Dr. Chris Whalen - Founder and Chief Science Officer, TeachTown
Chris is a licensed psychologist and board certified behavior analyst specializing in autism and related disorders. She received her PhD at U.C. San Diego and did her post-doctoral fellowship at U.C.L.A. She most recently worked at the U.W. Autism Center as the Early STAART Treatment and Training director. She has more than 10 years experience in research and clinical practice with children with autism and their families. Dr. Whalen has developed and supervised home programs, educated and trained parents and teachers, consulted with school districts, taught college and graduate courses in psychology and education, has presented at numerous professional conferences, participates in fund-raising activities for various autism organizations, and has published in professional scientific journals. She is currently the ABA Liaison for the California Association for Behavior Analysis (Cal-ABA).
See my Welcome message for more about the content of this blog.
I’d be happy to answer your questions about autism! Please send suggestions for journal topics to chris@teachtown.com.
I’d also like to introduce you to Dr. Shannon Cernich, a Clinical Program Coordinator and Research Scientist for TeachTown, and Kathleen King, a Clinical Psychology Doctoral Student at SPU. Shannon has a plethora of experiences pertaining to behavioral interventions for individuals of all ages diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Kathleen has experience conducting ABA therapy and is currently involved in research pertaining to early interventions for children. Both individuals will be occasionally write additional posts to this journal.
Dr. Shannon Cernich- Research Scientist, Teachtown
Dr. Shannon Cernich has over 10 years of experience in research, teaching, consultation, and clinical practice. She has extensive experience designing, implementing, and overseeing behavioral intervention programs for children and adults with ASD and other developmental disabilities. She has served as a classroom teacher for both elementary and university students, and brings a working knowledge of classroom teaching to her consultation. Dr. Cernich received her doctorate in psychology from the University of California at Irvine. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and member of the Association for Behavior Analysis. She enjoys using her background in adult and children’s theater to make learning exciting for everyone. She is currently a Clinical Program Coordinator and Research Scientist for TeachTown.
Kathleen King - Research Assistant, Teachtown
Kathleen has spent the last five years working with children with atypical development. She earned her B.A. degree in Psychology at the University of Washington and completed graduate work at San Diego State University in their Developmental Psychology Program. As a current Clinical Psychology doctoral student at Seattle Pacific University, her main research interests pertain to early intervention and assessments for pre-school-aged children with atypical development.
Previously, Kathleen has worked in notable psychology research labs focusing on family and child development, including the Gottman Institute at the University of Washington. While there, she worked in the field and administered developmental assessments on young children. In addition to research, Kathleen’s experience includes teaching and tutoring kids from diverse backgrounds while at Americorps and conducting assessments on individuals with learning disabilities at a San Diego Community College. Moreover, Kathleen spent time as an ABA/RDI therapist for multiple families in the greater Seattle area, working in homes conducting one-on-one therapy sessions, in schools as a shadow-aid, and taking part in on-going training sessions with noteworthy individuals and organizations, such as NBA and ASTAR.
Currently, in addition to earning her doctorate, Kathleen works at TeachTown as a Research Assistant.
Email Kathleen with questions or comments at kathleen@teachtown.com.
About TeachTown:
TeachTown is dedicated to using scientifically validated evidence-based practices that incorporate the latest academic research into the development of our products and services. The mission of our company is to use research and computers to create more accessible and affordable high-quality treatment programs for children with autism spectrum disorders. Our programs are based on existing interventions that have proven effective in the treatment of autism. Additionally our tools and training programs are being validated through ongoing independent research studies at leading universities, clinics and schools.
TeachTown: Basics is a new research-based treatment solution for children with autism spectrum disorders between the developmental ages of 2-7 years old. It is a subscription service billed at $59.95/month per child – about the cost of an average 1-hour session with a therapist.
A subscription to TeachTown: Basics includes a comprehensive treatment solution consisting of on-computer lessons, off-computer generalization activities, extensive data tracking, and communications tools to connect everyone on the child’s team. For more information, visit www.teachtown.com
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