Allison C. Meinert, PhD

Personal Statement

Dr. Meinert is a psychologist who specializes in the assessment of children with neurodevelopmental differences, particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She provides evidence-based, comprehensive psychological evaluations for children and adolescents. Dr. Meinert takes an eco-behavioral, culturally humble approach and believes that parents are the experts in their children. She works closely with parents, teachers and other providers to understand the context and systems in which children are developing. Dr. Meinert is also clinically trained in a variety of standardized assessment measures including the Autism Diagnostic Observations Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scales, Second Edition (CARS-2). Dr. Meinert has expertise in creating individualized intervention recommendations for families to support children in their development and positively impact their long term trajectories.

Dr. Meinert also spends time working with primary care providers (PCPs) in the community to support their work with children with ASD. In particular, Dr. Meinert aims to partner with PCPs to provide high-quality ASD evaluation services in an efficient manner. She engages in this work to reduce the barriers to care that families often face when navigating behavioral health systems. Dr. Meinert continues to support PCPs through assisting with quality improvement projects, studying models of integrated behavioral health, and providing educational lectures and presentations to medical colleagues.

From Dr. Meinert:

I am incredibly passionate about providing high-quality, evidence-based assessments for children with neurodevelopmental differences. I operate from an eco-behavioral theoretical orientation that focuses on the bidirectional relationship between children and the systems that surround them (e.g., families, schools, communities). I firmly believe in a strengths-based approach that capitalizes and builds upon the unique skills that each child has. Outside of direct care with children and families, I strive to improve the systems with which our patients are regularly engaging (e.g., schools, primary care).

Clinical Interests: assessment of neurodevelopmental differences, particularly autism spectrum disorder; developmental assessments in early childhood

Research Interests: identification of autism spectrum disorder within the primary care setting; integrated behavioral health models; psychopharmacological interventions and medication decision-making for children with autism spectrum disorder

Education

Organizations

* Texas Children’s Hospital physicians’ licenses and credentials are reviewed prior to practicing at any of our facilities. Sections titled From the Doctor, Professional Organizations and Publications were provided by the physician’s office and were not verified by Texas Children’s Hospital.

Meinert, A.C., Ayala, M.L., Jellinek, E.R., Mire, S.S. (2022). Psychopharmacological interventions. In K. Banneyer and R. Fein (Eds.), Autism Spectrum Disorders: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Types of Treatment. Nova Science Publishers.

Meinert, A.C., Shank, S., Harris, H., & Berry, L. (Under review). Pharmacological considerations in the autism spectrum. In R.Oliveras-Rentas, M. Vega-Carrero, and W. Rodríguez-Izzary (Eds.), Autism Spectrum: Current Guidelines for Effective Practice and Evidence Based Interventions for Spanish Speakers.

Shellman, A. B., Meinert, A. C., & Curtis, D. F. (2019). Physician utilization of a universal Psychosocial screening protocol in pediatric primary care. Clinical Pediatrics, 58(9), 957–969. Doi: 10.1177/0009922819845878