Georgia Autism Center | Autism Specialist | Pediatric Psychology

Dr. Amanda Walker Psy.D. is a licensed psychologist born and raised in metro Atlanta. Her passion for working with and aiding children, adolescents, adults with disabilities, and their families was sparked at a young age and continued to blossom throughout her extensive educational and clinical training experiences. Dr. Walker has experience in a variety of settings, including community mental health centers, hospitals, private practice, and autism assessment centers. She has extensive training in individual and group psychotherapy and psychological assessment with children, adolescents, and adults. During her early clinical training, she gained invaluable experience working with individuals with severe and persistent emotional and behavioral disorders, trauma-related disorders, learning challenges, autism-spectrum disorders, and executive dysfunction.

 

Dr. Walker received her Doctor of Psychology degree from the American Psychological Association (APA) accredited Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. She completed an APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship at Center for Behavioral Medicine in Kansas City, Missouri, where she specialized in providing Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), obtained training in conducting competency evaluations, and served as an active member of the interdisciplinary treatment team to aid in diagnostic clarification and treatment planning for patients in a long-term inpatient psychiatric setting.

 

Dr. Walker returned to Georgia to complete her post-doctoral training at a private practice, where she pursued a specialty in psychological assessment. Throughout her postdoctoral training, she had the opportunity to work with children, adults, and their families, and gained exposure to a wide array of assessments including Social Security Disability evaluations, general psychological diagnostic evaluations, psychoeducational evaluations, and neurodevelopmental evaluations. Additionally, Dr. Walker obtained training in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2), a standardized assessment for symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and had the pleasure of conducting evaluations with young children, and working with their families and treatment providers to assist in treatment planning for children with ASD.

 

Dr. Walker’s diverse training background and clinical experiences allowed her to see how critical the assessment stage is in client care. Currently, her clinical focus is on the assessment of ASD as well as other common difficulties seen within the pediatric population, including developmental delays, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), emotional disorders, and behavioral issues. Especially for children with ASD, early diagnosis and intervention is crucial to a child’s long-term outcomes and prognosis.  With the understanding that the assessment stage can be an overwhelming time for many, Dr. Walker seeks to instill hope and provide support for children and their families as she aids in treatment planning and assists with coordination of care.

 

Dr. Walker’s passion and educational and vocational training led her to join the GAC family, where she has happily worked since Spring 2020. She was a participant in the Psi Chi National Honor Society throughout her undergraduate and graduate education, and is an active member of the American Psychological Association (APA).