{"id":9443,"date":"2021-09-21T11:32:25","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T15:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/?page_id=9443"},"modified":"2025-06-18T11:39:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T15:39:13","slug":"autism-teacch-track-description-2022-2023","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/psych\/autism-teacch-track-description-2022-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Autism (TEACCH) Track Description 2022-2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Track Overview: The TEACCH Autism Program is a community-based clinical service and professional training program dedicated to serving individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families, throughout the lifespan. We are the largest and most comprehensive statewide program for autism in the nation. We engage in an integrated approach to the individual\u2019s school or work and home environment using multiple evidence-based methods. TEACCH includes diagnostic and treatment centers throughout the state of North Carolina, a demonstration residential and vocational center for adults, and an employment services program. Services provided at the clinics include evidence-based interventions for individuals of all ages including toddlers and their parents, individual and group parent coaching for school-aged children; individual and group intervention and support for adults with ASD; parent support groups; and training and consultation to teachers and to other professionals. The TEACCH intern will spend approximately half time throughout the year working in TEACCH services. To accomplish the goal of broad-based training, the TEACCH intern will also rotate onto the Child Psychiatry Inpatient Unit and, another rotation, onto the Pediatric Consultation\/Liaison service.<\/p>\n

Clinical Rotations and Patients:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chapel Hill TEACCH Center\u00a0(Tamara Dawkins, PhD)<\/p>\n

At the Chapel Hill TEACCH Center,\u00a0Interns\u00a0will participate as a member of a diagnostic team, developing proficiency in all aspects of the diagnostic process across the age span, often seeing diagnostically complex individuals. The intern will also engage in a variety of evidence-based intervention activities, including implementing evidence-based visual strategies\/support (Structured TEACCHing), behavioral interventions, naturalistic interventions, cognitive behavioral interventions, social skills interventions, and community support programs. Current programs include parent-child coaching sessions with individual families and in small groups, clinic and home-based early intervention, and CBT-based groups for school-aged children and their parents to promote social understanding, social communication and emotional regulation. Given TEACCH\u2019s focus on providing services across the age span, there are extensive opportunities for experience with adolescents and adults with ASD in individual therapy and group formats including a DBT group for adults with ASD.\u00a0Additional opportunities include participation\u00a0in parent support groups,\u00a0training workshops for parents and for professionals, and\u00a0consultation to other professionals.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pediatric Psychiatry\/Psychology Liaison Program (Joni McKeeman, PhD)<\/p>\n

A major objective of this program is to teach the diagnosis and management of\u00a0developmental, psychological, and social problems of childhood, particularly those that arise secondary to chronic and acute illnesses. To this end, the faculty has established on-going consultation-liaison relationships within a variety of pediatric settings including: Pediatric and adolescent inpatient hospital wards, the pediatric intensive care unit, and the burn unit.\u00a0 In addition to inpatient pediatric consults, the intern may also be involved in one or more of the outpatient pediatric clinics, depending on how busy the inpatient service is.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Examples of experiences include:<\/p>\n