VT Center for Autism Research

Welcome to the
Virginia Tech Autism Clinic & Center for Autism Research

Our mission is to improve the quality of life for autistic individuals and their families through *intervention, education, and research directed towards effective services.

We strongly support neurodiversity and acknowledge varying preferences regarding language among self-advocates within the autism and broader community. Please let us know your preference for identity-first (i.e., "autistic individual") or person-first language (i.e., "individual with autism/ASD") when we meet.

Receive our E-newsletter

Learn about our research studies

The VT Autism Clinic operates as a training clinic for graduate students. Our research is conducted through the VT Center for Autism Research. Our current research efforts are:

Develop and test the feasibility of a model for autism service provision by offering assessments and professional development for educators
Development of a hybrid mentoring program for autistic STEM undergraduate students and establish a pipeline from-graduation-to-work with industry partners
EmotionAIze - Empathy-Driven Interactive Human-AI System for Countering Negative-Self Talk for Autistic Individuals
Machine learning in AI to better understand collaboration between autistic and non-autistic individuals in the workplace
Designing AI as a Mental Health Resource for Autistic Adults: Enhancing Therapeutic Approaches with Multimodal Interactions
Piloting a Parenting Mobile App to Reduce Treatment-time for Families in Virginia
Mobile Autism Clinic (MAC), one of our signature initiatives, which supports our work on accessible autism services for rural Virginians.

Recruiting Autistic Steering Committee members

Autistic Steering Committee members needed to advise on a project to develop industrial robots to support autistic adults in manufacturing jobs. Committee members will earn $50/hour for up to four online meetings a year. Please apply if you are 18 or older, are autistic or identify as autistic and have worked in manufacturing. Email any questions to vtautismcenter@vt.edu with "NSF Robots" in the subject line.

Complete interest form

Recruiting a child-focused assistant clinical professor

View job listing

The Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech is recruiting a child-focused assistant clinical professor for a non-tenure-track clinical faculty position within our clinical science Ph.D. training program. Successful candidates will have opportunities to work with the Virginia Tech Autism Clinic & Center for Autism Research, if desired.

Offering Hybrid Autism Assessments in Rural Communities

The Virginia Tech Autism Clinic & Center for Autism Research is providing free diagnostic assessments to evaluate for autism in children 17 years old or younger as part of a funded research project. Assessments will be free while funding remains available.

Assessments are conducted through a combination of in-person and remote meetings or entirely remotely. We are recruiting residents of Dickenson, Wise and the city of Norton.

To be added to our interest list, parents/caregivers email vtautismcenter@vt.edu with the details below. Write "Assessment Project" in the subject line.

Your first and last name
Your phone number
Your email address
Child's name
Child's age
County of residence

A project member will contact you in the coming weeks with more information and to determine if you and your child are eligible to participate.

Support provided by Kelly Rose and the Dickenson County Office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension. Funding provided by the Rapha Foundation, Commonwealth Autism, the Virginia Cooperative Extension and the VT College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Virginia Tech IRB #24-359