About Dr. Capretto
Education & Training
Postdoctoral Fellowship — Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Developmental Medicine, Pediatrics, TRIAD, and LEND rotationsVanderbilt UMC
PhD, Counseling Psychology (APA-accredited) — Tennessee State University, with a dissertation on the social development of children who have experienced adversity
Predoctoral Internship in Child Clinical Psychology (APA-accredited) — Washburn Center for Children, Minneapolis
M.Ed., Clinical Mental Health Counseling — Vanderbilt University
Jaye Capretto, PhD, HSP, LPC, is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the comprehensive evaluation of autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions in children, adolescents, and young adults ages 2 through 21. She previously served as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Oxley Foundation Chair in Child Psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine — directing training in autism assessment for physicians, child psychiatry fellows, and medical students — and remains affiliated faculty at OU.
Dr. Capretto completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, among the country’s premier autism research centers, rotating through developmental medicine, pediatrics, the Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD), and the federal LEND program in neurodevelopmental disabilities. There she earned research-reliability certification on the ADOS-2 — the field’s gold-standard diagnostic instrument, at the level required for scientific research, a bar very few community evaluators clear. Her ADI-R training came from UCSF; her doctorate in counseling psychology and child clinical internship were both APA-accredited; and her master’s in clinical mental health counseling is from Vanderbilt, where she graduated first in her class.
She also holds a credential few doctoral-level evaluators carry: alongside her psychologist licensure, she remains a Licensed Professional Counselor — the license under which she practiced psychotherapy for years before her doctorate, accumulating thousands of hours of direct clinical work, much of it in trauma-focused therapy and treatment for survivors of sexual violence. That experience shows up concretely in her assessments: histories taken with care, co-occurring trauma recognized rather than mistaken for autism, and recommendations written by someone who knows the treatment landscape firsthand.
In practice, this training pairs with a clinical style formed in her early years as a counselor and play therapist: child-friendly evaluations tailored to each child’s age and developmental needs — structured around play for young children, around conversation for teens and young adults — with findings delivered in clear, direct language. She founded Capretto Psychological Assessment to keep the best part of the work at its center: time with children, and unhurried conversations with the people who love them.
Outside the office, Jaye is a marathoner and former collegiate soccer player who spends her quieter hours with novels, baking, and music. Endurance and gentleness are an unusual pair, yet they are exactly what her work requires.
Research & Scholarship
The same training that shapes Dr. Capretto’s evaluations has produced an active record of research, publication, and teaching — a pairing that matters in assessment, where the instruments, the diagnostic criteria, and the understanding of conditions like autism are still evolving science. Her scholarship concentrates where her practice does: on how autism is identified, particularly in the children most often missed, and on the health and development of autistic young people as they grow.
That work has been funded at the federal level, adopted as official state guidance, published in peer-reviewed journals, and taught to the physicians and clinicians who will carry it forward. For families, the practical significance is simple: an evaluator who helps write the standards is applying the current ones — not the ones from a decade ago. An overview:
Federally Funded Research
Principal Investigator of ATLAS (Autistic Teens Learning About Sexuality), a research program funded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services developing health-education resources for autistic adolescents and their caregivers.
State Policy & Guidance
Co-author of the Oklahoma Autism Handbook (Oklahoma State Department of Education, 2024) — the state’s official guidance on recognizing autism.
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Research published in peer-reviewed outlets including the Journal of Interpersonal Violence and the Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, with dissertation research on how children develop social competence.
Books & National Resources
Co-author of Puberty, Sex, and Sexuality: An Introduction for Autistic Teens and Adults (Vanderbilt Consortium LEND, HRSA-sponsored) and contributing author on a SAMHSA-sponsored national toolkit for children with developmental disabilities.
Invited & Conference Presentations
Presentations at the American Educational Research Association, the Association of University Centers on Disabilities, the Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health, the National Symposium on Sexual Behavior of Youth, and the Oklahoma Autism Network.
Teaching & Training
Core psychology faculty for Oklahoma’s LEND program under the federal Autism CARES Act; TRIAD Foundations of Autism workshops for the Tennessee Department of Education; Grand Rounds lectures, statewide conference addresses, and years of training OU physicians, fellows, and medical students.
Full curriculum vitae available upon request.
Finding the Office
The office is at 1145 South Utica Avenue, Suite 811 — on the Hillcrest medical campus in midtown Tulsa (open in Google Maps →). Plan to arrive about fifteen minutes early, so there is time to park, ride up, and settle in without hurrying.
And if you find yourself turned around, just call 918.309.5025 — Dr. Capretto will happily talk you the rest of the way in.
Two Ways to Begin
Start with a free consultation
A free 15-minute consultation is the fastest way to get your questions answered and confirm we’re the right fit. Most families start here.
Book aconsultation
Already certain?
If you know an evaluation is what you need, you can request the full intake packet instead. Dr. Capretto reviews completed packets within two business days, and we’ll contact you to schedule your intake appointment directly.If you know an evaluation is what you need, request the full intake packet. Dr. Capretto reviews packets within two business days.
Request the intake packetIf you would prefer to begin with a phone conversation, please call 918.309.5025.