Professional Training Program

The mission of the Autism Center’s training program is to increase the Puget Sound area's capacity to serve children with autism by providing high-quality training to community professionals and to undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students. [Inquire about these services]

We currently offer the following training experiences:

In-service training and consultation
In-service training and consultation is available for school districts, community agencies, and mental health settings. Our clinicians will travel to your site to provide workshops, classroom consultation, observations, and feedback. Possible workshop topics include

Social skills and emotion regulation
General overview of autism spectrum disorders
Classroom strategies for children with Asperger’s
Early intervention
Language and social communication for children with autism spectrum disorders
Applied behavior analysis
Visual structure
Sensory-motor development

Predoctoral internship
We sponsor one nine- to twelve-month, part-time predoctoral psychology internship each year starting in the summer or fall. Potential applicants should be current students in an accredited graduate program, have experience working with children and adolescents, and have a demonstrated history of interest in autism spectrum disorders (practica, graduate coursework, etc.). Interns may conduct diagnostic and neuropsychological evaluations of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and may be involved in individual therapy, social skills groups, and school consultations.

Postdoctoral fellowship
The postdoctoral training program is open to postgraduate-level clinicians in the fields of clinical psychology, developmental psychology, school psychology, and education. Applicants should have a minimum of two years of clinical experience with children and adolescents, experience with children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders, and a desire to increase their clinical skills with this population. Postdoctoral positions are full-time, twelve-month fellowships. A half-time appointment may be arranged if needed. The training includes weekly staff meetings and at least two hours of individual supervision per week. Supervision and training are provided by clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists.

Applications are no longer being accepted for the 2009 - 2010 school year. Please visit our website in February 2010 for information about 2010 - 2011 internship and fellowship opportunities.

The application procedure for pre- or postdoctoral positions involves submission of the following items:
1. Cover letter, including preference for the Seattle or Tacoma training site
2. Current resume or curriculum vitae
3. Three letters of recommendation
4. Written sample of a recent clinical evaluation performed in your practice
5. Completed application form

Please send all application materials to
Casi Olson
UW Autism Center Tacoma
Box 358455
Seattle, WA 98402-8455

Hands-on, supervised training is available for home therapy assistants (TA) who are privately employed by current Autism Center clients. TA supervision is provided by our early intervention consultants and may be applied toward certification requirements to become a Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst. For more information about TA supervision, please click here. The UW Autism Center provides professional training but is not a licensing agency.

Students interested in special education or teaching certification with a specialization in autism should contact the Department of Special Education.