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The center is located at the Jim & Jan Moran Family
Center Village, situated on five acres adjacent to
the Nova Southeastern University main campus. The
110,000-
square-foot, state-of-the-art building houses the
institute’s programs in a demonstration facility, inviting
students, faculty members, researchers, and families to
observe, experience, and learn best practices in early
childhood education, family support, and autism.
Early Childhood Institute
At the core of theMailmanSegal Center are its expansive
parenting and early childhood programs. Families with
children from birth to five years old participate in a wide
range of parent/child classes and parenting programs.
More than 300 children participate in programs at The
Family Center Preschool and Infant/Toddler Program.
The center also offers a summer camp and SuperKids!,
an individualized, on-site tutoring program for children
in grades K–5 that specializes in ADD and learning
disabilities. These programs demonstrate evidence-based
practice; enable the development of new and innovative
educational models; create appropriate environments
to field test new curriculum approaches; and serve
as training, internship, and practicum sites for other
university programs.
Autism Institute
The Mailman Segal Center has a long history of
serving individuals with autism and their families. The
Autism Institute fosters cutting-edge research, educates
professionals, and promotes evidence-based practices
through collaborative interdisciplinary activities.
The Baudhuin Preschool is an internationally recognized,
model program for children with autism spectrum
disorders. Through its partnership with Broward County
Public Schools, the school enrolls more than 150
students, making it the nation’s largest preschool for
children with autism. Collaborative opportunities with
other NSU departments in academics, research, and
clinical work enrich the educational experience.
The Starting Right program is a caregiver-child
program for children ages 18–36 months who have
been diagnosed with, or are at risk for, autism and
related disorders. The Unicorn Children’s Foundation
Clinic provides multidisciplinary evaluations by a team
of professionals from the fields of psychology, family
therapy, speech-language pathology, and occupational
therapy for children.
NSU’s Interdisciplinary Council for the Study of Autism
(
ICSA) is also housed at the Mailman Segal Center. It
includes representatives from the university’s colleges
and centers that are involved in the study of autism.
Individuals from the fields of osteopathic medicine,
allied health, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, education,
psychology, and family therapy meet on a regular basis
to develop and implement collaborative projects in the
study of autism.
The Autism Consortium provides individualized
training, consultation, and system support to school
districts throughout the United States, with a focus on
improving the quality of life for individuals with autism
across the spectrum, across age spans, and across levels
of functioning.
Family Studies Institute
The Family Studies Institute at the Mailman Segal
Center provides programs and services for children and
their families through parent/child classes, parenting
programs, and family advocacy. Programs address the
needs of parents and children and create a foundation
of learning for families to use beyond the classroom.
Additionally, specialized support groups and programs
with a focus on families with children with special needs
are offered to the community.
Adult Academics
Drawing on more than 30 years of experience in
early childhood and autism, MSC offers a variety
of academic courses for undergraduate and graduate
students in collaboration with other centers across
the university. Courses are presented in a variety of
modalities including on-site, distance technology, and
online. Varieties of cutting-edge technologies are used
to increase student engagement and contact with faculty
members and to provide a combination of synchronous
and asynchronous content to the students. Courses are
taught in the fields of autism, applied behavior analysis,
and early childhood.