About Adele Dunkin

A proud alumna of Arkansas State University, Adele returned to her Northeast Arkansas hometown after receiving her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication disorders to serve her community in early intervention, educational, and rehabilitative settings, before moving her career across the river to Memphis, Tennessee as her family grew. She served the children of the Memphis-Shelby County School District for three years before the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to transition as the lead speech-language pathologist at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s Center on Developmental Disabilities, where she practiced from 2020 to 2024, focused mainly on diagnosing autism and empowering families to navigate the next steps to support their loved ones. Adele partnered with University of Memphis as an offsite clinical supervisor in 2020, and in 2022 joined the School as an adjunct clinical faculty member. In 2024, she joined the School officially as the Co-Director of Clinical Education in Speech-Language Pathology.  Her clinical interests include autism evaluation across the lifespan, clinical supervisory practices, and support for students with disabilities in graduate programs.

Education:

• Master of Communication Disorders, 2013, Arkansas State University
• Bachelor of Science, 2012, Arkansas State University

Certifications/Endorsements:

• International Endorsement in Infant Mental Health (Family Associate) IMH-E®, Association of Infant Mental Health in Tennessee/Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health 2023
• Clinical Certification in the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2), Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, 2022
• Certified It Takes Two to Talk® Program Trainer/Coordinator, The Hanen Centre® 2019
• Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology (CCC-SLP), American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) 2014

Advocacy Service:

• Vice President, Board of Directors for the Arc of Tennessee 2024-Present
• West Tennessee Regional Representative, Board of Directors for the Arc of Tennessee 2022-2024

Awards and Honors:

• Award for Continuing Education (ACE), American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), 2023
• Award for Continuing Education (ACE), American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), 2020
• Induction, The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, 2012

Clinical and investigative Interests

• Clinical education and supervision
• Autism
• Mental health in communication sciences and disorders
• Reflective practice
• Trauma-informed principles of care