Carrie Alvarado, PhD, OTR

Educational Consultant

Dr. Carrie Alvarado, PhD, OTR, serves as the Chief Operating Officer and Clinical Director for Autism Community Network, a non-profit diagnostic and peri-diagnostic support center for families in San Antonio, Texas. She is the creator and director of the Earliest Connections Clinic, a diagnostic program geared toward identification and intervention for infants and toddlers with an increased probability of autism. She also leads the PACT (Pediatric Autism Communication Therapy) therapy/teletherapy program, an intensive, evidence-based, neuro-affirming, parent-mediated therapeutic support empowering families impacted by autism through dyadic coaching.

In addition, Dr. Alvarado serves as the Lead United States Associate for PACT UK and the lead of their Neurodiversity Affirming Practice workgroup. She is also Assistant Faculty for Profectum Foundation and Adjunct Faculty teaching a Foundations of Floortime DIR course in the Occupational Therapy and Speech Language Pathology departments at UTHealth in San Antonio. She is Core Faculty for Fielding Graduate University in their Infant and Early Childhood Development program. Her primary research interests include sensoriaffective integration, reflective video feedback, reflective adult learning, emotional praxis in play, neurodiversity-affirming care and parent-mediated autism interventions. Dr. Alvarado is a 2024 of the Hearts of Gold Award, from the Gordon Hartman Family Foundation. She is the 2025 Impact Award recipient from Texas Public Radio.

Dr. Alvarado is the proud mother of three young women and wife to her compassionate husband of 26 years. She enjoys time at the lake, snuggling with her many beloved pets, and listening to Huberman Lab podcast on repeat. Carrie is also a proud niece, cousin and first cousin once removed of beautifully inspiring, neurodivergent humans who made and make the world a better place to be a part of.

Dr. Alvarado is passionate about building bridges where none yet exist, about innovating and expanding the boundaries of our knowledge, and about meeting families and fellow clinicians where they are and empowering them to find the gifts they all have to give.