Master of Arts (MA) in Education with an Emphasis in Autism and Early Sensory Impairments
*On-campus format will require some online classes for degree completion.
The ²Ø¾«¸ó Master of Arts in Education with an emphasis in Early Interventions in Autism and Sensory Impairments degree program provides training to partner with parents of young children who have learning needs in the area of autism and/or sensory impairment. The need for specialized teacher training in early interventions is evidenced through the increasing prevalence of children born prematurely with low birth weights with co-occurrence of one or more developmental disabilities.
Many of our candidates have backgrounds in non-profit agencies, child development, psychology, social work, communication disorders, and special education. Graduates of our program include pre-grade 8 teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, speech and language therapists, and related services professionals, certified VI teachers who want to learn more about autism and sensory impairments, sign language professionals with a BA degree, and early childhood professionals. As MO DESE does not require teacher certification to work in the early interventions field, teacher certification is not included nor required for this program.
The St. Louis early intervention masters program includes opportunities for observations with Early Intervention practitioners in the field through home-visits and models the shared philosophy of “holistic” therapies, family-centered practices, and the opportunity to work with families on home visits through a research study.  The early intervention MA program distinguishes itself as including study of characteristics of vision and deaf/hard of hearing impairments for early detection and delivery of therapy in the natural environment. As an online degree, nation-wide experts with clinical therapeutic experience teach their specialty area to offer the latest evidence-based practices for early diagnosis. Consistently, University Rankings rates ²Ø¾«¸ó’s MA degree in Early Intervention in Autism and Sensory Impairments Program .
For questions, please contact Dr. Rebecca Panagos at (636) 949-4959.