Neurodiversity and Autism
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Welcome to the University of Maryland's NATS program developed for neurodivergent college students and college-bound high schoolers who want to understand others, express themselves and navigate academic & campus life in better ways without losing their INDIVIDUALITY
Leadership Team
Kathy Dow-Burger, M.A., CCC-SLP, Friedman Family Director of Neurodiversity & Autism Transition Services
Kathy has been a Speech-Language Pathologist for 30 years and is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She is licensed to practice in Maryland.
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Kathy is a Clinical Professor and the founder and coordinator of SIGNA. She has expertise in the evaluation and treatment of pediatric, adolescent, and adult autism, language-learning & reading disabilities, speech/language disorders and stuttering. In addition to SIGNA, she does research in the intersection of identity (race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, financial status, etc.,) and disability; full acceptance and inclusion of neurodiverent people in the workplace; and, Universal Design of learning spaces. Kathy is a certified PEERS® provider for the adolescent, school-based professional and young adult curricula and is also a co-organizer of the annual Neurodiversity at Work Research Conference with the University of Washington and Carnegie Mellon University. She also serves as a neurodiversity-affirming trainer and resource on the campus of the University of Maryland and throughout the region and country.
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Kelsie Daley, M.A., CCC-SLP, Faculty Assistant, Dept. of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Maryland
Kelsie is certified by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association and is licensed to practice in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Washington states.Kelsie oversees the administration of UMD's PEERS & EFFECT adolescent programs.
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Kelsie Daley is a Faculty Assistant for the SIGNA Program in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences. Her experience as a Speech-Language Pathologist includes working with
neurodivergent individuals from toddlerhood through early adulthood, including at Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Center for Autism Services, Science, and Innovation, Kennedy Krieger High School, and a public school. She has also engaged in part-time work within center/home-based private practice, research, and inpatient brain injury unit settings. Kelsie received her M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology (2019) at the University of Pittsburgh. She also completed the Maternal and Child Health Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Other Disabilities (LEND)program through the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, which instilled in her a passion for interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as strengths-based and client-centered services throughout the lifespan. Kelsie strives to provide neurodiversity-affirmative care, while focusing on accessibility and individualized supports. |
Candace Nuzzo Michiels, M.A., CCC-SLP,
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Candace is a Faculty Assistant for the SIGNA Program in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences.
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Aruna Hari Prasad M.A., CCC-SLP,
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Aruna is a Faculty Assistant at the University of Maryland's Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences. She received her Master’s of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Maryland-College Park.Aruna is a PEERS School-Based Professional certified provider and has worked in Montgomery County, MD for over fourteen years. During this time, she has worked with preschool, elementary, middle and high school students with language learning disabilities, autism, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Reading Disabilities, Writing Disabilities, and Other Health Impairments.
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Lourdes "Lulu" Baeza, SIGNA Graduate Assistant, SLP Graduate Student, Dept. of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Maryland
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Lourdes “Lulu” is the NATS graduate assistant working with SIGNA. She supports undergraduate peer mentors and coaches by drawing upon her experiences during her undergraduate education at UMD. She oversees administrative work, including the organization of orientation, recruitment, and end of the semester programming. Lulu is a first year MA Speech-Language Pathology student pursuing the bilingual certificate.
Lulu's goal is to increase access to care for members of the community by using her Spanish language skills. 
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