Amy L. Donaldson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Director ACLD lab
adonald@pdx.edu

Dr. Donaldson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences at Portland State University. Her research focuses on the assessment and intervention of social communication skills of children with ASD within the natural environment. She is particularly interested in examining the influence of context on social communication behaviors. Prior to joining PSU in 2009, she was a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences at the University of Washington and UW Autism Center where she was involved in investigation of the Early Start Denver Model, an early intensive developmental intervention for toddlers with ASD (Dawson et al, 2010). Dr. Donaldson completed her doctorate in Speech & Hearing Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. She completed her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Dr. Donaldson has been working clinically with children demonstrating communication challenges, and their families for over 17 years.

Amy Costanza-Smith, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
ASAP Assessment Coordinator

Dr. Amy Costanza-Smith, CCC-SLP is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Speech and Hearing Sciences program at Portland State University. Dr. Costanza-Smith received her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University, her Master’s degree from the University of Texas and her doctorate from the University of Washington. Dr. Costanza-Smith comes to PSU from the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center (CDRC) at Oregon Health Sciences University where she was an Assistant Professor for over 8 years. At the CDRC, Dr. Costanza-Smith was the Training Director for the Leadership in Education of Neurodevelopmental and Related Disorders program and Training Coordinator for speech-language pathology. Clinically, Dr. Costanza-Smith is an experienced member of interdisciplinary evaluation teams working with children with a variety of developmental disabilities. At PSU, Dr. Costanza-Smith is teaching graduate and undergraduate courses as well as supervising the Pediatric Assessment Clinic. Dr. Costanza-Smith also serves at the Vice President for Science and Academic Affairs for the Oregon Speech and Hearing Association.

Tammi Bailey M.S., CCC-SLP

Tammi received her Masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Portland State University in 2004, and has since participated in assessment and treatment of pediatric populations in a variety of settings including schools, medical centers, private clinics, early intervention programs, and home settings. Currently, she is an Adjunct Research Associate and Clinical Supervisor in the Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences at Portland State University. In this role, she is involved primarily with the SocialsibS project, a “hybrid” social communication intervention that combines the use of sibling-mediation and video modeling for young children with autism spectrum disorders. In addition, Tammi provides home-based speech and language services to children with communication challenges, specializing in empirically-supported intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders and family training.

Donna Barrow, M.S.
ASAP Intervention Coach

Donna Barrow is a doctoral student in Special Education at PSU. Her research focuses on the parent-infant interactions of infants at risk for developing ASD. She has been involved in the Parent-Infant Interaction project in the ASD Lab. Ms. Barrow worked for over 10 years with school districts and families as an educational consultant developing special education programs based on the principles of applied behavior analysis. Ms. Barrow conducted a qualitative research study: Autism During Infancy during her graduate studies at PSU. Ms. Barrow is the Intervention Coach for the ASAP project.

Leanne Hidde
Lab Co-manager & ASAP Co-coordinator

LeAnne Hidde is in her second year of graduate studies in Speech-Language Pathology in the Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences at PSU. This is her third year as an ACLD lab member and she is actively involved in multiple projects within the ACLD lab including examination of parent training programs for families with children with ASD, examining video coding methodologies for investigation of parent-infant interactions, and symbolic play and social communication intervention for children with ASD in preschool. Ms. Hidde has worked with children in multiple contexts and enjoys facilitating the learning of young children and supporting the family as a unit. In her future professional endeavors, she is particularly interested in serving children with ASD and working with the whole family through parent-mediated and sibling-mediated intervention.

Hannah Sanford
Lab Co-manager & ASAP Co-coordinator

Hannah Sanford is a second-year graduate student studying Speech-Language Pathology in the Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences at PSU. This is her second year as an ACLD lab member and she is involved in a variety of lab projects. She is particularly interested in investigating the efficacy of sibling-mediated intervention and video modeling for children with ASD, and in symbolic play and social communication intervention for preschool-aged children with ASD. Prior to her graduate studies, Ms. Sanford worked with children on the autism spectrum in a variety of recreational and educational settings as a preschool teaching assistant, preschool summer program teacher, and camp counselor. She is eager to develop her clinical career and to serve children with ASD and their families as a speech-language pathologist.

Heather Demosthenes
SocialsibS Student Coordinator

Heather Demosthenes is a post-baccalaureate student in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences. This is her first year as an ACLD lab member and she is looking forward to collaborating with faculty and fellow students on our lab’s current research projects. Ms. Demosthenes is interested in learning more about the dynamic role of research in speech-language pathology and how it directly impacts evidence-based practice. Ms. Demosthenes has experience teaching youth art classes, as well as assisting in social communication groups.

Amber Humphrey
Webmaster

Amber Humphrey is a senior undergraduate student studying Speech-Language Pathology in the Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences at PSU. This is her first year as an ACLD lab member, and she has much to contribute. Ms. Humphrey has a brother with Autism, she worked in a significant disabilities classroom for Kelso School District for 4 years before getting certified as a Speech Language Pathologist Assistant – a job she has been in for the past 2 ½ years. She is excited to work with Dr. Donaldson and the other lab members. Ms. Humphrey is particularly interested in sibling-mediated intervention as she feels her personal experience with her brother can greatly contribute to this area.

Yara Aljahlan

Yara Aljahlan is a second year graduate student in the speech and hearing program at PSU. This is her first year working with Dr. Donaldson. Ms. Aljahlan is interested in working with preschool children with autism spectrum disorder. She is particularly interested in early intervention approaches which involve parent training and the areas of joint attention, and symbolic play. Before graduate school, Ms. Aljahlan worked for several years with many children who were medically fragile in a medical setting in Saudi Arabia. Last summer she completed training in a camp for children with ASD, and with social and communicative challenges. In the future she is looking forward to pursuing a career that focuses on early intervention of children with ASD and helping their families.

Haylee Jenkins

Haylee Jenkins is in her first year of the Speech-Language Pathology Masters Program at Portland State University. She became interested in working with children with autism during an internship in high school and working with this population has since become a passion. Ms. Jenkins has taught at a summer intervention program for children with autism for the past three years and worked in an autism classroom in a Washington school district. She is excited to become involved in research which will help inform effective and efficacious intervention methods through her work in the ACLD lab. Ms. Jenkins is hoping to use her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Puget Sound and her lab experiences in her future clinical practice. She hopes to be able to serve children with autism and their families as a speech language pathologist.

Jordan Lusk
Journal Club Coordinator & ASAP Videography Coordinator

Jordan Lusk is in her second year of graduate studies in Speech-Language Pathology at PSU. This is her first year working in Dr. Donaldson’s research lab. She has worked with a variety of populations of children in both school and social service settings. Ms. Lusk is pursuing the Bilingual Concentration through the graduate program and completed her summer clinic in Quito, Ecuador. She looks forward to incorporating her interest in social communication, ASD, and working with Spanish-speaking children and their families after her graduate studies.

Alexis Morley

Alexis Morley is a new Speech-Language Pathology post-baccalaurate student in the Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences at PSU. As a first year speech-language student and ACLD lab member, Ms. Morley is excited to turn her passion for working with children on the autism spectrum toward intervention research. She is looking forward to working with Dr. Donaldson and her lab on a multitude of projects, most specifically sibling intervention behavior modification. Ms. Morley’s interest in working with children on the autism spectrum comes from her previous work experiences including assistant preschool teacher, summer camp counselor, and educational tutor. In her future professional endeavors she hopes to continue to serve children with ASD as a clinical speech-language pathologist.

Alex Davidson

Alex Davidson is a post-baccalaureate student in the Speech and Hearing Sciences Department at PSU. This is her first year in the ACLD lab and she is excited to collaborate with the other lab members on current research projects. She is particularly interested in the effects of peer-mediated intervention on the social communication skills of children with ASD. Before coming to Portland, Ms. Davidson worked as an in-home ABA tutor with children on the Autism Spectrum and as a preschool teaching assistant. In the future, she hopes to continue her passion for working with children with ASD and their families as a speech-language pathologist.

Sommer Hassan

Information coming soon...

Sophie Millon

Information coming soon...

Collaborators

ASAP Intervention Project

University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill (primary site)

Principal Investigators:
Brian A. Boyd, Ph.D.
Linda R. Watson, Ed.D.
Investigators:
Grace T. Baranek, Ph.D.
Elizabeth R. Crais, Ph.D.

University of Miami

Michael Alessandri, Ph.D.
Jow Reichle, Ph.D.

SocialsibS Project

Claudia Meyer, M.S. - Portland State University

Parent-Implemented Intervention Project

Alison Presmanes Hill, Ph.D. - Oregon Health & Science University
Anna Dvortcsak, M.S. - Dvortscak Speech & Language Services

Integrated Sibling Project

Lew Bank, Ph.D. - PSU Regional Research Institute
Christine Nicolaidis, M.D., MPH - PSU School of Social Work & Oregon Health & Science University Department of Medicine

Past lab members:

Stephanie Andreason
Launa Barnett
Sarah Belfit
Elsa Bro
Rachel Hathaway
Nell Hingley
Jessica Hofferberger
Nicole Jones
Ashley Knutsen
Jessica Mehr
Cathy Mershon
Megan Neely
Lindsey Sterling
Miranda Valle-Riestra
Erin Yankus
Sara Vank