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Laura B. Silverman, Ph.D.

Laura B. Silverman, Ph.D.

Contact

Appointment (585) 275-2986
Office (585) 275-5962
Fax (585) 742-4217
Administrative (585) 275-0355

About Me

Dr. Silverman is a clinical child psychologist with expertise in autism and developmental disabilities. She is currently the Director of the Behavioral Interventions for Families (BIFF) Clinic. This clinic is a parent-training program that teaches caregivers of children with developmental disabili...
Dr. Silverman is a clinical child psychologist with expertise in autism and developmental disabilities. She is currently the Director of the Behavioral Interventions for Families (BIFF) Clinic. This clinic is a parent-training program that teaches caregivers of children with developmental disabilities behavioral strategies for improving challenging behaviors at home. Dr. Silverman facilitates program and staff development within the BIFF clinic, and also works as a clinician, providing direct parent training care. Her focus in the BIFF clinic is to meet the unique needs of caregivers, who are often faced with multiple stressors at home.

Dr. Silverman also provides diagnostic assessments for children and adolescents suspected of having autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She specializes in seeing children with complex developmental and psychosocial histories, who also have other mental health diagnoses.

Faculty Appointments

Associate Professor - Department of Pediatrics, Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics (SMD)

Credentials

Post-doctoral Training & Residency

Fellowship, Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, University of Rochester 2006 - 2008

Internship in Psychology at UCLA Medial Center, Autism and Developmental Disabilities Track. 2005 - 2006

Fellowship, Urban Education and Child Development at Yale Child Study Center 1996 - 1998

Education

PhD | University of Rochester. Clinical Psychology. 2007

MA | University of Rochester. Clinical Psychology. 2002

BA | Vassar College. Psychology. 1996

Awards

Dissertation Award - Best Behavioral Dissertation. 2008

Helen and Vincent Nowlis Award for Excellence in Teaching. 2003

Cum Laude in Psychology. 1996

Research

Dr. Silverman's research program focuses broadly on communication and multisensory functioning in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Her current studies examine how adolescents with ASD process other people's language and hand gestures during typical social interactions. She endeavors to better unders...
Dr. Silverman's research program focuses broadly on communication and multisensory functioning in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Her current studies examine how adolescents with ASD process other people's language and hand gestures during typical social interactions. She endeavors to better understand whether children with ASD can integrate the information that they hear (speech) with information that they see (gestures and body language) to make sense of a speaker's message. Dr. Silverman examines this question using eye-tracking methodologies, and through collaborations with colleagues in diverse fields, including music and neurobiology.

Dr. Silverman is also involved in a number of treatment-based research studies that examine the utility of behavior-based interventions, medication, and self-advocacy programs on behavioral outcomes in children with ASD. She believes strongly that research should inform clinical practice, and that the clinical concerns of families should drive research questions. As a result, she works hard to keep her research clinically relevant.

Publications

Journal Articles

A Multisite Trial of Atomoxetine and Parent Training in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Rationale and Design Challenges

Silverman, L., Hollway, J. A., Smith, T., Aman, M. G., Arnold, L. E., Pan,X., Li, X., & Handen, B. L.

Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 2014; : 899-907.

A review of atomoxetine in young people with developmental disabilities

Aman, M.G., Smith, T., Arnold, L.E., Corbett-Dick, P., Tumuluru, R.V., Hollway, J.A., Hyman, S.L., Mendoza-Burchamm, M.I., Pan, X., Mruzek, D., Lecavalier, L., Levato, L., Silverman, L.B., Handen, B.

Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2014; : 1412-1424.

A Parent's Guide to Applied Behavior Analysis

Bing, N., Kovacs, E., Sikora, D., Silverman, L., Lantz, J., Handen, B., Rieger, R., Mitchell, Z., & Srivorakiat, L.

Autism Speaks Toolkit Series. 2012; .

Speech and gesture integration in high-functioning autism.

Silverman, L.B., Bennetto, L., Campana, E., Tanenhaus, M.K.

Cognition. 2010; 115: 380-393.

Semantic processing and verbal recall in adults with autism.

Silverman, L.B.; Minshew, N.J.; Bennetto, L.

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. 2002; 8: 235.

Books

Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders (2013)

Chapter: "Verbal Fluency"

Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders (2013)

Chapter: "Narrative Coherence"

Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders (2013)

Chapter: "Auditory Verbal Learning"

Supported Inclusion for School-age Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (2011)

Chapter: Individual Instruction: Part 1: Teaching Approaches

Child psychology: A handbook of contemporary issues. (1997)

Chapter: The role of gender knowledge in children's gender-typed preferences.