Transcript Intellectual and Developmental Disability Psychology: A

Intellectual and Developmental Disability Psychology:
A Unique Approach to Graduate Training
Andrea Witwer, PhD
The Ohio State University Nisonger Center; Department of Psychiatry and Psychology
Background
Often the psychology of intellectual and developmental
disabilities (IDD) is concentrated in developmental,
clinical, or school psychology graduate programs. There are few
designated IDD psychology programs across the United States.
The OSU Nisonger Center’s IDD Psychology Doctoral program
offer unique scholarly and clinical training in the field of IDD.
One of seven doctoral graduate degree program areas of
Ohio State University's Department of Psychology, the IDD
Psychology Program specializes in training researchers and
practitioners to work with people with IDD.
Program Objectives
•Equip students to pursue a career in IDD psychology as a
researcher, administrator, or in private practice.
•Gain knowledge in areas such as causes of developmental
disabilities, psychological and physical characteristics of these
populations, assessment and diagnosis, and treatment
.
approaches.
•Program graduates will have research skills to extend the
boundaries and application of this knowledge. By achieving this,
they can adapt to the changing needs of professional practice in
the field.
Curriculum/Program Requirements
Doctoral Level Psychology Courses:
Statistics Courses
Research Methods
Psychological Assessment Course
Psychobiology
Developmental Psychology
History and Systems
Psychopathology
Social Bases of Behavior
Curriculum/Program Requirements
Postdoctoral Fellowships
IDD Specific Courses
Developmental Disabilities: Interdisciplinary Perspective
Ethics and Professional Issues in Psychology
Research Forum
Interdisciplinary Seminar on Autism Spectrum Disorders
Assessment in IDD
Psychopharmacology
Behavior Modification
Graduates
(1st
year)
Boston University
National Institute of Mental Health
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
North Carolina Chapel Hill
University of Wisconsin
Yale University Child Study Center
Employment
Field Experiences
A total of 18 credit hours of field work including:
Diagnostic Assessment/ Functional Behavioral Assessment
Behavioral interventions
Social Skills groups
LEND trainee
LEND interdisciplinary clinics (1st and 2nd years)
LEND seminars and courses (throughout coursework)
Internship
Public
Policy
Assistant
Professor
Private
Psychologist/
BCBA
HospitalBased
Psychologist
Associate
Professor
Students will be required to complete 1,500 internship hours in an
applied setting serving children or adults with IDD.
Masters, Candidacy Examination, Doctoral Dissertation
Masters Thesis: completed by beginning of third year
Candidacy Examination-written and oral portions
Doctoral Dissertation
Productivity of Graduate Students
Activities of graduate students (2005-present)
•Numerous presentations at local and national meetings
•Over 50 peer reviewed papers during graduate tenure
•Grants agencies such as Organization for Autism Research and Ohio
Department of Mental Health
•University Fellowship recipients
Student Awards and Recognition
•Academy on Mental Retardation Dissertation Award, American
•AAID– Early Career Award
•Graduate Associate Teaching Award
Research
Scientist
Discussion/Challenges
•Licensure requirements in various states have
changed such that licensure is not guaranteed for
our students. We are pursing ASPPB accreditation
to address this.
•Outreach to LEND/UCEDD network to facilitate
varied training and internship opportunities is a
necessity.
•Collaboration among UCEDD and LEND program
can enrich training for graduate students, interns,
and postdoctoral fellows.
•Website: www.nisonger.osu.edu/iddpsych
•Email: [email protected]