Ways to Work with Us

Training 

We offer targeted workshops for educators, clinicians, and care providers focused on best practices for supporting children with complex, demand-avoidant profiles through a Person-in-Environment lens. Trainings emphasize nervous system regulation, relational safety, and environmental fit—moving beyond behavior-based interpretations toward developmentally informed support.

Team Consultation
We work directly with IEP teams to provide education, consultation, and coaching on PDA-affirming strategies. This includes support for building shared understanding, aligning language across disciplines, and implementing approaches that promote regulation, engagement, and meaningful inclusion within school settings.

We provide conference presentations and invited speaking engagements for professional audiences seeking a deeper understanding of the PDA profile of autism and related neurodevelopmental considerations. Presentations are designed for educators, clinicians, administrators, and allied professionals working across educational, clinical, and community-based systems.

Our talks integrate current research, clinical expertise, and practice-based learning through a Person-in-Environment framework. Topics emphasize nervous system regulation, demand, capacity, relational safety, and system-level implications—moving beyond behaviorist models toward developmentally and ethically informed practice.

Presentations may include case-based discussion, applied frameworks, and practical strategies that support professional reflection, interdisciplinary collaboration, and more responsive systems of care. Content can be tailored to conference themes, audience experience level, and setting.

The Massachusetts PDA Study Group is a professional development and consultation organization. We do not provide therapy, clinical treatment, or direct services to individuals or families, and we are not a group therapy practice. All activities offered through this organization are intended for professionals.

If you are seeking therapeutic services, please contact individual members of the group directly to inquire about their independent practices and availability. 

These professionals are often a strong fit even when their primary role varies:

• Professionals with a personal or family connection to PDA

• Professionals working primarily in consultation, supervision, or systems-level roles

• Providers actively unlearning deficit-based or compliance-driven models

Examples:

Licensed Mental Health & Clinical Professionals

• Licensed Independent Clinical Social Workers (LICSW / LCSW)

• Licensed Mental Health Counselors (LMHC)

• Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists (LMFT)

• Licensed Psychologists (PhD / PsyD)

• Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) who are explicitly seeking non-behaviorist, PDA-affirming frameworks

• Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners (PMHNP) with psychotherapy or consultative roles

Licensed Allied Health Professionals

• Occupational Therapists (OT / OTR/L)

• Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP / CCC-SLP)

• Physical Therapists (PT) working with neurodevelopmental populations

• Neuropsychologists (licensed)

Licensed Education & School-Based Professionals

• School Psychologists

• Licensed Special Educators

• Licensed Adjustment Counselors / School Social Workers

• Licensed Educational Psychologists

• Administrators with clinical licensure (e.g., Director of Special Education with licensure background)

Medical & Developmental Specialists (Licensed)

• Developmental-Behavioral Pediatricians

• Child & Adolescent Psychiatrists

• Pediatric Nurse Practitioners with neurodevelopmental focus

• Physicians working in interdisciplinary neurodevelopmental clinics