Encouraged Collaborating Therapies

 *If you are looking for a formal evaluation, most insurance companies and or public schools require: 

Developmental screenings may be done by a doctor, nurse, or other professionals in a healthcare, community, or school setting. But only a medical doctor or doctoral-level psychologist can sign off on the diagnosis of your child with any of the following: Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorder; ADHD; Learning disabilities., ADHD, or other complex neurodevelopmental disorders. 

Please keep in mind that this is not a full list of practitioners.

Doctors that may diagnose:

Child Psychiatrists; Pediatric Neurologists; Developmental or General Pediatricians; and some Primary Cary Physicians are the types of medical doctors that are qualified as either an M.D. or D.O. that may diagnose anything within their scope of practice that could include complex neurodevelopmental disorders like Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Apraxia, and/or other cognitive, learning or intellectual disabilities. 

Clinical Neuropsychologists or Psychologists with a doctoral degree are either a Ph.D., Psy.D., or Ed.D., that may also diagnose complex neurodevelopmental disorders.

The following licensed and credentialed mental health professionals can assist in a Comprehensive Developmental Evaluation, and Neuropsychological Evaluation, but they CANNOT diagnose ASD, ADHD, or other complex neurodevelopmental disorders. Unless they work under the direct supervision of a doctor, in which case the diagnosis and referral for therapy will still need to be signed by the physician.

Psychologists, with a master's level degree, can either have a Master of Arts (MA) or a Master of Science (MS). They can be: 

• Graduate Professional Counselor (LGPC);  
• Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) 
• Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT) otherwise known as MFT or LCMFT.

Mental Health Nurses can have a wide range of different specializations that include but are not limited to Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) with a specialty in:

• Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner (PNP-PC) or a (PNP) without primary care.
• Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) 
• Child/Adolescent (Pediatric) Psychiatric & Mental Health Clinical Nurse Specialist (PMHCNS)
• Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNP) 

Clinical Social Workers have a master's degree and can hold any of these credentials depending on the state they practice in, but will always involve an “SW”: 

• Master's of Social Work (MSW) 
• Licensed Graduate Social Worker (LGSW) 
• Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) 
• Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) 
• Licensed Certified Social Worker-Clinical (LCSW-C)  
• Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW) 
• Licensed Social Worker (LSW)

Physical Therapy (PT):

• Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)
• Masters of Science in Physical Therapy (MSPT) or (MPT) 
• Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Pediatric Physical Therapy (PCS)
• Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA)
• Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy (BSPT)

Occupational Therapy (OT): 

• Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD)
• Master in Occupational Therapy (MOT)
• Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT)
• Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA)

Speech Therapy: 

• Doctor of Speech-Language Pathology (SLPD)
• Doctor of Clinical Science in Speech-Language Pathology (CScD)
• Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP) or (SLP)
• Speech-Language Pathologist-Assistant Certification (C-SLPA) or (SLPA)

Applied Behavior Analysis:

• A Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) holds a master’s level degree, while a BCBA-D holds a doctoral degree, and has completed at least 2, 000 clinical hours before becoming certified.
• A Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA), otherwise known as an Assistant Analyst, holds a bachelor's level degree or a graduate certificate with ABA coursework and has completed at least 1,500 clinical hours before becoming credentialed as a BCaBA.
• A Registered Behavior Technician (RBT), sometimes called a Behavior Therapist or Technician, must be at least 18 years old and hold a high-school diploma. They have to complete an approved 40-hour training course and a subsequent competency evaluation before they can sit for their RBT exam to become credentialed.
• A Behavior Assistant (BA) is not credentialed by the BACB. They may be working in ABA, while they are going through the 40-hour training program to become an RBT. Certain insurance companies, do not recognize BAs and require that a credentialed RBT implement the behavior plan under the guidance and supervision of a BCBA/BCaBA.
• Student Analysts are ABA practitioners that currently hold an RBT or BCaBA credential, but are in a bachelor's or master's, or graduate certificate program to obtain a higher credential. Usually, an RBT pursuing a bachelor's, while taking the required ABA coursework, will be required to complete 1,500 clinical hours before they can apply to become a BCaBA. While a BCaBA, has already completed a bachelor's program and their initial 1,500 clinical hours to become a BCaBA, once they are pursuing a masters level degree, they are required to complete an additional 2,000 clinical hours of ABA supervised fieldwork. 
• Amanda is pursuing a Ph.D. herself and knows how important it is for employers to advocate for their clinicians to pursue higher education or credentials. We are always looking to hire staff to provide ethical environments to foster learning while facilitating the clinical opportunities necessary to achieve those goals of reaching for the next credential.