Jennifer L. Morris, Ph.D.
Dr. Morris received her doctoral degree from the Clinical Child Psychology program at the University of Alabama. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is a member of the American Psychological Association and APA’s Division 53: Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology.
Following her work in autism clinics in Alabama and Arkansas, as well as the advanced clinical training on the ADOS diagnostic instrument, she has developed a specialization in working with children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Dr. Morris provides diagnostic evaluations and individual/family therapy services for ASD families. The diagnostic evaluation process includes a detailed parent interview, diagnostic play session (using the ADOS), intellectual testing, and adaptive behavior assessment.
Autism Spectrum Disorders, or Pervasive Developmental Disorders, are typically first observed in children during toddler years. These diagnoses can affect a family in a variety of ways. Because of this, her work focuses not only on working with the child’s strengths and weaknesses, but also on supporting the family. Parents and caregivers are a necessary part of the evaluation and treatment process, as they know their children best. It is her hope to collaborate with families, while providing parents with support and information to help with home life and school adjustment.
Therapy sessions are typically held weekly or biweekly, with the agreement that families will work on skills outside of the sessions. Because of the unique nature of ASD’s, treatment goals are individualized to meet the needs of each child and family. Individual and family therapy services involve developmental and behavioral interventions. Dr. Morris was trained in using behavioral and structured teaching methods with children with ASD’s. Dr. Morris also provides psychological testing and individual/family therapy services for children and adolescents with a variety of issues.
Text Box: Dr. Jennifer L. Morris, Ph.D