NSU Horizons Winter 2008 - 2009

Terry Crispino can still recall getting the devastating diagnosis that her two-year-old daughter, Carly, had autism. It was a little more than eight years ago, when the disorder was not yet in the public spotlight. There simply wasn’t that much information readily available to parents, and much of it came from others in the same position. “There really was no central- ized place to go for good informa- tion. It was by word of mouth, and that was really hit or miss,” said Crispino, who beams when she talks about Carly, now 11 years old, who is tackling sixth grade at a private middle school. Intervention was swift in Car- ly’s case because she was a student at NSU’s Mailman Segal Institute for Early Childhood Studies’ preschool program when she was diagnosed, and was then quickly enrolled in MSI’s Baudhuin Preschool, an inter- nationally recognized, model pro- gram for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. But not every parent has that luxury, which is why NSU has taken a pioneering role in recent months to dramatically expand the univer- sity’s presence in the autism com- munity. The NSU Interdisciplinary Council for the Study of Autism brought together more than 40 people from an array of disciplines at NSU, all working towards the same goal. In addition to the Mailman Segal Institute, other NSU schools and programs participating include allied health and nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, psychology, humanities and social sciences, speech and language, law, special education, and medicine, as well as NSU’s University School. The council’s main goal was to create a multidisciplinary, collaborative group that can centralize programs, services, research, and expertise in all areas of autism treatment. “This is a very far reaching council that is going to make a significant impact both in our university with the professionals that we teach and simul- taneously in our community and in our nation,” said Roni Leiderman, Ph.D., dean of the Mailman Segal Institute for Early Childhood Studies (MSI). dark Autism Council Supports Families Looking for Answers 15 horizons By Julie Levin Sue Kabot,Ed.D.,CCC-SLP, leads a meeting of NSU’s Interdisciplinary Council for the Study of Autism