Sally J. Rogers, Ph.D. for UC Davis Health

Sally J. Rogers, Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor Emeritus

Licensed Psychologist

Sally J. Rogers is not currently accepting new patients. For assistance finding a UC Davis doctor, please call 800-2-UCDAVIS (800-282-3284).

Reviews

Specialties

Autism

Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Locations and Contact

UC Davis MIND Institute

UC Davis MIND Institute
2825 50th St.
Sacramento, CA 95817

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Additional Numbers

Phone

916-703-0264

Philosophy of Care

Dr. Rogers' focus in working with families and their young children with autism is to maximize the everyday learning opportunities that exist in everyday life and maximizing those moments of interaction to hold children's attention and provide them with learning opportunities that involve communication, language, and social interaction embedded within the typical daily activities of young children: meals, toy play, social games, books, outdoor play, and care activities. Dr. Rogers and families work together to identify a child's learning strengths, areas of learning need, and prioritizing the focus of their work together for a 6-12 week period. Individual learning plans for a child based on these priorities provide clear steps for designing child learning, beginning at the child's current level of understanding and moving along a developmental or behavioral sequence of steps until the goal is reached. Parents are young children's most effective and important teachers, and Dr. Rogers supports family members to provide needed learning opportunities at home.

Clinical Interests

Dr. Rogers is a developmental psychologist whose research focuses on young children's developmental problems, particularly involving cognition, language and communication, social interactions, and problem behaviors. She is best known for her research work in understanding early developmental trajectories of young children with autism and in developing and testing intervention strategies for them focused on the use of the Early Start Denver Model, which she developed with her colleague Dr. Geraldine Dawson. She provides intervention for young children and their families as well as for infants who are at risk of developing autism. Her work with graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and other advanced trainees also focuses on working with parents and their young children with or at risk for developing autism.

Research/Academic Interests

Dr. Rogers' research focuses on young children's developmental problems, particularly involving cognition, language and communication, social interactions, and problem behaviors. She is best known for her research work in understanding early developmental trajectories of young children with autism and in developing and testing intervention strategies for them focused on the use of the Early Start Denver Model, which she developed with her colleague Dr. Geraldine Dawson. 

Division

Psychiatry
Clinical Psychologist

Center/Program Affiliation

UC Davis MIND Institute

Undergraduate School

B.A., Psychology, Ashland College, Ashland OH 1969

Other School

Ph.D., Developmental Psychology, Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus OH 1975

Internship

Psychological Assessment/Treatment, Orient State Institute, Orient OH 1974-1975

Brain Sciences Editors’ Choice Articles , for Fuller and Rogers, 2021, The Effects of the Early Start Denver Model (April), 2022

Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Highly Cited Researchers List, for ranking in the top 1% of publication citations in Psychology/Psychiatry, over a 10 year period, 2018, 2019, 2021

Top 10 Autism Studies, 2018, 2019, 2020

Hibbard Williams Extraordinary Achievement Award, UC Davis Health, 2019

Distinguished Professor, UCDavis, 2018

Rogers SJ, Stahmer A, Talbott M, Young G, Fuller E, Pellecchia M, Barber A, Griffith E. Feasibility of delivering parent-implemented NDBI interventions in low-resource regions: a pilot randomized controlled study. J Neurodev Disord. 2022 Jan 5;14(1):3. doi:10.1186/s11689-021-09410-0. PMID:34986782.

Rogers SJ, Yoder P, Estes A, Warren Z, McEachin J, Munson J, Rocha M, Greenson J, Wallace L, Gardner E, Dawson G, Sugar CA, Hellemann G, Whelan F. A Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing the Effects of Intervention Intensity and Intervention Style on Outcomes for Young Children With Autism. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2021 Jun;60(6):710-722. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2020.06.013. Epub 2020 Aug 24. PMID:32853704.

Rogers SJ, Estes A, Lord C, Munson J, Rocha M, Winter J, Greenson J, Colombi C, Dawson G, Vismara LA, Sugar CA, Hellemann G, Whelan F, Talbott M. A Multisite Randomized Controlled Two-Phase Trial of the Early Start Denver Model Compared to Treatment as Usual. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2019 Sep;58(9):853-865. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2019.01.004. Epub 2019 Jan 24. PMID:30768394.

Ozonoff S, Iosif AM, Baguio F, Cook IC, Hill MM, Hutman T, Rogers SJ, Rozga A, Sangha S, Sigman M, Steinfeld MB, Young GS. A prospective study of the emergence of early behavioral signs of autism. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010 Mar;49(3):256-66.e1-2. PMID:20410715.

Rogers SJ, Wehner DE, Hagerman R. The behavioral phenotype in fragile X: symptoms of autism in very young children with fragile X syndrome, idiopathic autism, and other developmental disorders. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2001 Dec;22(6):409-17. doi:10.1097/00004703-200112000-00008. PMID:11773805.

Rogers SJ, Hepburn SL, Stackhouse T, Wehner E. Imitation performance in toddlers with autism and those with other developmental disorders. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2003 Jul;44(5):763-81. doi:10.1111/1469-7610.00162. PMID:12831120.

Rogers SJ, Bennetto L, McEvoy R, Pennington BF. Imitation and pantomime in high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Child Dev. 1996 Oct;67(5):2060-73. PMID:9022229.

Rogers SJ, Pennington BF. A theoretical approach to the deficits in infantile autism. Development and Psychopathology. 1991;3(2):137-163. 

Rogers SJ, Puchalski C. Social smiles of visually impaired infants. J Visual Impairment and Blindness. 1986;80(7):863-865.

Rogers SJ. Characteristics of the cognitive development of profoundly retarded children. Child Development. 1997;48:837-843.