Rate My Professor Amy Callender

Amy Callender is an Assistant Professor of Special Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Tennessee Technological University’s College of Education and Human Sciences. Previously working as a P-12 special education teacher and school psychologist, she now instructs preservice special education and general education teachers, preparing them to support diverse learners in inclusive settings. Her tenure at the university began in 2012, and she maintains an active presence in special education research and practice.

Callender’s research interests center on functional skills instruction for students with moderate to severe disabilities, effective inclusion practices to integrate all individuals into schools and broader society, and the educational and medical journeys experienced by families of children who are differently abled. Additional areas of focus include education for individuals with disabilities in international contexts, transition and employment services for adults with disabilities, and autism in children. She serves as Co-Project Investigator for the Milestones Program, which provides support to children from birth to three years and their families through a partnership with Tennessee’s Early Intervention System (TEIS). Callender has demonstrated leadership in the field by serving as President of the Tennessee Council for Exceptional Children for 2022 and 2023. She also functions as the faculty liaison for the Honors Program in Curriculum and Instruction and contributes to the Mad Topics initiative as a special education professor and former school psychologist, including participation as a 2024 clinical perspective panelist addressing challenges related to OCD and ADHD.

Her publications include the chapter “Social Validity Assessment: Examples from a Functional Skills Training Intervention” (2020), co-authored with researchers such as Robert H. Horner and Jim Halle. Recent works feature “Mad Studies in Education: Attendees’ Perceived Effectiveness of a Symposium on OCD and ADHD” (2025, New Horizons in Adult Education and Human Resource Development), co-authored with K. Simone, D. T. Culkin, F. L. Taylor, and M. Oakley, as well as an ongoing comparative-case analysis of Mad symposia for community building and a submitted paper evaluating Mad Topics community symposia for the 2025 American Evaluation Association Conference.