Diane L. Williams, PhD, CCC-SLP, BCS-CL, is Professor and Head of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Pennsylvania State University. She has been an ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist for 40+ years. During that time, she has worked extensively with individuals with developmental language disorders across the age span. Dr. Williams teaches courses in language disorders in childhood and the neurobiological bases of developmental language disorders to undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students. In addition, she conducts research in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with an emphasis on the processes of language, cognition, and memory and in the assessment and diagnosis of developmental language disorders. Dr. Williams has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and a book on the neurobiological basis of language disorders. She frequently presents, providing continuing education to clinical practitioners, on how what she has learned from her research informs her clinical practice as a speech-language pathologist.

Areas of Emphasis:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Developmental Language Disorder
• Genetic Syndromes (Associated with Language Disorders)
• Intellectual Disabilities
• Language/Learning Disabilities

Ages of Emphasis:

• Birth to Three
• Early Education (Ages 3–5)
• Early Elementary (Kindergarten to Grade 6)
• Middle School/High School (Grades 7–12)
• Young Adult (Ages 17–22)