Dr. Yael Stern’s career has combined research on and clinical practice with families of young autistic children, and providers serving these families in the community. Dr. Stern completed her clinical certification in speech-language pathology and Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Northwestern University. Through her graduate study, she received specialized training in caregiver-mediated interventions for young children with communication differences, and supported multiple clinical trials investigating the efficacy of these interventions. She then went on to complete a postdoctoral research fellowship at Rush University Medical Center, during which she trained community-based clinicians to implement an NDBI intervention model in the Early Intervention system.
Dr. Stern has employed both in-person and telehealth modalities to deliver home-based, caregiver-mediated early interventions. Her research, which has been disseminated in academic journals, national and international conferences, focuses on understanding how characteristics of families and clinicians may be considered in the design and delivery of personalized, family-centered early interventions. In every endeavor, Dr. Stern embodies a commitment to ensuring that each child and family experiences evidence-based, meaningful intervention to support a child’s developmental goals.