Sarah Gaines

University of Arizona
Special Education with a Learning Disability Focus
PhD Candidate

I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Arizona State University in 2004. While at ASU, I took American Sign Language (ASL) to satisfy my foreign language requirements and found myself in love with the language. From there, I found that I could combine my love for psychology with ASL by attending Gallaudet University. With the encouragement of one of my mentors, a Deaf woman who was one of my ASL teachers, I applied for and was accepted in Gallaudet University's School Psychology program in the fall of 2005. I received my Master of Arts in Developmental Psychology in 2006 followed by my Specialist in School Psychology in 2008.  Since graduating from Gallaudet University, I have worked as a school psychologist at the Arizona State Schools for the Deaf and the Blind's Tucson campus. I thoroughly enjoy the work I am able to do at ASDB and enjoy being able to advocate for students' needs and rights as well as highlight their abilities. I began working part-time on my doctoral degree in 2008 in response to the realization that I had so much more to learn to work effectively on behalf of my students.