Tara Rooney

Tara Rooney is a senior speech-language pathologist who specializes in evaluating and caring for pediatric patients with autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Her particular interests include best practices in parent-mediated interventions (parent coaching) and language interventions.

Rooney's research interests include effective parent coaching strategies to improve language outcomes for children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Rooney earned her master's degree and doctoral degree in speech-language pathology from Northwestern University. She has completed advanced training in naturalistic intervention for autism, a practice in which techniques for teaching skills or encouraging certain behaviors are integrated into the child's daily routines.

Prior to joining UCSF in 2015, Rooney worked at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford and Boston Children's Hospital. While working in Boston Children's early intervention department, she was selected as a fellow in its Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Program. She is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and participates in several of its special interest groups, including one on language learning and one on augmentative and alternative communication.