Amy M. Wetherby
Florida State University
Amy M. Wetherby, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences, the Laurel Schendel Professor of Communication Disorders, and Director of the Autism Institute in the Florida State University College of Medicine. She has over thirty years of clinical experience and is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Dr. Wetherby has published extensively and presents regularly at national conventions on early detection and early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). She is the Project Co-Director of Doctoral Training in Research, Autism, and Interdisciplinary Leadership (TRAIL) funded by the U.S. Department of Education and is the Executive Director of the Florida State University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. She served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee for Educational Interventions for Children with Autism and on the DSM-5 Neurodevelopmental Workgroup of the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Wetherby is Director of the FIRST WORDS Project, a longitudinal research investigation on early detection of ASD and other communication disorders, funded by the US DOE/OSEP, NIDCD, NICHD, and CDC. She was Co-PI of three randomized controlled trials—the Early Social Interaction Project, an early treatment study teaching parents of toddlers with ASD how to support social communication and play in everyday activities funded by Autism Speaks and NIMH; the Classroom SCERTS Intervention Project for school-age children funded by the US DOE/IES; and one of 5 collaborative research entities that form the Autism Intervention Research Network on Behavior Health (AIR-B) funded by HHS/HRSA. Dr. Wetherby is co-developer of Autism Navigator®, an innovative collection of courses and tools designed to bridge the gap between science and community practice using a highly interactive web platform with extensive video footage to illustrate effective evidence-based practice. She is Co-PI on a new multisite health services grant funded by NIMH using Autism Navigator for Primary Care with an automated screening tool, the “Smart” Early Screening for Autism and Communication Disorder (ESAC), which will have important implications for mobilizing communities to improve family action, participation, and engagement in early screening and diagnosis of ASD and entry into early intervention. The overarching goal of the collective efforts of Dr. Wetherby’s research is to build the capacity of healthcare systems to improve early detection and provide access to cost-efficient early intervention that is feasible for far-reaching community implementation.