Highlands Center for Autism Welcomes Director
2/16/2009
Highlands Health System would like to welcome Dr. Shelli Deskins as the Director of the Highlands Center for Autism.
“The Highlands Center for Autism will meet a critical need for children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders and their families,” commented Dr. Deskins. “The Center will provide high-quality educational and treatment services using applied behavior analysis (ABA) that is based upon decades of solid research and will target academic, adaptive, communicative, and behavioral needs. The Center will create the infrastructure needed to address the complexities inherent in a disorder like autism and will position Highlands Health System to be a state-wide leader in helping families with children diagnosed with autism. No longer will families have to move out of state, cobble together services, or just go-it alone and hope for the best.”
Dr. Shelli Deskins is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in treating children and their families. She is a native of Paintsville, and a graduate of Paintsville High School. Dr. Deskins received her undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky and her Ph.D. from Auburn University in Alabama. She completed her internship at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center - Child Study Center and the Center for Child Abuse and Neglect. Dr. Deskins completed a research based postdoctoral fellowship in health disparities at West Virginia University and a postdoctoral scholarship at the University of Kentucky School of Medicine. Just prior to joining the Center,
Dr. Deskins served as Assistant Professor at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Dept. of Family and Community Medicine at UK's North Fork Valley Community Health Center in Hazard, Kentucky.
Highlands Health System is proud to have Dr. Shelli Deskins lead the way at the Center for Autism, which is scheduled to open in late spring of 2009.