Stephanny Freeman

Director, Early Childhood Partial Hospitalization Program

Health Sciences Clinical Professor, Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART)

Biography

Dr. Stephanny F.N. Freeman is an Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Child Psychiatry at UCLA and a licensed clinical psychologist. She Co-Directs the Early Childhood Partial Hospitalization (ECPHP) Program at UCLA. Research interests included the social (peers and friendship) and emotional (recognition, empathy, and problem solving) development of children with developmental disabilities. Dr. Freeman also investigates and has published research-based intervention procedures on core deficits for preschool and young children with autism, best practice interdisciplinary interventions for children with autism, and play/social skills development in autism. As director of ECPHP, Dr. Freeman oversees the day-to-day activities of therapists and specialists. She coordinates the evaluation, treatment, and development of appropriate multidisciplinary programs for school-aged children and severely impaired children with autism. She assists parents in developing appropriate educational programs and school-based modifications, behavior education and training, cognitive development, and social/emotional/play development.

Freeman, S. F. N., Paparella, T., Kim, J., Whelan, F., Hellemann, G., & Forness, S.   Participation in related services and behavioral, social, and adaptive symptom presentation in young children with autism spectrum disorders, Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 2018; 53: 428-437.

Kim, J., Freeman, S. F. N., Paparella, T., & Forness, S.   Five-Year Follow-up of Preschoolers with Autism and Comorbid Psychiatric Disorders, Behavioral Disorders, 2012; 38: 57-70.

Scheflen, S., Freeman, S. F. N., & Paparella, T.   Using video modeling to teach young children with autism developmentally-appropriate play and connected speech, Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 2012; 47: 302-318.

Freeman Stephanny F N, Gulsrud Amanda, Kasari Connie   Brief Report: Linking Early Joint Attention and Play Abilities to Later Reports of Friendships for Children with ASD Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2015; 45(7): 2259-66.

Paparella Tanya, Freeman Stephanny F N   Methods to improve joint attention in young children with autism: a review Pediatric health, medicine and therapeutics, 2015; 6(7): 65-78.

Gulsrud Amanda C, Hellemann Gerhard S, Freeman Stephanny F N, Kasari Connie   Two to ten years: developmental trajectories of joint attention in children with ASD who received targeted social communication interventions Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2014; 7(2): 207-15.

Freeman Stephanny, Kasari Connie   Parent-child interactions in autism: characteristics of play Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2013; 17(2): 147-61.

Kasari Connie, Gulsrud Amanda, Freeman Stephanny, Paparella Tanya, Hellemann Gerhard   Longitudinal follow-up of children with autism receiving targeted interventions on joint attention and play Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2012; 51(5): 487-95.

Paparella Tanya, Goods Kelly Stickles, Freeman Stephanny, Kasari Connie   The emergence of nonverbal joint attention and requesting skills in young children with autism Journal of communication disorders, 2012; 44(6): 569-83.

Kasari Connie, Paparella Tanya, Freeman Stephanny, Jahromi Laudan B   Language outcome in autism: randomized comparison of joint attention and play interventions Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 2008; 76(1): 125-37.

Gulsrud Amanda C, Kasari Connie, Freeman Stephanny, Paparella Tanya   Children with autism's response to novel stimuli while participating in interventions targeting joint attention or symbolic play skills Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2007; 11(6): 535-46.

Kasari Connie, Freeman Stephanny, Paparella Tanya   Joint attention and symbolic play in young children with autism: a randomized controlled intervention study Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2006; 47(6): 611-20.

Kasari Connie, Freeman Stephanny F N, Bass Wendy   Empathy and response to distress in children with Down syndrome Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2003; 44(3): 424-31.

Freeman Stephanny F N, Kasari Connie   Characteristics and qualities of the play dates of children with Down syndrome: emerging or true friendships? American journal of mental retardation : AJMR, 2002; 107(1): 16-31.