For Empire State University student Amile Cominotti, the opportunity to work with Assistant Professor Cailyn Green on a scholarly article seemed like more than a stroke of luck: Given the subject matter, they say, it felt like fate.  

“When I sat down with Dr. Green for the first time and she told me about her plan to write about neurodivergence in the context of substance use and mental health treatment, it was a little mind-blowing… I have lived experience of both contexts. I am a neurodivergent person in long-term recovery,” says Cominotti, a community and human services major from Buffalo. “Landing in a project focused on making substance use services more accessible for neurodivergent people felt like pure serendipity—like something that had been waiting for me all along.” 

Cominotti first connected with Green during the fall 2025 semester, when they secured a position as the educator’s work-study student. Together, the pair researched and wrote “Letter to the Editor: How to create a safe clinical space for neurodivergent clients seeking substance use treatment.” The paper was recently published in Journal of Substance Use. 

“It was honestly thrilling,” Cominotti says, recalling the moment they learned their work had been accepted for publication. “I felt so proud.” 

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