Teal Raffaele, Ph.D.

Professionally, Dr. Teal Raffaele focuses on conducting and improving psychological, diagnostic, and neuropsychological assessment for autistic individuals across the lifespan and supporting neurodivergent individuals in the transition to adulthood. She is passionate about applying neuroaffirming principles to assessment, therapy, and research, as well as educating clinicians, researchers, and community providers to advance more individualized and strengths-based approaches to understanding and supporting neurodivergent individuals.

Raffaele has a dual clinical/research role. She conducts clinical work at the UPMC Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders, where she focuses on diagnostic evaluation and therapy with autistic individuals across the lifespan. Within the REAACT lab, she contributes to the STAART and ACE studies, which aim to improve our understanding of trauma and suicidality in autistic adults. Raffaele provides clinical expertise to study design, diagnostic characterization, and the administration and adaptation of assessments to better meet the needs of autistic participants.

Outside of work, she loves spending time with her husband, three-year-old son, and their fat orange cat. They enjoy getting out and exploring, whether that means trying a new restaurant or park, catching a live music show, or traveling to Florida to visit family. When she has some downtime, you can usually find her curled up with a good book!