Dr. Caitlin Sweetapple has been working with autistic students for more than a decade. She was one of the founding teachers at Shrub Oak and is currently heading the Center for Autism Education Research at Shrub Oak which was created to explore, analyze, and call attention to a wide range of salient topics pertaining to quality education of autistic students.
Dr. Sweetapple has taught students aged 3-21 years old in various special education settings. She also has taught undergraduate courses at her alma mater, Manhattan College. Dr. Sweetapple received her master’s degree in Belgium from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, where she had extensive training from some of the top leaders in the field of special education and adapted physical education. She received her doctorate degree from Molloy University majoring in Educational Leadership in Diverse Learning Communities. Her dissertation topic focused on celebrating neurodiversity and combatting oppressive normativity in special education classrooms.
Dr. Sweetapple is a New York State Certified Teacher; Developmental-Individual Difference, Relation-based Model (DIR) Certified; and Therapeutic Crisis Intervention for Schools (TCI) Certified.
