Dr. Gerdts is a skilled child clinical psychologist with 20+ years’ experience in pediatric mental health and developmental disabilities. Dr. Gerdts specializes in the diagnostic assessment of autism, and was the director of Diagnostic Services at the Seattle Children’s Autism Center for 8 years. She has been on faculty since 2014 as an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UW. Dr. Gerdts is a committed teacher and content expert in the field. She has supervised and mentored many clinicians in our state, is honored to have earned many teaching awards at UW, and has published 50 research articles on autism and developmental disabilities. She also has her own clinical training and consultation business–Autism Insights–geared toward training community professionals in the diagnostic assessment of autism.

Dr. Gerdts recently made a career shift away from academia and is thrilled to be part of the clinical team at Brave Seattle offering psychological and diagnostic assessments to identify developmental disabilities and mental health diagnoses in children. She enjoys seeing children throughout the pediatric lifespan, and will tailor evaluations to meet your needs.

“I was born and raised in the Seattle area, and love taking in the beauty of the Pacific Northwest—on the water, in the mountains, and even just curling up with a book on a rainy day. Despite a doctorate degree in child clinical psychology, my two kids keep me humble about the realities of raising little humans. I try not to expect perfection from myself as a parent and promise to offer you the same grace as we work together in our evaluation to better understand your child.”