Carlie Rhoads, Blindness/Visual Impairment - Vanderbilt University

Carlie Rhoads currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee where she is a doctoral student in the visual disabilities program at Vanderbilt University.  Her current research interests include severe disabilities, communication, and coaching of educational professionals.

She holds certifications as a teacher of students with visual impairments, special educator grades kindergarten through 12th, and holds highly qualified status in language arts and reading.  Carlie has earned an endorsement as a teacher of students with visual impairments from Vanderbilt University, a master's degree with a focus on comprehensive disabilities from Vanderbilt University, and a bachelor's degree in English literature and education from Belmont University.

Carlie has worked as a comprehensive development classroom teachers for two years, where she taught children with severe disabilities in grades kindergarten through fourth grade.  She is also the former president and founder of Belmont University's Best Buddy program chapter, and has provided in-home care support for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and severe intellectual disabilities for four years.  Carlie additionally lived overseas for numerous years and has a basic understanding of Arabic, Danish, French, and Spanish.  In her free time, Carlie enjoys volunteering at the Tennessee School for the Blind, reading, and spending time with her many rescue animals. 

Carlie currently works with Dr. Erik Carter of Vanderbilt University and with his support, is finishing her dissertation, which is a single-subject research study titled Using E-mail as Performance Feedback to Teach Paraprofessionals to Implement Constant Time Delay with Braille Words.  Carlie’s plans for future research involve dissemination of proven interventions and providing support for educational professionals.