Dr. Lauren Lestremau Allen is a Licensed Psychologist (NY, MD), Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral, and a Nationally Certified School Psychologist.
Dr. Allen is committed to high quality service and support delivery with Autistic individuals and individuals with developmental disabilities and is passionate about training professionals. Dr. Allen is an Assistant Professor at SUNY Empire State College in the Applied Behavior Analysis Master of Science program. The program prioritizes compassionate, value-driven care, and client self-advocacy and autonomy. Dr. Allen also serves as the Assistant Director of the SUNY Empire Center for Autism Advocacy: Research, Education, and Supports (CAARES), with the primary initiative of CAARES to further SUNY Empire’s efforts as an Autistic Supportive College through a multi-tiered system of supports, informed and with ongoing input from a team of stakeholders, including Autistic self-advocates.
Dr. Allen previously served a Program Director at the Ivymount School, a non-public special education school in Rockville, MD, where she oversaw a program that served approximately 80 Autistic students and students with developmental disabilities across elementary, middle, and high school divisions. She collaborated closely with students, families, and a multi-disciplinary team of more than 40 professionals to support students to achieve their educational, independent living, post-secondary education, and employment goals. Prior to teaching at SUNY Empire, Dr. Allen served as an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins University and Ball State University, teaching applied behavior analysis courses and practica. Dr. Allen completed her doctoral schooling in school psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi and her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship in Behavioral Psychology at the Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. At Kennedy Krieger, she focused on pediatric behavioral assessment and treatment, caregiver coaching, and relevant party consultation through outpatient and intensive outpatient services. Dr. Allen continues to consult with Program Services at the Ivymount School and provide contractual psychological and behavior analytic assessment, intervention, and consultative services.
Dr. Allen’s areas of interest include the optimization of evidence-based instructional practices for Autistic individuals and individuals with developmental disabilities across academic and adaptive skill domains, training and supervision of graduate students and professionals, and transition-related issues for Autistic individuals and individuals with developmental disabilities, with an emphasis on promoting Neurodiversity-affirming care.
