Dr. Erika Penner is a licensed psychologist with extensive experience in child assessment.

Dr. Penner is a Qualified Specialist (QS) for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. She developed the Child and Youth Diagnostic Clinic for the Fraser Health Authority where she provides diagnostic assessments to children and youth presenting with queries of autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, and learning disorders. She has a particular interest in the differential diagnosis of preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder and has presented on the assessment and treatment of young children with both common and less typical ASD comorbidities, such as global developmental delay and selective mutism.

Dr. Penner began her career at the Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, where she assessed children of all ages referred for a variety of concerns, including ADHD, learning disorders, intellectual disability, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and autism. She subsequently worked in the Department of Medical Psychology at BC Children’s Hospital, where she provided assessment and treatment services to children presenting with a combination of medical and mental health concerns. At BCCH, she also engaged in the teaching and supervision of medical residents, psychology residents, and other learners.

She then worked as the Psychology Practice Lead for Vancouver Coastal Health, where she oversaw the psychological services provided by all psychologists within the health region. Dr. Penner spent six years as the Director of Advocacy for the BC Psychological Association, working with the Ministry of Health on many initiatives including having the BC government provide financial coverage for families seeking a child assessment.

In addition to private practice, Dr. Penner has worked for over a decade as the psychologist at the Provincial Assessment Centre, where she provides assessment services for youth and adults presenting with complex medical, mental health, and behavioural concerns, including genetic disorders, psychosis, mild to profound intellectual developmental disorders, autism spectrum disorder, and catatonia.

Dr. Penner is a Clinical Associate at Simon Fraser University’s clinical psychology center where she supervises graduate students in the Clinical Psychology Program. She is also a Clinical Investigator with the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute and has published on the mental health and quality of life concerns for children with medical concerns such as organ transplant. She is a Clinical Instructor with the UBC Faculty of Medicine, where she has provided education and training to subspecialty fellows in both developmental pediatrics and child psychiatry.

Dr. Erika Penner is a licensed psychologist with extensive experience in child assessment. Dr. P... Read More