Clinical Instructor, UNC Department of Psychiatry
Director, TEACCH Training
Education:
B.A., Psychology, UNC-Chapel Hill
M.Ed., Special Education, UNC-Chapel Hill
Discipline:
Educator
Summary Statement:
Kathy Hearsey is the Director of Training at TEACCH A&R and a Clinical Instructor in the UNC Department of Psychiatry. She is an educator by training and has worked with individuals with autism across the lifespan and their families. She is particularly interested in teaching strategies and life skills to individuals with ASD across the lifespan; providing organizational strategies and visual supports that help the individual actively engage in their school, home, and community. Kathy currently works in the Training Program developing and implementing training/consultation/coaching models that that target professionals who are educating and supporting individuals with ASD. A focus on the trainings is the implementation of Structured TEACCHing which is based on the understanding of the symptoms and learning styles of individuals with autism and the use of visual supports to provide meaning, promote independence, and capitalize on the individual’s strengths.