Services Provided
Telehealth Toddler Autism Evaluations (ages 12-36 months)
Dr. Collins offers specialized telehealth evaluations for toddlers ages 12-36 months to assess for autism. These evaluations include a comprehensive developmental interview with the parent/caregiver, as well as an observation of the child utilizing Vanderbilt’s TELE-ASD-PEDS (and other measures as necessary) to determine the occurrence or non-occurrence of behaviors consistent with an autism diagnosis. Following the evaluation, families attend a feedback session during which results, diagnoses, and recommendations are reviewed. Families receive a comprehensive report from this evaluation that can be given to early intervention providers, schools, physicians, and other entities to facilitate access to services.​
Telehealth Autism Evaluations for Children (ages 3-17 years)
Dr. Collins also offers telehealth evaluations for preschool and school-aged children (up to 17 years of age) to assess for autism. These evaluations include a comprehensive developmental interview with the parent/caregiver, use of relevant standardized assessment measures, and observations of the child’s social interaction skills and behaviors to evaluate for features consistent or inconsistent with an autism diagnosis. After the evaluation, families attend a feedback session during which results, diagnoses, and recommendations are discussed. Families receive a comprehensive report from this evaluation that can be given to schools, physicians, and other entities to facilitate access to services.
Mobile Autism Clinic
(In-Person Autism Evaluations)
Dr. Collins partners with community organizations in order to provide in-person autism evaluation services for children ages 12 months through 17 years. The evaluation begins with a comprehensive developmental interview with the parent/caregiver that is conducted virtually 1-2 weeks before the in-person appointment. Dr. Collins then meets with the child in-person at the location of the participating community organization. During this appointment, Dr. Collins administers the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2), which is the gold standard in the field for evaluating for autism. As part of the evaluation process, parents are also asked to complete questionnaires to provide supplemental information about their child. Following the in-person appointment, Dr. Collins schedules a virtual parent feedback session a few days later at which time results, diagnoses, and recommendations are discussed. Families then receive a comprehensive written report from this evaluation that can be given to schools, physicians, and other entities to facilitate access to services.
The map below shows community organizations that are currently participating in Dr. Collins' mobile autism clinic.
Testing Locations and Evaluation Dates:
Remedy Speech Therapy
901 N Washington St., Suite 320
Alexandria, VA 22314
https://www.remedyspeechtherapy.com/
Next Testing Date: 3/13/2026
Empower Behavioral Services
11905 Bowman Dr., Suite 507
Fredericksburg, VA 22408
https://www.empowerbehavioral.com/
Next Testing Date: 4/17/2026
Unstuck & On-Target! Groups
Unstuck & On-Target! is an evidence-based curriculum for children ages 8-11 who have a diagnosis of autism and/or ADHD. This curriculum teaches cognitive and behavioral flexibility in order to enhance social skills, goal-directed behavior, and emotional and behavioral regulation. Children most likely to benefit from this group are those who have difficulty thinking flexibly about things, tolerating changes to routine, compromising with others, and coping with disappointment when things do not go as planned. This group is held virtually and follows a 12-week curriculum.
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Please note that there is a waitlist maintained for groups and these groups are only offered when there are an adequate number of children to form an appropriately sized group.
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Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS) Groups
PEERS is an evidence-based social skills group designed to help children and adolescents learn ways to make and keep friends. Participants must be middle and/or high school-aged and have a diagnosis of autism and/or ADHD. Of note, PEERS groups have a unique structure, as the child group is run concurrently with a parent/caregiver group. During the child sessions, important social skills are taught and children are then provided the opportunity to practice these skills with their group members during various socialization activities. Parents/caregivers attend a separate session at the same time as the child group and are taught how to assist their child in generalizing social skills into their everyday life, expanding their child’s social network, and providing feedback to their child during weekly socialization homework assignments. This group is held virtually and follows a 12-14 week curriculum. Of note, due to the child and parent/caregiver groups running concurrently, families will need to have 2 separate devices in order to attend virtual sessions.
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Please note that there is a waitlist maintained for groups and these groups are only offered when there are an adequate number of children to form an appropriately sized group.
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Families Affirming Neurodiversity (FAN) Groups
Families Affirming Neurodiversity (FAN) is a group for parents of autistic children ages 2 and up. This group provides parents with psychoeducation about autism and affirming practices that can be implemented to support their child from a lens that is sensitive to autistic neurology and culture. Parents will be taught strategies for handling threats to autistic wellness, such as sensory distress, meltdowns, shutdowns, and demand avoidance, to name a few. Parents will also be exposed to variety of relevant topics, such as autistic masking and camouflaging, autistic burnout and its relationship to suicide, the autistic brain style, and ways to support autistic people. This group is held virtually and follows a 12-week curriculum.
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Please note that there is a waitlist maintained for groups and these groups are only offered when there are an adequate number of participants to form an appropriately sized group.
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Other Services
Although these are the current services being offered, if you have an autistic child with needs that extend beyond what is provided here or what is accessible in the community, please feel free to reach out to Dr. Collins to see if additional services can be established/provided. Dr. Collins is always available for consultation and on a case-by-case basis may offer services beyond what is described here.