ASAC STAFF

Amy Beaumont, Psy.D., is a licensed psychologist who, together with Dr. Parlade, serves as the Co-Director of ASAC. She is also a Clinical Supervisor in UM's Child and Adolescent Mood and Anxiety Treatment Program (CAMAT).  Dr. Beaumont received her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University in Florida and completed internship at the May Institute and National Autism Center in Massachusetts. Dr. Beaumont has 20 years of experience providing evidence-based treatments, including applied behavior analysis (ABA), cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), social skills training, and parent training to individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and their families. Additionally, she is skilled in the comprehensive psychological assessment of individuals, ages 8 months through childhood, with ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders, and has obtained research reliability in the use of the ADOS-2 and ADI-R. Dr. Beaumont has presented on topics related to ASD at numerous local and national conferences, and she regularly offers consultation and training to schools and medical professionals. She also serves as a consultant to numerous autism-related research projects at the University of Miami.  

Meaghan Parlade, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist who, together with Dr. Beaumont, serves as the Co-Director of ASAC. She is also a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology, the Division Director of Assessment and Intervention Services at UM-NSU CARD, and a Clinical Supervisor in UM's Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) Program. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical and Developmental Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. She then completed her clinical internship at the Mailman Center for Child Development at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine with a specialization in ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Her clinical and research interests include the early screening, assessment, and diagnosis of ASD, as well as the development and evaluation of interventions to improve behavior, parent-child interactions, and social skills in preschool- and school-aged children with ASD. She has over 10 years of experience in the assessment of children, adolescents, and adults with or suspected of ASD using evidence-based measures (e.g., ADOS-2, ADI-R, CARS2), as well as training in state-of-the-art teleassessment methods. Dr. Parlade has published and presented locally and nationally on topics related to child development, intervention, and ASD. She also serves as a clinician and consultant to ASD-related research projects at the University of Miami.

Sandra Cardona, Psy.D.  is a bilingual licensed psychologist and clinical supervisor at ASAC. She obtained her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University and then completed a post-doctoral residency at Nova Southeastern University’s Mailman Segal Center, specializing in Autism Spectrum Disorders and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Cardona has over 10 years of experience in the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and adults with or suspected of ASD using gold-standard measures (e.g., ADOS-2, ADI-R, CARS2), as well as skills in providing telehealth assessments. She also serves as a clinician to autism-related research projects at the University of Miami. Dr. Cardona has broad experience providing assessment and therapeutic services to children, adolescents and adults with autism of diverse cultural backgrounds. She has conducted international evaluations of clients from Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America.

Eileen Davis, Ph.D. is a bilingual licensed psychologist who earned a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Florida. Dr. Davis completed her pre-doctoral internship at Texas Children’s Hospital where she gained specialized training in the assessment of young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. She joined the University of Miami as a post-doctoral fellow in the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy program where she now serves as Bilingual Director and clinical supervisor as a member of the UM Miller School of Medicine faculty.  Dr. Davis is also the Associate Director of the Teacher-Child Interaction Training program at UM, which serves children with ASD, other developmental and behavioral concerns  and children with hearing loss.

Cecilia Alvarez-Tabío, M.S., BCBA is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and serves as Manager for Autism Intervention Services at UM-NSU CARD. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Psychology and received her BCBA certification in 2010. Cecilia has been working with children with ASD for the past 9 years. Prior to joining CARD, she worked at Citrus Health identifying developmental red flags in young children through screenings in preschool classrooms. Prior to that, she ran a parent-child early intervention program for children diagnosed with autism and provided in-home consultations. She provides clinical support and consultation services to families registered with CARD as well as to professionals on the field. Her research interests focus on parent-child intervention programs. Cecilia facilitates parent trainings that teach social communication skills as well as discipline strategies to manage problem behaviors. At ASAC she provides Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and RUBI Parent Training for Disruptive Behaviors. Cecilia has presented on topics related to ASD and parent training at numerous local and statewide conferences.

Niza A. Tonarely-Busto, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral associate at ASAC. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Miami. She completed a predoctoral clinical internship at the Mailman Center for Child Development at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, serving a diverse clinical population. Dr. Tonarely-Busto also serves as the postdoctoral associate and Clinical Director of the Child and Adolescent Mood and Anxiety Treatment (CAMAT) Program at the University of Miami, which specializes in the assessment and treatment of youth with emotional disorders. She is certified in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Children and Adolescents (UP-C/A). Her experiences include assessment and therapeutic services for youth with autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive, and trauma-related disorders.

Doctoral Students and Interns in Clinical Psychology

Under the supervision of ASAC psychologists, advanced-level graduate students and interns assist in conducting psychological evaluations and providing therapy. Students recieve substantial training on the various psychological and diagnostic measures utilized at ASAC. In therapeutic cases, clients are specially matched with a therapist based on client needs, personality, and therapist experience level.

Melissa Hale, Ph.D., BCBA-D serves as the faculty advisor of ASAC and as an Associate Director of UM-NSU CARD. She is a licensed psychologist and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst ‌‌(BCBA-D). Dr. Hale received her Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of Florida, with a particular focus on autism spectrum disorders and applied behavior analysis. She completed an internship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Department of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Hale has worked extensively with individuals with ASD for over 20 years. She has presented at numerous local and national conferences on topics related to autism spectrum disorders.

Jennifer Stella Durocher, Ph.D. serves as a faculty advisor to ASAC and is the Director of UM-NSU CARD. She has worked with individuals with autism ‌and their families for over 15 years. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Miami. Dr. Durocher completed her clinical internship at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center at the JFK Autism and Developmental Disorders Clinic. Dr. Durocher has presented and published nationally and internationally on the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of ASDs. She has also participated in numerous county and statewide task forces focusing on early screening and diagnosis of ASDs, and addressing the mental health needs of adults with ASDs. She also serves as a liaison & consultant to autism-related research projects at the University of Miami, as well as other local universities, and is a consulting editor for the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities.