Tracy Palm, MS, BCBA
Her passion for autism started with a personal connection - a family member with autism. In the 22 years since she began this journey, she has worked with children and adults with special needs from all over the world. Some of Tracy’s academic accomplishments include graduating from the University of Memphis with honors in psychology and being awarded the Cecile Humphreys Presidential Scholarship as a National Merit Finalist. At the Florida Institute of Technology, she completed her Masters of Science degree in Applied Behavior Analysis. She also scored in the top 25% of the nation in the psychology field test.
Educating others about autism and its various forms of treatment has always been a cornerstone of her work. This has led to her speaking at many local and national autism conventions and even publishing her first book titled Labeling: Teaching Your Child to Name the World Around Them
Community is another major focus that has fueled her passion in the fields of psychology and special needs. While working for the University of South Florida, she helped direct and create statewide initiatives in Florida to combat teenage runaways and assisted in developing a statewide parent training curriculum for parents with special needs children.
Change is another way that she has proven her merit by meeting with state senators and representatives to fight for autism insurance reform in Tennessee and by helping the state of Tennessee make much needed changes to the way autism services are provided through Tennessee Early Intervention Services. She was also able to get legislative changes made in the state of Tennessee to the way autism services are approved for children in the foster care system.
For her efforts in working with children on the autism spectrum, she received a commendation from the mayor of the City of Memphis and was presented with an award by Tricare and the Department of Defense for her efforts to expand ABA services in the Mid-South.