Ty Vernon of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School was an invited speaker to “Autism: the Route Choice,” one of the first autism conferences ever held in Russia. Vernon was one of about 10 autism professionals invited from the United States to present on cutting edge research related to diagnosis, early intervention, education, and adult life. Eight hundred people attended the event that provided a space for the interaction of researchers, service providers, state administration representatives and parents who join efforts in the development of the comprehensive support system for children and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in Russia. Vernon gave the presentation “Pivotal Response Treatment: A scientifically supported, motivation-based approach for early intervention in autism.”
Ty Vernon is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology within the Department of Counseling, Clinical, & School Psychology. His primary research interests lie in novel methods for measuring, understanding, and altering the social developmental trajectories of children and adults with autism.
He currently is the Director of the Koegel Autism Center Assessment Clinic, which serves as a clinical and research hub for the detection and measurement of autism-related symptomatology in toddlers, children, adolescents, and adults. Through the use of behavioral coding, standardized assessments, eye-tracking technology, and neurophysiological measures, the Clinic aims to improve diagnostic precision, closely monitor response to intervention efforts, and increase our global understanding of autism spectrum disorders. Vernon has participated in the empirical investigation of several innovative social interventions, including an early social engagement paradigm for toddlers and their parents, group socialization interventions for school-aged children and adolescents, and vocational training programs for young adults with ASD.
Vernon received his Ph.D. in Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology (clinical emphasis) from UC Santa Barbara in 2010. He completed his pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at the Yale Child Study Center (housed within Yale University’s School of Medicine). During his graduate and post-doctoral training, he acquired training in state-of-the-art autism intervention, assessment, and research methods from two world-renowned programs: UCSB’s Koegel Autism Center and the YCSC’s Autism Program.