Christie Layton Petersen is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She studied at the University of Texas at Austin to earn an undergraduate and graduate degree in special education. During her graduate course work, she specialized in Autism and Developmental Disability. Christie is certified to teach special education, early childhood through fourth grade, and English as a second language.
Before opening Building BLOCS in 2010, Christie taught in public schools for five years in inclusion and self-contained classrooms for children with autism. In the schools, Christie designed Individualized Education Programs, wrote Functional Behavioral Assessments and Behavior Intervention Plans, conducted in-home therapy, and taught social skills along with grade level and modified curriculum. For 2 years, she also served as a lead autism teacher consulting in district classrooms and presenting workshops to parents and fellow teachers on teaching communication, behavior, and social skills to children with autism.