as a middle school special education teacher in Atlanta and a college and career instructor in Boston.

• Ph.D., Special Education, Vanderbilt University, 2017
• M.Ed., Secondary English Education, Boston College, 2011
• B.S., Journalism, University of Florida, 2010

• Special Education
  • Autism
  • Intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Workforce Development and Education

Many students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) aspire to attend postsecondary education, enter the workforce, and contribute fully to their community, yet these opportunities are often scarce due to systemic issues and decades of exclusion. Dr. Gilson’s research focuses on supporting young adults with IDD to lead high-quality, self-determined, inclusive lives to choose their own pathways. Dr. Gilson has published more than 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters addressing the following research strands: (a) equipping young adults with IDD for inclusive higher education and integrated employment, (b) strengthening collaboration and professional development opportunities for transition educators, and (c) collaborating with families and self-advocates to support smooth and successful transitions.

Dr. Gilson has collaborated on externally funded projects with more than $4 million in research and development and $6 million in personnel preparation and training for doctoral students. She is currently the co-Principal Investigator and site lead of the My ROAD Project, which aims to advance dignity of risk for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities across postsecondary education, employment, and health care contexts.

Dr. Gilson’s full research portfolio can be found at the Google Scholar link here.

Below is a list of selected publications that represent the core focus areas of Dr. Gilson’s work.

1. Gilson, C. B., Prahl, A., Morissette, L., Kwon, D., & Walker, P. (2026). A mixed methods exploration of the admissions process and criteria for inclusive postsecondary education programs. Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 49(1), 35-47. https://doi.org/10.1177/21651434241305121
2. Gilson, C. B., & Sinclair, J. (2024). Promoting dignity for adults with extensive support needs in the inclusive workplace. Inclusive Practices, (3)4, 124-130. https://doi.org/10.1177/27324745241268081
3. Sinclair, J., Gilson, C. B., & Dulas, H. (2024). “I’m going to be a working person”: Self-determination in employment settings for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 47(3), 159-171.  https://doi.org/10.1177/21651434231186136
4. Shikarpurya, S., Gilson, C. B., Dunn, C., & Fletcher, K. (2024). Exploring transition planning among racially minoritized parents of children with disabilities using DisCrit and QuantCrit. Inclusion, 12(4), 227-241. https://doi.org/10.1352/2326-6988-12.4.227
5. Gilson, C. B., & Biggs, E. E. (2023). Perspectives of special education teachers and paraprofessionals on working together to support students in general education settings. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 28(14), 3341-3356. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2023.2216206.
6. Gilson, C. B., Sinclair, J., Whirley, M. L., Li, Y., & Blustein, D. L. (2022). “More than a job, it’s a purpose”: What work means to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Journal of Career Assessment, 30(2), 367-386. https://doi.org/10.1177/10690727211048898
7. Ingles, K. E., Gilson, C. B., & Pena, H. (2021). MADE 2 FADE: A practical strategy for empowering independence for students with disabilities. Teaching Exceptional Children. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00400599211033931
8. Gilson, C. B., Thompson, C. G., Ingles, K. E., Stein, K. E., Nygaard, M. A, & Wang, N. (2021). The Job Coaching Academy for transition educators: A preliminary evaluation. Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 44, 148-159. https://doi.org/10.1177/2165143420958607
9. Whirley, M. L., Gilson, C. B., & Gushanas, C. M. (2020). Postsecondary education programs on college campuses supporting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities: A scoping review. Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 43, 195-208. http://doi.org/10.1177/2165143420929655.
10. Singh, S. M., & Gilson, C. B. (2020). Toward an inclusive definition of college student development. Journal of Inclusive Postsecondary Education, 2, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.13021/jipe.2020.2.