Master of Autism Studies

01/21/2026

Our "ADOS-2 Introductory Clinical Training" is off and running! We're proud to be able to contribute to our community's capacity for providing high quality autism assessments.

09/22/2025

Join us for our next Autism Studies Workshop!

The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2), is an assessment used for diagnosing autism spectrum disorders (ASD) across ages, developmental levels, and language skills. This two-day introductory training is designed for professionals such as speech-language pathologists, physicians, psychologists, and occupational therapists who have prior experience with ASD and formal assessment. The workshop provides a foundational understanding of Modules 1–4 through lectures and administration demonstrations, followed by group scoring and discussion with the guidance of a certified trainer. Participants will be introduced to the principles of ADOS-2 administration and scoring across modules and will gain the knowledge necessary to begin using the ADOS-2 in clinical settings. This training also serves as a prerequisite for those pursuing ADOS-2 research reliability training.

January 21-22, 2026, 9am-5:00pm (EST), at Saint Mary's College (Notre Dame, IN). $100 registration fee. For more information and to register, visit www.saintmarys.edu/autismworkshops.

07/08/2025

We are pleased to announce that, after a long hiatus, our Autism Training Workshops will be returning in January 2026! Stay tuned for more info...

05/29/2024

Congratulations to Candace Todd, recipient of the Madeleva Outstanding Graduate Student Award for 2024! Candace was recently graduated from the Dual Master's Degree Program in Autism Studies and Speech Language Pathology. The Madeleva Award is presented annually to a member of the College's graduating class. It is Saint Mary's College's highest graduate student award.

05/25/2024

Congratulations to the Master of Autism Studies class of 2024! This year's cohort included three students who completed the Dual Master's Degree Program in Autism Studies and Speech Language Pathology. In addition to honoring our MAS students, we also had the privilege of celebrating the first two graduates from our Mentoring Initiative for NeuroDiverse Students. It was a great day!

05/09/2024

In our autism studies program, we spend a lot of time studying the writings of people on the spectrum who are non-verbal (or non-vocal). These individuals are often assumed to have intellectual disability. Jordyn Zimmerman shows us why we should never make that assumption...

Jordyn Zimmerman is autistic and nonspeaking at 29, but she's still making her voice heard.

03/21/2024

Today we celebrate our friends who have Down Syndrome---and especially those who are also on the spectrum!

03/16/2024

Are you a healthcare professional? Or a student completing training in a healthcare field?

Professionals in any healthcare field and students completing their training in a healthcare field are invited to participate in this survey investigating the quantity and quality of education provided on autism in healthcare training programs. This survey should take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. https://saintmarys.iad1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7OI3KqyXxY5Onga

09/29/2023

Title of Study: COVET: Client-Optimized Virtual Equine Therapy

You are invited to participate in a study focused on the engagement and participation of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) using a horse-riding simulator. We will build a prototype of the COVET virtual hippotherapy system from what we learn during the study. We hope that the COVET approach will help children with ASD increase their ability to attend and increase social engagement with others by reducing their anxiety and improving their engagement and participation relative to their current therapeutic approach.

If your child is between the ages of 8-12 years with a diagnosis of ASD and enrolled in speech-language therapy, you are eligible to participate.

If you decide to participate, we will ask you to participate in a focus group to gain information about the feasibility of the technology and its utility to young people with ASD. The duration of the focus group will not exceed 1.5 hours.

Your child will be asked to:
1) Use the COVET system two times per week during a clinical therapy session and respond to feedback while riding or interacting with the virtual horse.
2) Participate in 12 sessions in total. The clinical therapy sessions will last no longer than 60 minutes each.

If you are interested in participation, please contact Susan Latham at [email protected].

IRB Protocol #2023-B15

09/27/2023