Summer Bottini, PhD, BCBA-D

Psychologist

Summer Bottini, PhD, BCBA-D, received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Binghamton University and completed post-doctoral residencies at the Marcus Autism Center and May Institute. Dr. Bottini is an Assistant Professor in the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics and a Psychologist in the Complex Behavior Support Program at Marcus Autism Center. Dr. Bottini specializes in the assessment and treatment of externalizing behavior among individuals with developmental disabilities. Additionally, her work is focused on the effective supervision of clinicians to provide optimal care for autistic and neurodivergent individuals. This includes embedding a neurodiversity framework within clinical practices, addressing staff burnout, effective/efficient training methods, and treatment fidelity.

Selected Publications

• Morton, H., Bottini, S., McAvey, A., Magnus, B. E., Gillis, J. M., & Romanczyk, R. G. (2022) The assessment of bullying experiences questionnaire for neurodivergent youth: scoring criteria and clinical thresholds. International Journal of Bullying Prevention. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42380-022-00151-9
• Bottini, S., Scheithauer, M., & Groff, P. (2022) Caregiving stressors and behavioral changes in children with autism during COVID-19. Disability and Society: Research and Practice, 1, 121-134.
• Bottini, S., Romanczyk, R., & Gillis, J. (2021). Retention during task interspersal versus varied instruction. Journal of Behavioral Education. Online First. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-021-09447-0
• Bottini, S., & Gillis, J. (2021). Impact of data collection format on training and treatment integrity during discrete-trial implementation. Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, 21(2), 140-152 https://doi.org/10.1037/bar0000217
• Bottini, S. & Gillis, J. (2021). A comparison of live versus computerized behavioral skills training for preference assessments. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities. Online First. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-021-09788-8
• Bottini, S., Romanczyk, R., & Gillis, J. (2020). A large-scale analysis of the impact of trial type and instructional errors on acquisition during discrete trial training. Learning and Motivation, 71, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2020.101639
• Bottini, S., Wiseman, K. & Gillis, J. (2020). Burnout in therapists serving individuals with ASD: Organizational influences and recommendations for practice. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 100.
• Bottini, S., & Gillis, J. (2020) An examination of different feedback styles: the feedback sandwich vs. constructive feedback vs. in-vivo feedback. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 41(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/01608061.2020.1862019
• Bottini, S., Polizzi, C., Vizgaitis, A., Ellenberg, S., & Krantweiss, A. (2019). When measures diverge: The intersection of psychometric instruments and clinical judgment in multimodal adult ADHD assessment. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 50(6), 353-363.

Selected Speaking Engagements

• Bottini, S., Morton, H., Buchanan, K., & Gould, K. A systematic review of how behavioral researchers talk about autism and implications for ethical practice. Oral presentation at Association for Behavior Analysis International, Denver CO, 2023
• Hannula, C., Scheithauer, M. C., Bottini, S., McMahon, M. X. H. Evaluating client preference for prompting procedures to address escape-maintained challenging behavior. Oral presentation at Association for Behavior Analysis International, Denver CO, 2023
• Hardee, A., Muething, C. S., Cariveau, T., Bottini, S., Slocum, S., Williams, C., Gillepsie, S., & Scheithauer, M. C. Descriptive characteristics of extinction bursts: A record review. Oral presentation at Association for Behavior Analysis International, Denver CO, 2023
• Bottini, S., Scheithauer, M., Lomas Mevers, J., & Scahill, L. Toward better understanding of burnout in behavior therapists: A pilot of the stress diagnostic checklist. Oral presentation at Association for Behavior Analysis International, Boston MA, 2022
• Bottini, S., Muething, C., & Gillis, J. Burnout in providers serving individuals with ASD: A multi-method examination of organizational causes. Oral presentation at Association for Behavior Analysis International, Washington DC, 2020