Biography

Dr. Carlson is a licensed psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst (Doctoral) with more than 35 years of experience working with children and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities. Dr. Carlson began her career as a special education teacher and received her PhD in clinical psychology from SUNY Stony Brook, under the mentorship of Dr. Edward Carr. Dr. Carlson has held leadership roles at a number of programs serving individuals with ASD, including The Groden Center in RI, and The May Institute in MA. She served as an expert panelist on the National Standards Project, a review of evidence-based practices in the treatment of autism. She served as Education Director of the Autism Center at Virginia Commonwealth University and as Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry. She has directed the Autism Inclusion Project at the Developmental Disabilities Institute in Smithtown, NY, providing technical assistance and training to public schools to build capacity to serve students with ASD. Dr. Carlson has mentored graduate students and served as adjunct faculty at Fitchburg State College, Northeastern University, Salve Regina University, and the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth. Dr. Carlson is currently Assistant Professor in the School of Education at UVU where she directs the Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism, coordinates the MEd in Applied Behavior Analysis, and teaches in the Autism Studies program. Dr. Carlson has presented her work at national and international conferences and her publications have been translated for international audiences.

Teaching