I'm an Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Western Carolina University. I received my doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and have over 30 years of clinical experience serving children and adults with communication disorders. My teaching and research interests include social skills and friendship development in individuals with autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities. I'm a certified PEERS® provider and co-facilitate PEERS® on the campus of WCU for college-aged persons with intellectual disabilities. I was the Principal Investigator of a Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad grant to Botswana and am a Co-PI on Project INTERACT which is a 5-year, Department of Education funded Personnel Preparation grant designed to increase the number and quality of personnel serving children with high-intensity needs, specifically Autism and moderate to severe intellectual disabilities. Additional interests include implementation of competency-based educational strategies; development of interprofessional collaboration in higher education; and international service-learning, most recently in Botswana. I've authored or co-authored my work in articles and book chapters and have presented at regional, national, and international levels. Specialties: Autism Spectrum Disorders, social skills and friendship development, interprofessional educationWCU website: https://www.wcu.edu/faculty/ajrose.aspx