About the Author
Dr. T. Scott Smith, PhD
Dr. T. Scott Smith, PhD, holds a doctorate in Educational Psychology and is both a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and a Certified Life Care Planner. His career is dedicated to helping neurodivergent students—and the families and professionals who support them—thrive in college and beyond. He combines clinical rigor with real-world practicality, drawing on more than 25 years of experience in education, vocational rehabilitation, and life care planning.
Dr. Smith earned his PhD in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University–Commerce (2012), following an MS in Educational Psychology (2004) and an MA in Rehabilitation Counseling (1992). This academic foundation anchors his applied work and the evidence-based strategies throughout the book.
As a university faculty member at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Dr. Smith taught undergraduate and graduate courses, including Medical Aspects of Disability, Career Development, Adolescent and Child Psychology, Educational Psychology, and Statistics, while advising and mentoring students across diverse programs. His campus experience informs the book’s step-by-step guidance on working with professors, disability services, and advising.
In professional practice, Dr. Smith serves as an expert witness and evaluation specialist, producing independent reports and testimony in education, vocational rehabilitation, and life care planning. He is known for clear, credible analyses that integrate medical, vocational, and educational data.
Dr. Smith’s leadership and service include two gubernatorial appointments to the Louisiana Licensed Professional Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors Board, where he served as Chair from 2010 to 2018, strengthening licensure standards and professional practice across the state. He also reviews projects for the National Academy of Sciences’ Transportation Research Board and was nominated in 2019 for the Southeast Louisiana Psychological Association’s Outstanding Young Researcher award.
Beyond the courtroom and classroom, Dr. Smith has partnered on statewide public-safety research (Texas A&M Transportation Institute, 2020–2021), designing surveys, interpreting data, and translating findings into actionable narratives, skills mirrored in the book’s checklists, templates, and planning tools.
Inpsiration for the book
Why He Wrote Building Bridges, Removing Barriers
Dr. Smith has watched students on the spectrum navigate the leap to college with talent, determination, and, too often, uneven support. This guide is his practical roadmap, connecting students, families, and professionals with concrete steps to build independence, self-advocacy, and belonging on campus.
Speaking & Media
Dr. Smith is available for campus talks, professional trainings, and parent workshops on college readiness, autism-support best practices, and life care planning.