Sarah Spence | Medical Services
Specialties
Programs & Services
Languages
- English
Sarah Spence | Education
Undergraduate School
Psychobiology
Harvard Radcliffe College
1984, Boston, MA
Graduate School
PhD, Behavioral Neuroscience
University of California at Los Angeles, Department of Psychology
1992, Los Angeles, CA
Medical School
University of California at San Francisco
1995, San Francisco, CA
Residency
Pediatrics
University of California at Los Angeles
1997, Los Angeles, CA
Residency
Neurology
University of California at Los Angeles
1998, Los Angeles, CA
Fellowship
Pediatric Neurology
Unviersity of California at Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
Sarah Spence | Certifications
- American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (Child and Adolescent Neurology)
Sarah Spence | Professional History
Dr Spence’s clinical and research activities have been focused on children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and related disorders. She was recruited to BCH in 2010 and has led a multi-disciplinary effort to form the Autism Spectrum Center at BCH, of which she is co-director.
As a child neurologist with doctoral training in cognitive neuroscience, her research interests have always been at the interface between brain and behavior. She credits her ASD expertise to the experience of doing home visits for the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE), a large autism genebank. She spent 6 years as the medical director of the UCLA Autism Evaluation Clinic and then 4 years at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) doing clinical research. At Boston Children’s she is combining her interests and expertise in clinical care, clinical research, and teaching with a primary focus on improving the lives of children with autism spectrum disorders and their families.
She has lectured extensively nationally and internationally on ASD. She has also worked on the DSM-5 Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Workgroup and worked with various foundations and professional groups including Cure Autism Now, Autism Speaks, AGRE, the Autism Treatment Network, the Dup 15q Alliance, the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance.
Sarah Spence | Media
Parentcast Podcast
Dr. Sarah Spence is featured: How is each person with autism unique?