Clinical Psychology Internship in Developmental Disabilities and Pediatric Psychology

Major Rotations

Interns participate in three four-month rotations. Each rotation focuses on assessment, consultation, and referral skills in different areas within the broad context of childhood development.

A. Child Development Clinic (LEND):

This rotation involves intensive and interdisciplinary evaluations of children with a variety of special needs. Referral questions often include cognitive delays, academic concerns, behavioral difficulties, emotional problems, social concerns, speech delays, poor motor skills, and medical disorders. Psychology interns, along with their supervisors, conduct extensive evaluations and parent/child interviews, and consult with other professionals in a fast-paced clinical setting. As many as eight disciplines may be involved in the one-day clinic. The interns are also expected to serve as case coordinator, chair staff meetings, and conduct parent conferences. Staffing and parent conferences conclude the day and the entire process is completed within six to eight hours. The intern typically completes one or two evaluations during the clinic, which occurs one day a week. Follow-up activities may occur outside of the clinic day.

B. Pediatric Psychology Clinic (Diabetes Center)

Interns will participate in a pediatric clinic serving children with complex and chronic medical conditions through the OHSU Diabetes Center. The Diabetes Center is a lifespan, multidisciplinary center designed to provide coordinated, state-of-the-art care to individuals with diabetes. Interns, along with their supervisor, provide services to youth with diabetes and their family. Services include initial evaluation of psychosocial status, consultation with medical and other allied health professionals, and on-going assistance to youth and their families. Focus of services is on wellbeing of the youth and optimizing individual and family functioning. Ongoing services may emphasize issues such as adjusting to having a chronic medical condition, incorporating prescribed medical regimen into day-to-day life, and addressing psychosocial issues related to one's chronic medical condition. While the patient population for this rotation is individuals with diabetes, training emphasizes models of care for youth with chronic and complex medical conditions more broadly. Further, training includes skills for integrating psychosocial perspectives into the care of youth with chronic conditions.

C. Autism Clinic

The CDRC Autism Program provides diagnostic evaluations of children suspected of being on the autism spectrum, consultation to families and other professionals, and treatment of young children with autism.  As part of the diagnostic process, children and their family members participate in an interdisciplinary assessment consisting of professionals from several disciplines, including developmental pediatrics, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, audiology and psychology. Several different diagnostic clinics are held each week. As one of their primary major rotations, interns will participate in the either a) the clinic for older children, adolescents and adults, or b) the clinic that rotates monthly between servicing older individuals and children 5 and younger. Most individuals are referred to the "Older Autism Clinic" for questions of Asperger's Disorder and high functioning Autistic Disorder, although a broad spectrum of other developmental and mental health disorders are also seen. Most individuals are referred to the "Younger Autism Clinic" for questions about autistic disorder. Interns will be expected to provide brief psychological evaluations, with an emphasis on cognitive, adaptive, and behavioral functioning. A standard protocol is used for almost all individuals seen through the clinic and involves administration of a developmental or intellectual test (e.g., Mullen Scales for Early Learning, the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scales, 5th Ed); the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, 2nd Ed - Interview Edition; the Child Behavior Checklist; and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale (ADOS).

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