Laurie Stephens, PhD

Senior Director of Autism & Clinical Programs, The Help Group and Developmental Psychologist

Session 5A - The Power of Play for Young Autistic Children: Early Play-Based Strategies to Promote Development in Essential Skill Areas

 
Dr. Laurie Stephens is a developmental psychologist who has been working with children, teens, and young adults on the autism spectrum for over 30 years. She currently serves as The Help Group’s Senior Director of Autism & Clinical Programs. Previously, Dr. Stephens served as the Director of Clinical Services for Education Spectrum for 12 years. She provided diagnostic and psycho-educational evaluations, individual & family therapy, social skills training, educational consultation and professional, academic and parent training. Dr. Stephens has lectured around the world, focusing on social skills development and intervention strategies. Dr. Stephens received her BA in Experimental Psychology from UC San Diego, and her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from SUNY Stony Brook. Prior to working with Education Spectrum, Dr. Stephens served for 8 years as the Director of Autism Spectrum Disorders Programs at The Help Group. In her position then, Dr. Stephens created Young Learners Preschool for Autism and designed comprehensive education, behavioral and social skills programs for all the specialized day schools. She established an intensive social skills summer camp program for children with Asperger’s Disorder, which had an international reach with campers coming from the United Kingdom, El Salvador, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the UAE and other countries. Dr. Stephens’ primary area of specialty is in designing social skills curriculum, with a new-found passion for the changing nature of social expectations in the digital age. She has designed, run and supervised social skill groups for children as young as two years of age up through young adults. Dr. Stephens has focused much of her work on the development of theory of mind and how it relates to all aspects of a person’s functioning.