Boyer Partners with University of Washington

or more than 40 years, Boyer Children’s Clinic has partnered with the University of Washington by providing internships for occupational, speech, and physical therapy, and early childhood education graduate students, as well as training for medical students.

These interns bring enthusiasm and energy to learn the best practices in early intervention services. Under the supervision of Boyer’s expert staff – many of whom have been with the organization for 20+ years, and are considered leaders within their fields – the interns learn how to evaluate and plan interventions for infants and toddlers, and how to work with Boyer’s culturally diverse families.

Boyer has also been fortunate to have a select few graduate students join the team as permanent staff members upon graduation. One of those students is early childhood educator, Dara Welch.

“I interned at Boyer during my first and second year of grad school at UW with Amy Barnes and Kimberly Kendall, and found joy in working with a diverse group of toddlers and their families,” shares Dara. “I knew that I wanted to contribute to Boyer’s efforts, so I joined the Boyer team as a substitute and assistant for summer preschool until I heard the amazing news that I was hired on as full time staff. I have now been working as an early childhood special educator for six months. Throughout my experience being an intern and staff member at Boyer, my biggest take away has been to learn just as much from families as I hope to teach them.”

In addition to the internships, Boyer has also supported the UW Department of Rehabilitation Medicine by participating in various research projects, some resulting in publications in peer-reviewed journals. In the recent past, Boyer’s therapy staff collected data on a measure of participation for children with cerebral palsy, implemented a survey of parents and service providers on therapy location services in Washington State, and conducted a single subject study on the use of video modeling for young children with autism.

Boyer is extremely proud of this rich tradition in providing professional training to graduate students and conducting research activities in partnership with the UW faculty. Together, we are helping to educate and inspire the next generation of care providers.