Christin McDonald-Fix, PhD
Practice
Education
Doctorate: The State University of New York, Buffalo
Fellowship: Center
for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Bio
Dr. McDonald-Fix, a licensed psychologist and board-certified behavior analyst, currently serves as the clinical director of neurodevelopmental services at CHKD’s Children’s Pavilion.
Prior to joining the team at CHKD, Dr. McDonald-Fix oversaw severe behavior treatment services at the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Columbus, Ohio, where she specialized in the combination of behavioral and mental health models of care for the whole family. In another previous position, Dr. McDonald-Fix worked in clinical research at the Institute for Autism Research at Canisius University in Buffalo, New York.
Dr. McDonald-Fix’s passion for helping children with neurodevelopmental disabilities was sparked when she first worked with young autistic children who could not communicate and instead engaged in aggression and other behaviors of concern to access what they needed. Helping children learn to communicate was both eye-opening and life-changing for Dr. McDonald-Fix and led to a career where she has specialized in collaborating with autistic youth and their families.
When not at work, Dr. McDonald-Fix enjoys taking Pilates classes, attempting to bake gluten-free sweets, and exploring Virginia with her spouse and children.
Research Areas
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Neurodiversity
- Severe behavior
Clinical Interests
- Autism
- Mental health treatments
- Behavioral treatments
Publications
Lopata C, Thomeer ML, Rodgers JD, Donnelly JP, McDonald CA, Volker MA, Smith TH, Wang H. Cluster Randomized Trial of a School Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol. 2019 Nov-Dec; 48: 922-933.
McDonald CA, Donnelly JP, Feldman-Alguire AL, Rodgers JD, Lopata C, Thomeer ML. Special Education Service Use by Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. J Autism Dev Disord. 2019 Jun; 49: 2437-2446.
Lopata C, Lipinski AM, Thomeer ML, Rodgers JD, Donnelly JP, McDonald CA, Volker MA. Open-trial pilot study of a comprehensive outpatient psychosocial treatment for children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Autism. 2017 Jan; 21: 108-116.
Professional Memberships
- American Psychological Association (APA)
- Applied Behavior Analysis International (ABAI)
- Association of Professional Behavior Analysts (APBA)
- International Society for Autism Research (INSAR)
- Ohio Association for Behavior Analysis (OHABA)
