Dr. Amanda DiGangi is an associate professor of special education and coordinator of the masters program in autism and applied behavior analysis at Texas State University. She has worked in the field for over 25 year, starting out as a teacher and therapist and moving on to specialist and consultant as she earned her graduate degrees. Most famously, she has the distinction of being the last doctoral student of Dr. Jim Gilliam (Gilliam Autism Rating Scale; Gilliam Asperger Disorder Scale). As a doctoral level Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D), she has served roles including consultant to public schools and community based centers, trainer, program supervisor, expert witness, researcher and university faculty. She has presented worldwide on ABA, autism, developmental disabilities, early intervention, and play. She has authored numerous peer reviewed professional publications, and authored/co-authored and/or edited several books, book chapters, and has a recently published assessment and curriculum, the Play and Language (PAL) Program for Early Autism Intervention (published by Moontower Publishing).