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About Lisa Ruble

Dr. Ruble is a clinician-researcher who develops and tests interventions with implementation in mind for improved quality of life and educational/treatment outcomes of individuals with autism spectrum disorder, caregivers, and educators. Dr. Ruble has published more than 70 peer-reviewed research papers, books, and book chapters, which are available online. She is on the editorial board of Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders and serves as a grant reviewer for agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

She is the co-developer of COMPASS — an evidence-based parent-teacher consultation intervention that improves the special education outcomes of students with autism spectrum disorder. COMPASS have been evaluated with support from four NIH funded studies. For more information about COMPASS and how to access COMPASS for your schools or students, contact the Autism Services Research Group on their website or email Dr. Ruble at laruble@bsu.edu.

With funding from Institute of Education Sciences, Dr. Ruble and study collaborators Dr. Salyers and McGrew from IUPUI are evaluating the effectiveness of a special education teacher burnout and wellness intervention called BREATHE-EASE. For more information on how schools can access BREATHE-EASE Goals, contact Dr. Ruble.

Professional Experience

Dr. Ruble is a clinician-researcher whose work focuses on developing and testing interventions designed for successful implementation in real-world settings to improve quality of life and educational and treatment outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), as well as their caregivers and educators. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, books, and book chapters. Dr. Ruble serves on the editorial board of Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders and regularly reviews grants for federal funding agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

 

Dr. Ruble is the developer of COMPASS, an evidence-based parent–teacher consultation intervention that improves special education outcomes for students with ASD. COMPASS has been evaluated through four NIH-funded studies. She is currently funded by the Institute of Education Sciences to examine the effectiveness of COMPASS when implemented across home, school, and community settings to enhance collaboration and support transition outcomes. For more information about COMPASS or to access the intervention for schools or students, visit the Autism Services Research Group website or contact Dr. Ruble at lisa.ruble@bsu.edu.

 

In addition, Dr. Ruble has received funding from the Institute of Education Sciences to adapt and evaluate BREATHE-EASE, a burnout prevention and wellness intervention for special education teachers.

 

Education

 

B.S. Indiana University (Biology)

M.S. Purdue University (Rehabilitation Psychology)

Ph.D. Indiana University (Educational Psychology / School Psychology) 

 

Select Publications and Research

Rubenstein, L. D., Nsiah, E., Xiong, Q., Love, A. M. A., Morehouse, N., & Ruble, L. (2025). Transition Planning for Students With Autism: Building Effective Teams Through Role Recognition, Communication, and Trust. Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/19349491.2025.2576443
 
Ruble, L., McGrew, J. H., Dueber, D., & Salyers, M. P. (2024). BREATHE-EASE Goals for Reducing Special Education Teacher Burnout. Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, 48(1), 5-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/08884064241288262 (Original work published 2025)
 
Ruble, L., McGrew, J., Dale, B. et al. Goal Attainment Scaling: An Idiographic Measure Sensitive to Parent and Teacher Report of IEP Goal Outcome Assessment for Students with ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 52, 3344–3352 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05213-3
 
Ruble, L.A., McGrew, J.H., Toland, M. et al. Randomized Control Trial of COMPASS for Improving Transition Outcomes of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord 48, 3586–3595 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3623-9
 
Ruble, L. A., McGrew, J. H., Toland, M. D., Dalrymple, N. J., & Jung, L. A. (2013). A randomized controlled trial of COMPASS web-based and face-to-face teacher coaching in autism. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 81(3), 566–572. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032003

McGrew, J., Ruble, L., Cormier, C., and Dueber, D. (2023). Special educators’ mental health and burnout: A comparison of general and teacher specific risk factors. Teaching and Teacher Education.

 

Ruble, L., McGrew, J., Fischer, M., Findley, J., & Stayton, R. (2023). School and intrapersonal predictors and stability of rural special education teacher burnout. Rural Special Education Quarterly.

 

McGrew, J., Yu, Y., Ruble, L., & Murray, D., (2023) Predictive analysis of parent activation and ASD: Predictors and sensitivity to change. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder.

Ruble, L., Love, A., McGrew, J., Yue, Y., Fischer, M., & Salyers, M.. (2023). Stakeholder perspectives of adaptations of a burnout intervention for special education teachers. Psychology in the Schools.

 

Parsley, M., Pewitt, A., King., H., & Ruble, L. (2023). Benefits of a weeklong summer academy to prepare Students with intellectual disabilities for college. Journal of Inclusive Postsecondary Education. 

 

Davis, S., Annis, I., Hughes, P., DeJong,N., Chrisian, R., Ruble, L., & Thomas, K. (2023). Patterns of mental health service use during the transition to adulthood among autistic adolescents and young adults. Autism in Adulthood.

Ogle, L., Ruble, L., Toland, M., McGrew, J., 2023). Impact of type and dosage of performance feedback following COMPASS consultation on teacher adherence and student goal attainment outcomes. Remedial and Special Education. Manuscript in press.

 

 

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