Autism Screening

Dr. Jennifer Horn is a licensed clinical psychologist, who works exclusively with children/adolescents and their families. Her clinical child psychology doctorate is from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and she have been providing comprehensive evaluations and treatment in Indiana for over 25 years. She finds great enjoyment in working with children/teens and their families that are facing a variety of learning, behavioral, and emotional issues. Her special interests and expertise are with autism spectrum disorders, developmental disorders, and anxiety disorders.

She is committed to helping children reach their fullest potential. Her mission is to support families in their efforts to improve their child’s well-being, as well as to assist the child in improving their overall functioning at school, at home, and with their peers. To reach this goal, she utilizes testing when necessary to define diagnostic issues and treatment planning. She also works closely and cooperatively with community service providers such as schools and physicians/medical providers.

Dr. Samantha Meints, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist in Boston, MA. Samantha is originally from Indiana where she earned her undergraduate degree from Butler University and her MS and PhD from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Prior to starting graduate school, Samantha was a behavior technician at Bierman. She has rejoined the team here in Boston and will be providing mental health services to support our parents and families. She will provide individual, group, and family therapy for parents and siblings of our kiddos. These services will be tailored to meet the needs of our families and will broadly focus on helping parents cope with their child’s diagnosis and improve the quality of life for their families. Samantha will also be providing diagnostic assessments in New England. In addition to her work at Bierman, Samantha conducts research and sees patients with chronic pain at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is an adjunct professor of psychology at Suffolk University. In her free time, Samantha enjoys playing and coaching softball, watching sports, and traveling.

Dr. Nicole Huggins has been a licensed Clinical Psychologist in Arizona since 2008. Prior to that, she was a Certified School Psychologist from 2002-2021 and worked within the public school system since 2000 in various capacities – both as a full time employee and as a contracted psychologist. She opened her own private practice in 2011. Dr. Huggins maintained a professional position within the school district(s) while operating her own private practice and also subcontracting for colleagues within their private practices until she practiced full time within her own practice in 2012. Dr. Huggins was also employed at the Arizona State Hospital from 2008 until 2011, in tandem while she held other positions within the school districts and subcontracted with colleagues in their private practices. Her educational and practical experiences have afforded her extensive training and experience within educational, clinical, and forensic settings. During her tenure in her own private practice, Dr. Huggins held multiple State and Federal contracts working with agencies such as the Department of Child Safety (DCS), the Arizona State Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC), Administrative Offices of the Court-Juvenile Justice Services Division (AOC), U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and additional contracts with the Arizona Community Protection and Treatment Center (ACPTC) and identified as a specialist within the Family Court system. During the tenure of her private practice, she has also held a contract with the Social Security Administration and provided evaluations to public applicants of Social Security Benefits (SSI/SSD). Dr. Huggins primarily focuses on psychological evaluations, psychosexual evaluations, developmental evaluations, psychoeducational evaluations, and assessments of adults, adolescents, and children with specific referral concerns as needed. Dr. Huggins has also worked with the Veteran’s Administration providing evaluations as needed. Given her education, training, and experience, Dr. Huggins has been deemed an “expert” within the Superior Court of Arizona.

Dr. Huggins completed both her Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology in 2002 and her Doctorate of Psychology in Clinical Psychology in 2005. Dr. Huggins has chosen to focus her career primarily on Forensic Psychology and has been trained and employed in forensic settings before and since 2008 upon her licensure by the Board of Psychologist Examiners. Dr. Huggins has extensive education, engages in ongoing continuing education training, has obtained specified clinical certifications, and has extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and adults, primarily focusing on evaluations/assessments and therapy. She also has extensive education, training, and experience working with children, adolescents, and adults in both a clinical and forensic capacity. Dr. Huggins is additionally a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP), a Clinically Certified Sex Offender Treatment Specialist (CCSOTS), and a Clinically Certified Human Trafficking Victim Services Provider (CCHTVSP). Dr. Huggins strives to provide the most comprehensive and thorough evaluations and provide the most beneficial therapeutic experience for her clients.

Dr. Catherine Lark, Ph.D. (NJ Psychologist #6692), is dedicated to bridging the gap between assessment and treatment services for children with developmental disabilities. In addition to providing diagnostic evaluations for children suspected of autism, Catherine also specializes in providing parent training support as well as implementing applied behavior analytic services.

Catherine graduated with her Ph.D. in School Psychology at Louisiana State University with an emphasis in ABA. She then completed her predoctoral internship and postdoctoral residency at the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta, Georgia, with a focus on the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior and the early intervention for significant language delays in children with autism and developmental disabilities. She recently moved to New Jersey after working as a licensed psychologist and doctoral behavior analyst in Louisiana for 3 years. In her free time, Catherine enjoys fostering animals, finding new restaurants, and spending time with friends and family.