About Us
Our Story
Get to Know What Sparked Us to Equip & Empower Community Providers in Washington State
How & Why We Got Started
As the Director of Diagnostic Services at the Seattle Children's Autism Center, Dr. Gerdts saw the demand for autism evaluations skyrocket, with waitlists stretching into the thousands and families waiting years for answers. Despite efforts to streamline care and expand specialist teams, the need continued to outpace capacity. This challenge sparked a shift in focus – training community providers like pediatricians and nurse practitioners to confidently evaluate some patients, ensuring more children have access to timely care while reserving specialty clinics for the most complex cases.
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Autism Insights was launched with this vision – to empower local healthcare providers with evidence-based methods to deliver early, accurate autism assessments and the knowledge to provide ongoing support, bridging the gap in care and improving long-term outcomes for children and families.
Our
Mission
Scale Autism Expertise & Care Through Tailored Training for All Levels by Providing Full Autism Care Journey Support, from Pre- to Post-Diagnosis
What Drives Us
At Autism Insights, we believe that autism care is an essential part of pediatric healthcare, not just a specialty.
Our mission is to improve access to timely, accurate autism assessments and ongoing care by equipping healthcare professionals throughout the process. With customized provider training, expert consultation, and pathways for evaluating more nuanced presentations, we help providers confidently identify autism and provide care that makes a difference.
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​We believe that you can learn how to diagnose autism and support families after diagnosis! Our role is to make sure you have the tools, knowledge, and support to do it well.
Our
Approach
Custom, Tailored, & Individualized Training Drives Better Outcomes
What You Can Expect
At Autism Insights, we provide evidence-based training programs designed to meet you where you are in your journey to provide autism care in your practice. Whether you're an experienced professional looking to expand your knowledge or just starting to learn about autism assessments, our approach offers the support and resources you need.
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We believe effective training should be flexible and practical, tailored to your goals and experience. That's why our programs are designed to fit your needs and reflect the latest in autism care best practices. We look forward to working with you.
Our
Team
Founded & Led by Dr. Jen Gerdts
Meet Our Autism Expert and Founder, Dr. Jen Gerdts
Autism Insights is founded by Dr. Jen Gerdts, who brings 20+ years of experience in the areas of autism and pediatric mental health at the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital. Dr. Gerdts is a skilled child clinical psychologist who specializes in the diagnostic assessment of autism and other developmental disabilities. She has trained hundreds of Washington state primary care and mental health providers in autism assessment at UW, Seattle Children's, and through the Autism Center of Excellence and ECHO Autism Washington training programs. Dr. Gerdts was the director of Diagnostic Services at the Seattle Children’s Autism Center for 8 years. She has been on faculty for over 10 years in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UW. Dr. Gerdts is a committed teacher and content expert in the field. She is honored to have earned many teaching awards at UW, and has published 50+ research articles on autism and developmental disabilities.