About

Kathryn Hunter Williams is the Chair and an Associate Professor in the Department of Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and earned her MFA from UNC in 2008, after which she joined the faculty. She has lived and worked in New York City for 20 years and is a longstanding member of the PlayMakers Repertory Company, where she has originated roles such as Rhonda in The Game, Rabby in Fat Ham, Gertrude in Hamlet, and Mrs. Antrobus in The Skin of Our Teeth, among others. Her extensive acting career includes work with Living Stage, The Negro Ensemble Company, and New Dramatists, as well as regional theater at Virginia Stage. She has also directed productions including They Do Not Know Harlem, Stickfly, Nina Simone: No Fear Blues Long Gone, and Count for PlayMakers, and regional productions such as The Mountaintop and The Niceties at Virginia Theater Festival. For over 20 years, she has served as Associate Director for Hidden Voices, a nonprofit based in Hillsborough, NC, where she has co-created performances with diverse communities including undocumented immigrant youth, families escaping violence, military spouses, survivors of sexual assault, African American communities facing gentrification, refugees, and incarcerated men on death row. Her work has been recognized with awards such as two MAP Grants for the Hidden Voices project Serving Life, an Academic Excellence Award from the Institute for the Arts and Humanities, an Engaged Scholarship Award from the Office of the Provost, and an Innovation Grant for the project None of the Above: Dismantling the School to Prison Pipeline.

Research topics

• Developmental psychology
• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Medicine
• Neuroscience
• Audiology
• Clinical psychology
• Cognitive psychology
• Psychotherapist
• Nursing

Selected publications

• 1511 Managing Moderate Obstructive Sleep Apnea Following Explant of Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulator Due to Trauma

  SLEEP · 2025-05-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Introduction Hypoglossal nerve stimulator implant remains an alternative therapy to patients who are intolerant to PAP therapy for obstructive sleep apnea. Complications can arise requiring removal of hypoglossal nerve stimulator implants. This can lead to difficulties treating PAP-intolerant patients with uncontrolled obstructive sleep apnea. Report of case We present a case of a 71 year old male with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) = 29.55 events/hour on diagnostic polysomnography) who was intolerant to PAP therapy. The patient successfully underwent hypoglossal nerve stimulator implantation with a residual AHI=2.5 events/hour. Twenty-two months following implantation, Patient was kicked in the chest by his 3 year old grandchild. He developed an erythematous violaceous nodule over the site of his implanted generator. The patient was evaluated by Wound Care and there was concern for underlying malignancy due to the patient having a prior history of skin cancer. A biopsy was recommended, but due to his thin body habitus (BMI=25.97 kg/m2) and lack of subcutaneous fat, the implant would be considered contaminated and therefore require removal. The patient underwent successful explant of hypoglossal nerve stimulator and biopsy of skin lesion. The final pathology was negative for malignancy with dense acute and chronic fibroinflammatory reaction and foreign body giant cell reaction with abscess formation. Given the patient’s thin body habitus, there was concern re-implantation on the opposite side would be difficult due to thin body habitus and minimal subcutaneous fat. The patient was agreeable to dental consultation for oral appliance. Conclusion This case represents a unique situation of successful treatment of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea with hypoglossal nerve stimulator requiring explanation due to trauma. Given the patient’s intolerance to PAP therapy, there is additional difficulty in treating his sleep apnea. Cases such as these create a unique treatment plan that is not often encountered. While an oral appliance may improve any residual respiratory events, it is unknown if this will result in successful treatment of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. Support (if any)

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Sensory Interventions: Evidence and Appropriate Use

  2025-01-01 · 1 citations

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

• Moving Toward Neurodiversity-Affirming Occupational Therapy for Autistic People: Key Questions and Next Steps

  The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy · 2024-10-15

  articleOpen access

  With the rise in popularity of neurodiversity-affirming practices in occupational therapy, specifically with the autistic population, there is a need to establish a more robust theoretical underpinning for this work. A neurodiversity framework is different from the prevailing medical model that informs current practice in much of Westernized health care, and interested occupational therapists are now asking questions about how to apply it to their work. Occupational science is well-suited to generate research outside the medical model that can serve as a basic science foundation to inform practice. The purpose of this Opinions in the Profession paper is to suggest three needed areas of research in occupational science, to address occupational therapists’ unanswered questions regarding (a) autistics’ preferred methods of participation, (b) experiences of occupational injustice, and (c) the impact of autistic neurology on occupational engagement. These opinions are based on our experiences as both autistic and non-autistic occupational scientists and occupational therapists working with the autistic population. While these are not comprehensive, they serve as a starting point for identifying opportunities to move the profession toward neurodiversity-affirming standards of care. As we move forward, we stress the need to continue prioritizing research based on autistic input and under autistic leadership.

  PublisherDOI

• Use of sensory adaptive environments with autistic children: A scoping review

  Research in autism spectrum disorders · 2024-03-20 · 13 citations

  review1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Longitudinal Relations Between Early Sensory Responsiveness and Later Communication in Infants with Autistic and Non-autistic Siblings

  Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · 2022-11-28 · 14 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Neurodiversity-Affirming Practices are a Moral Imperative for Occupational Therapy

  The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy · 2022 · 78 citations

  • Psychology
  • Psychotherapist
  • Developmental psychology

  The term neurodiversity encompasses neurological differences such as clinical labels of autism, learning disabilities, synesthesia, hyperactivity disorders, and more. Proponents of the neurodiversity movement argue that current therapeutic and medical practices often attempt to “normalize” behaviors and ways of participation that originate from these differences in neurology and contribute to an individual’s sense of identity. This paper argues that an ethical and morally just occupational therapy practice should affirm neurodivergent ways of being, and that occupational therapists must be active agents of change by listening to and collaborating with their neurodiverse clientele. We focus the discussion on our work with autistic individuals and consider past and current practice trends, including applied behavioral analysis, in light of various ethical mandates for occupational therapy. We conclude with suggestions for core tenets of neurodiversity-affirming occupational therapy practice with the hope that clinicians can apply these concepts to their clinical work and recognize how meaningful participation can be achieved by creating goals and interventions through a neurodiversity framework.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Associations among sensory hyperresponsiveness, restricted and repetitive behaviors, and anxiety in autism: An integrated systematic review

  Research in autism spectrum disorders · 2021 · 38 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Psychology
  • Developmental psychology
  • Cognitive psychology
  PublisherDOI

• Respiratory diseases: Sex and gender evidence in obstructive sleep apnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and asthma

  Elsevier eBooks · 2021-01-01 · 1 citations

  book-chapterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Sensory Responsiveness Is Linked With Communication in Infant Siblings of Children With and Without Autism

  Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research · 2021 · 22 citations

  • Psychology
  • Developmental psychology
  • Audiology

  Purpose Differences in communication development impact long-term outcomes of children with autism. Previous research has identified factors associated with communication in children with autism, but much of the variance in communication skill remains unexplained. It has been proposed that early differences in sensory responsiveness (i.e., hyporesponsiveness, hyperresponsiveness, and sensory seeking) may produce "cascading effects" on communication. Evidence for this theory is limited, however, as relations between sensory responsiveness and communication in the earliest stages of development have not been well established. The purpose of this study was to evaluate (a) whether infants with a heightened likelihood of autism diagnosis (i.e., infants with an older sibling with autism) differ from infants at general population-level likelihood of autism (i.e., infants with an older, nonautistic sibling) on patterns of sensory responsiveness, (b) whether early sensory responsiveness is correlated with concurrent communication, and (c) whether the aforementioned between-groups differences and associations are moderated by age. Method Participants were 40 infants (20 infants with an older sibling with autism, 20 infants with an older, nonautistic sibling) aged 12-18 months. A series of observational and parent report measures of sensory responsiveness and communication skill were administered. Results Group differences in sensory responsiveness across the 12- to 18-month period were limited (i.e., only observed for one measure of hyporesponsiveness), though selected differences in sensory responsiveness (i.e., parent-reported hyperresponsiveness and sensory seeking) emerged between groups over this developmental window. Parent-reported hyporesponsiveness was unconditionally, negatively associated with communication skills. Associations between expressive communication and (a) parent-reported sensory seeking and (b) an observational measure of hyperresponsiveness were moderated by age. Conclusions This study provides new insights into the nature of sensory responsiveness and theorized links with communication skill in infants at elevated and general population-level likelihood of autism diagnosis. Further work is needed to better characterize the effects of interest in a larger sample spanning a wider age range. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.14515542.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Factors Impacting Participation in the Sensory Environment for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

  2020-06-23 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have difficulty feeling at ease in and engaging with their sensory environment. The combined expression of three closely related features (i.e. constructs of interest, or COIs): 1) sensory hyperresponsiveness, 2) restricted interests and repetitive behaviors, and 3) anxiety, may be a sign that participation is particularly challenging for these individuals. Factors such as the ability to control and predict stimuli, and generate a sense of familiarity in one’s surroundings have been previously identified as important facilitators to engagement. The overall purpose of my dissertation was to more thoroughly investigate relational factors between children with ASD and the sensory environment that impact participation. In accordance with an embodied perspective (Hass, 2008), the three COIs were considered across the dissertation to provide insight into the effects of these factors on participation outcomes. In the first study, an integrated systematic review was conducted to identify current explanations for associations among the three COIs. The second study used a quantitative approach to assess 1) evidence for control-based subcategories of hyperresponsiveness in the tactile domain, 2) differential associations between each subcategory with RRBs and anxiety, and 3) whether the presence of RRBs modulates the association between each control-based subcategory and anxiety. In the third study, a qualitative case study was conducted to explore the experiences of a 5-year-old boy with ASD in three different locations with varying levels of familiarity: at home, at a familiar neighborhood playground, and at an unfamiliar playground. Findings across the three studies identified supports and barriers to participation in the sensory environment for children with ASD, which were then contextualized within broader theoretical concepts in occupational science. Implications for further addressing these supports and barriers in occupational science and occupational therapy were discussed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Andrea M. Spiker

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  36 shared

• Ronald Guiao

  North American Spine Society

  36 shared

• Scott Hetzel

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  36 shared

• Stephanie D. Goldstein

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  36 shared

• Brian F. Grogan

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  36 shared

• Emma L. Klosterman

  University of Virginia Health System

  36 shared

• Carissa J. Cascio

  Vanderbilt Health

  12 shared

• Anne V. Kirby

  University of Utah

  11 shared

Awards & honors

• MAP Grant for Hidden Voices project Serving Life
• Academic Excellence Award from the Institute for the Arts an…
• Engaged Scholarship Award from the Office of the Provost
• Innovation Grant from the Institute for Arts and Humanities…