I am currently working with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at the Marcus Autism Center as a Clinical Specialist. My current focus is with children or adolescents who are diagnosed with Autism and also require specialized programming due to severe aggression, self-injurious behaviors, or other dangerous behaviors that render them unable to participate in typical classrooms or daily family activities.
My future plans are to continue to progress in the field of pediatric autism through a Masters degree in Applied Behavioral Analysis in order to continue to serve this very needy population.
Although the work can be challenging, I enjoy every minute of it. Through the field of Behavioral therapy, I am able to show families a life they never thought was possible with their special needs child.
Without my degree from Georgia Tech and the assistance of a GT Career Services Counsellor, Lanie Damon, I would never have gotten in the door at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Being a graduate of Georgia Tech’s Biology program afforded me credibility that I’m not sure I would have had coming from any other nearby institution. Successfully graduating from the Biology program also prepared me for the challenge of what my position presents every day, from responsibilities to my clients to ways of successfully managing my peers and those under me.
To persevere! Over my first three years out of Georgia Tech, I worked as a nanny of a child with special needs, to working at a very free-thinking special needs private school, to finally the Marcus Center, one of the top three programs of its kind in the United States.
