Heather Johnson, Psy.D.

Dr. Heather Johnson is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the assessment of children and adolescents with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Prior to transitioning to private practice, Dr. Johnson worked in the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (DDBP) at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital where she served as a staff psychologist in the Kelly O’Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TKOC), training supervisor, and the Clinical Director of DDBP. Dr. Johnson’s career has focused on serving children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, developmental delay, and ADHD.    

Dr. Johnson earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology at Xavier University. During her undergraduate years, Dr. Johnson found her passion for autism while providing in-home intervention services to children impacted by autism and other developmental disabilities. Dr. Johnson went on to complete her graduate studies at Xavier University where she earned a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology (MA) and a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) degree. As part of her graduate training, Dr. Johnson participated in the Leadership and Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program in DDBP at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Dr. Johnson completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta, GA, where her training focused on the application of behavioral analysis to assess and treat individuals impacted by developmental disabilities. This allowed her the opportunity to gain expertise in working with individuals with significant feeding and behavior challenges.   

Dr. Johnson returned to Cincinnati for her post-doctoral fellowship at TKOC, where she spent the year training to treat children with significant aggressive and self-injurious behavior challenges. She then worked as a staff psychologist at TKOC for the next 11 years, providing diagnostic and treatment services for individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. She served 5 years leading quality improvement efforts which led to several care model transformations and resulted in children being able to receive their diagnosis and access to treatment sooner. Dr. Johnson has had several opportunities to share her expertise in this area via professional journal publications; numerous local, regional, and national conference presentations; and professional consultation.