Research interests:

• Community engagement
• Disability, neurodiversity & neurodivergence, autism
• Human service worker support & wellbeing
• Lived experience expertise
• Social work education

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Margaret Janse van Rensburg is an Assistant Professor in the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina. Her dissertation research (Carleton University, 2020–2025) investigated how human service workers support the mental health and wellbeing of Autistic adults in collaboration with the Ottawa Adult Autism Initiative in Ottawa, Canada.

Margaret co-leads the Autism, Family, and Communities Lab with Dr. Robert Hock, which supports research on autism and neurodiversity at the University of South Carolina as part of the Carolina Autism and Neurodevelopment Research Center.

Research Philosophy and Current Projects

Margaret’s research focuses on enhancing outcomes for Autistic people and their communities of care using local and community-engaged approaches. Her scholarship is grounded in her lived experiences as both a service user and service provider, and she values partnering with lived experience experts throughout the research process. Margaret’s current projects focus on autism and menopause, community-engaged autism and neurodivergence research, disability, neurodiversity, and inclusive social work education. Her work includes developing a menopause literacy guide with and for Autistic adults, building a community of inquiry to help shape autism and neurodivergence research in South Carolina, among other projects with the Autism, Family, and Communities Lab. She is also interested in participatory and qualitative research methods, research mentorship, and creating opportunities for students and community members to meaningfully contribute to research and scholarship.

Teaching Philosophy and Current Teaching

Margaret believes that creating and sustaining healthy communities and contributing positively to the public good are central purposes of social work education. Her teaching is informed by Universal Design for Learning (UDL), critical disability studies, and community-engaged scholarship, with a focus on creating inclusive, accessible, and engaging learning environments. She is passionate about mentorship and supporting students to develop ethical, reflective, and justice-oriented approaches to social work practice and research.

Margaret enjoys teaching across a range of topics, from introductory social work to advanced doctoral research methods. At the University of South Carolina, she has taught SOWK 201: Introduction to Social Work in both in-person and online formats, introducing students to the history, values, ethics, and contemporary practice of the profession. She also teaches SOWK 805: Knowledge for Social Change: Ontology, Epistemology, and Methodology in Social Science Research, a doctoral seminar that explores philosophical foundations of social science, qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, and the role of researcher positionality in generating knowledge for social change.

Margaret is currently developing a Social Work and Disability special topics course supported by an internal University of South Carolina Universal Design for Learning (UDL) grant. The course aims to strengthen disability competence in social work education while modelling accessible and inclusive teaching practices.

Professional Experience

Margaret brings over a decade of experience in research, teaching, practice, and service across academic, clinical, and community settings. Prior to joining the University of South Carolina, she held roles including Research Coordinator, Research Assistant, Sexual Assault Resistance Education Coordinator and Facilitator, Contract Instructor, Faculty Liaison, and Instructor Therapist supporting Autistic children and their families. She has held research, teaching, and practice roles at Carleton University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Alberta. She has also collaborated with grassroots advocacy organizations, mental health providers, disability organizations, and housing initiatives to promote neuroinclusion in research, policy, and practice.

Margaret is committed to service within the disability community and currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Arc of South Carolina. Across her research, teaching, and service, she values building meaningful partnerships that bridge academia and community to improve outcomes for Autistic people and their communities of care.

Learn more

View Margaret's publications on ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0780-7945

Autism, Family, and Communities Lab https://www.asdfamresearch.com/

Join a community of inquiry on autism and neurodivergence research in South Carolina https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/RChb3fGyam