Dr. Jennica Li

Biography

Jennica Li is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, focusing on the effects of childhood media on the social-emotional development of neurodivergent children. Her research interests include the media’s portrayal of neurodivergence and the impact of parasocial attachments to characters on early identity formation and self-perception. She is particularly interested in how parents of neurodivergent children perceive and select media that amplify the perspectives of self-advocates. Jennica aims to inform families on how to choose and incorporate children’s media that promotes healthy and positive representations of neurodivergence. Her interests expand to the use of animation, fantastical narratives, and virtual worlds to foster engagement, imagination, and a sense of belonging. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Developmental Psychology with a minor in Linguistics from the University of California, San Diego, where she also interned at the Autism Center of Excellence. Jennica has worked as a clinical assistant, contributed to research on early risk assessments for autism spectrum disorders, and volunteered in the Language Production Lab, where she assisted in a study on artificial language learning. Before pursuing her PhD, she served as a research coordinator at UC Davis MIND Institute, focusing on resource implementation in local communities and worked as a teaching assistant in child development courses.

Research Interests