Meet the Team

Allison J Schwartz, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and current Director of the Assessment Core. Her research explores early assessment of autism, telehealth assessment and how to increase capacity for community psychologists to assess autism. Dr. Schwartz’s clinical interests include working with individuals and families impacted by neurodevelopmental disorders, including diagnostic assessment, parent coaching, capacity building in the community and supervision and training. She received her BA with Distinction in Communications with a Business minor from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; an MSE in School Psychology (Preschool Psychology major) from Fordham University in New York; and from Georgia State University, her EdS in School Psychology, MEd in School Counseling, and PhD in School Psychology. Dr. Schwartz was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia and currently lives in Sandy Springs with her husband and two children. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time outdoors and watching her kids on the field and the stage. 

Amanda Planter, PsyD, ABPP, oversees Adult Intervention Services at the Emory Autism Center. This includes the counseling clinic, which serves individuals and their loved ones across the lifespan, and the myLIFE social engagement program for adults. Dr. Planter also conducts psychological and neuropsychological testing across the lifespan and provides training for masters and doctoral level clinicians. Her research interests include early identification and diagnosis of autism, interventions for children and adults with co-occurring diagnoses and program development and outcome research. Dr. Planter received her BA from Brandeis University, and her PsyD from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and is board certified in psychology. Dr. Planter is from South Florida and loves dancing, music, cooking, hanging out with her dog Sadie and spending time with her family and friends. 

Opal Ousley, PhD, is a psychologist and clinician-scientist at Emory Autism Center. Her research focuses on assessment for autism and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome from infancy to adulthood. Her collaborations are often interdisciplinary including work with scientists in genetics, immunology, neurobiology, neuroimaging and public health. Dr. Ousley believes research training needs to start early in students' careers and regularly supervises honors research projects. As a clinician, Dr. Ousley's work focuses on psychological and cognitive assessment, coping and emotional regulation and family adaptation. She has recently become interested in pain management using pain reprocessing therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Dr. Ousley earned her PhD in Psychology from Vanderbilt University. She is from North Carolina and loves Atlanta's warm weather, friendly people and dedication to civil and human rights. 

Sara Kassem, MA, works as a Clinical Research Specialist for the Assessment Core’s research studies. She currently manages interesting studies investigating the accuracy of a smart phone application in evaluating autism and a pilot study of telehealth protocols for evaluating autism for families enrolled in Georgia’s Babies Can't Wait program. Ms. Kassem received her BA in Early Childhood Education, and her MA in Special Education from Lebanese American University. Ms. Kassem was born and raised in the south of Lebanon and moved to Georgia in 2018. During her free time, she enjoys having socio-political conversations while cleaning and tidying up around the house.  

Rachel Osband is an Emory Undergraduate student doing research coursework at the Emory Autism Center, working with Dr. Schwartz and Dr. Morrier. Her research focuses on the relationship between gender variance and autism assessment and diagnosis. Ms. Osband is originally from San Jose, California before coming to Emory to major in biology and dance. In her free time, Ms. Osband can be found at the library or in the ballet studio. 

Mikle South, PhD, is the Director of Emory Autism Center and Director of Early Emory Center for Child Development. As a clinical psychologist, Dr. South’s research is focused on understanding mental health concerns in autism including anxiety, depression and risk for suicide. He thinks a lot about questions surrounding diagnosis of autism, especially for girls and women who are sometimes "missed" for diagnosis until later in life. Dr. South received his BA in Psychology at Yale University, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Utah. Dr. South has lived on both coasts of the US (Connecticut and California), in the northeast (Durham, England) and the southeast (Atlanta, Georgia), and spent a lot of time in Utah. He loves to hike beautiful places with his wife and to play soccer, although since a recent ankle injury he has moved towards pickle ball. He loves to eat good food and is especially fond of proper New Haven style pizza.