Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Track

APPIC Program Match Number 150914

David Michalec, Ph.D.
Track Director:
Email:  David.Michalec@NationwideChildrens.org
Phone: (614) 355-8315

The Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) track offers training focused on children either with or suspected of a developmental disability. There are three openings for an IDD intern. Training includes traditional supervision, problem-focused case conferences, a treatment seminar, and an ongoing professional development series with invited speakers and guests. Interns closely interact with other trainees including post-doctoral fellows, psychology practicum students, speech pathology trainees, medical students, and pediatric residents.

Settings
Interns provide most of their clinical work at the Child Development Center (CDC), an interdisciplinary clinic. Interns also receive training in an ICF/MR facility and at Nationwide Children’s Hospital Main Campus.Interns also participate. Participation in occasional hospital inpatient consultations will occur throughout the year. Inpatient consultations typically are geared toward the appropriateness of placement in an ICF/MR facility and other issues concerning children with developmental disabilities.

Assessment
Interns work as part of an interdisciplinary team (Physician/Nurse Practitioner, Speech Therapist, Nurse, psychometrician), evaluating children suspected of autism or developmental delay. Interns then complete a full psychological assessment to further document the child’s functioning and generate recommendations for services. Interns also complete traditional psychological evaluations of children with other intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

Treatment
Special training opportunities focused on behavioral therapy for children with developmental disabilities is an integral part of training.  Treatment experiences are ample and cover a wide range of presenting problems and diagnoses including feeding problems, aggression, self-injury, sleep problems, and toileting and other gastrointestinal issues. Treatment cases may also involve habilitative interventions for adaptive behavioral deficits, school and academic interventions, and early intensive behavioral intervention for autism. Participation in an evidence based group therapy program for children with IDD and co-morbid behavioral problems is also available.

Clinic Experiences
IDD interns provide psychological services for several hospital-based medical clinics.  Typical responsibilities include brief psychological testing and behavioral consultation.  Current clinics with IDD Internship Track involvement are:

• Down Syndrome Clinic

• Neurodevelopmental Clinic

• Bowel Management Clinic for Children with IDD

• Feeding Clinic (IFEC)

• Heinzerling Foundation (ICF/MR) facility

CDC Psychology also provides support for Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s International Adoption Clinic and Prader Willi Clinic.  CDC also collaborates with Pediatric Neuropsychology to provide developmental assessment for Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Neonatal Follow-Up Program. Interns may accept referrals from these clinics.

Supervision
Besides traditional one-to-one supervision, IDD interns participate in other educational activities. The first is the bi-weekly Clinical Case Problem Conference that requires the interns to present cases to other trainees and faculty members. Interns receive feedback about assessment procedures, interpretation of results, and ideas for recommendations. The interns will be expected to attend and participate in all case conferences, and will be expected to present at least two during the internship year.  All CDC faculty participate in the case conference. The second experience is the weekly Treatment Seminar. Treatment Seminar includes discussion and presentation of empirically based treatment programs and an opportunity to discuss the application of EBTs to the interns’ specific case load. The interns will be expected to attend and participate in each Treatment Seminar.

Advocacy
Interns also participate in advocacy activities including attending presentations, assisting with a lecture, or making school visits on behalf of a client. CDC Psychology supports outreach clinics to rural and Appalachian counties in Ohio through direct service and tele-health services. All CDC faculty are strongly invested in advocacy efforts for their patients. Interns may incorporate different advocacy efforts into their training year.

Autism Treatment Network Involvement
In January 2011, Nationwide Children’s Hospital CDC was selected to join the Autism Treatment Network (ATN), the nation's first network of hospitals and physicians dedicated to developing a model of comprehensive medical care for children and adolescents with autism. The ATN offers families care from clinicians highly experienced in helping individuals with autism and providing treatment for associated conditions such as gastrointestinal and sleep disorders. The ATN also coordinates a patient registry database of clinical data about autism families and patients used to evaluate and track patient care in network facilities. Being part of the ATN provides CDC faculty and trainees access to registry data and the opportunity to propose research studies.  

Hours
IDD interns work five days per week.  There is no “on call” coverage and interns typically work 40-50 hours per week.   Interns are required to work one evening per week.

CDC Faculty
All CDC faculty are responsible for training and supervising interns.   Supervision takes  different forms, including clinical supervision, mentoring, and/or didactic training.

• Robert Arendt, Ph.D.

• Eric Butter, Ph.D.

• Rebecca Hellenthal, Ph.D

• Barbara Mackinaw-Koons, Ph.D.

• David Michalec, Ph.D.

• James Mulick, Ph.D., BCBA-D

• Caroline Murphy, Ph.D.

• Megan Norris, PhD

• Courtney Rice, Psy.D.

• Micheline Silva, Ph.D.

• Michelle Spader, Psy.D.

• Jonathan Wilkins, Ph.D

Successful Applicants
Applicants who have been invited to interview for the IDD Track typically have the following:

• Behavioral therapy/Parent Training experience.

• Psychological assessment with young children (1.5 – 5 years)

• Prior work with intellectually and developmentally delayed children, especially children with Autism.