The May Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides educational, behavioral, and rehabilitative services to individuals with autism spectrum disorder, developmental disabilities, behavior disorders, and brain injury. The primary goal of the Doctoral Psychology Internship program is to train interns who will become psychologists prepared to practice independently as scientist-practitioners in a variety of settings (e.g., community day and residential programs for individuals with disabilities, and public and private educational programs serving children with disabilities).
The program is designed around two possible training rotations:
The May Center School for Autism and Developmental Disabilities in Randolph, MA: the rotation is in the adolescent/ transition age classrooms (up to age 21). These rotations allow training on delivering consultation and direct service, primarily for children and adolescents with autism and other developmental disabilities. The principles of applied behavior analysis are used to address skill acquisition needs as well as developing intervention plans for children with problem behavior.
The May Center School for Brain Injury and Neurobehavioral Disorders also serves as a training site. The Brain Injury school is a year-round residential school that serves children 5-21 who have a traumatic brain injury or genetic or developmental disorder. The school currently serves over 50 students with about 30% in the residential program. Services are overseen by a team of clinical directors, licensed/certified teachers, behavior specialists, social workers, and allied health professionals (nursing, speech and language pathologists, OTs and PTs). This rotation allows interns to gain experience with children with a variety of neurodevelopmental conditions using an applied behavior analytic approach to clinical support and education.