Dr. Theresa Hamlin

A Thought Leader in the Field of Autism and Complex Conditions

Theresa Hamlin, Ed.D.is the President and CEO at The Center for Discovery, a New York State designated Center of Excellence for children and adults with complex developmental disabilities including autism spectrum disorders, medical frailty and other rare disorders.  She has been active in the field for more than four decades, and is the author of, “Autism and The Stress Effect” – a guide for parents and teachers to help children with autism regulate their experiences to reduce the debilitating effects of stress with forewords from Dr. Temple Grandin, Colorado State University and Dr. John Ratey, Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Hamlin is well-rounded in the field and lectures nationally and internationally about the physical, mental, and social development of children as they relate to health and educational practices for those with complex developmental disabilities. She has developed a model whole-body approach to teaching called the HealthE6, which is practiced at The Center for Discovery. The Model is evidence-based, and unifies research with clinical expertise and practice.

With a keen interest in research and advancing knowledge in the field of complex disabilities, Dr. Hamlin has developed the research program at The Center for Discovery including the Lab-School initiative that is designed with advanced technology to study the effects of the environment on children with autism and other complex disorders using unobtrusive technologies with large longitudinal data sets to improve care. The initiative extends to the development of robust algorithms for predictive and prescriptive analytics to support children with complex needs in real-time. The efforts are joined by scientists from leading universities and partners such as Harvard Medical School, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, University of Missouri, New York University, University of Colorado, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Baylor University, Texas Children’s Hospital, and University of North Carolina.