Dr. Michael Powers is a pediatric psychologist and the Director of The Center for Children with Special Needs in Glastonbury, Connecticut. He specializes in the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of individuals with autism and related developmental disabilities. Dr. Powers holds an appointment as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology at the Yale Child Study Center, Yale University. He is the author of the new book Asperger Syndrome and Your Child (HarperCollins, 2002) and editor of the award-winning book Children with autism: A parents’ guide, (second edition) (Woodbine House, 2000). Dr. Powers is the author of numerous articles and book chapters on autism, and has presented extensively throughout the United States and abroad. He is a member of the Professional Advisory Board of the Asperger Syndrome Coalition of the United States and former member of the Board of Directors of the Autism Society of America.

Dr. Loomis is a child and family psychologist. He specializes in autism spectrum disorders, developmental disabilities, and pediatric illness. He received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan. He completed a fellowship at the Deveroux Foundation and postdoctoral training at the Kantor Family Institute. Dr. Loomis provides psychological evaluations and school based consultation as well as facilitating social skills training groups. He is a licensed psychologist in the State of Connecticut. His professional interests include the development of social skills, adaptation to pediatric illness, and school based programs for children and adolescents.

Dr. Morgan is a clinical psychologist who specializes in evaluation and treatment of individuals with Autism and developmental disabilities. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Education at Cornell University and earned her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at the University of Connecticut. Prior to assuming her position at The Center, she worked as a special education teacher with children with emotional/ behavioral problems and children with developmental disabilities, and was a member of a multidisciplinary evaluation team at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Dr. Morgan conducts diagnostic evaluations, and provides school-based consultation and training.

Lisa Mulé is a Speech/Language Pathologist with over 20 years of experience, specializing in children presenting autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities. Formerly Supervising Speech Pathologist of the Child Development Center at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, she received her BA at the University of Vermont and her MS at Boston University. She is a licensed Speech Pathologist in the State of Connecticut and earned her Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Connecticut Speech-Hearing –Language Association for her work on behalf of children with developmental disabilities. At the Center, Lisa provides diagnostic evaluations of speech, language and pragmatic communication skills. She also participates in multidisciplinary assessments of the most complex children. She provides ongoing consultative services to a number of school systems in Connecticut. Lisa is a frequent speaker to groups of parents and professionals.

Kristen M. Powers, M.S., OTR/L, a graduate of Tufts University and San Jose State University, has been practicing as an occupational therapist for over fifteen years. She is certified in sensory integration and administration of the Sensory Integration and Praxis Tests. She has lectured on sensory-motor issues and children with Autism Spectrum Disorders both in the United States and abroad. Ms. Powers is the Coordinator of Rehabilitative Services at the Center and conducts evaluations, school-based consultations and therapeutic interventions. She is also director of the feeding clinic to address oral-motor deficits and food selectivity in children with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Dr. Kristen D’Eramo is a licensed clinical psychologist and Director of Clinical Training at the Center for Children with Special Needs. Dr. D’Eramo received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Delaware and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University. She provides comprehensive diagnostic and psychological evaluations with an emphasis on early identification and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. She is also Co-Director of the Center’s Behavioral Sleep Clinic. Prior to assuming her position at The Center, Dr. D’Eramo held an appointment as Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown Medical School. Her clinical work included assessing and treating children with developmental, emotional, and behavioral disorders at The Bradley School in East Providence, Rhode Island. Dr. D’Eramo’s research and publications have focused primarily on identifying individual and family factors and processes that promote adaptive behavior, as well as those associated with maladaptive behavior, in order to maximize child and family outcomes in difficult situations.

Dr. Mark Palmieri is a licensed psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. He received his doctoral degree from the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. In addition to providing psychological evaluations, Dr. Palmieri is the Coordinator of School Based Consultation Services, co-directs the Feeding Clinic and the Behavioral Sleep Clinic, and provides school consultation services to establish educational programs for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Before joining the Center, Dr. Palmieri completed his predoctoral rotations with the May Institute where he provided school consultation services and behavioral treatments for individuals with Autism and other developmental disabilities as well as for individuals with traumatic brain injuries. He has facilitated school-wide positive behavior support teams in schools across New Jersey as part of a state initiative sponsored through the New Jersey Department of Education in collaboration with the Elizabeth M. Boggs Center on Developmental Disabilities at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

Solandy Meza received her Masters Degree in Social Work and obtained a Certificate for Specialization in Children and Families from Fordham University. Solandy has experience working with children and young adults with special needs in their home and school settings. Previously she has worked at The Connecticut Center for Child Development as an Associate Behavior Analyst developing academic and behavior programs for children with autism and related disorders. She also has experience providing in home behavior analytic services to foster care children living in therapeutic homes with a wide range of developmental disabilities, mental illness, autism, and related disorders in foster care. Solandy is an active member of the Connecticut Association for Behavior Analysis and the National Association of Social Workers. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Marina Azimova received her Masters Degree in Education (with a double major in Russian language and Literature) from Azerbaijan State University (Baku, Former Soviet Union). She worked as a high school teacher and assistant principal for several years prior to immigrating to the United States in 1991. She received her Master Degree in Social Work from Marywood University (Scranton, PA) and obtained her BCBA through Penn State University. Marina has experience working with wide range of individuals from very young children to adults with special needs in their homes, residential placements and school settings. Prior to coming to the Center for Children with Special Needs, she worked at Children Services Center in Wilkes-Barre, PA as a Behavior Specialist Consultant developing academic and behavior programs for children with autism and related disorders. She also has extensive experience providing in-home behavior analytic and program-management services to New Hope, Inc. She designed school-wide programming and curriculum and worked as a Clinical Director for Milestone Achievement Center (private school for children with autism in Wyoming, PA). Marina is a member of PennABA and ABAI.

Dr. Margulies received her PhD in School Psychology, with a specialization in Pediatric Psychology, from The University of Memphis. Dr. Margulies also completed a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship in Child Clinical Psychology/Neurodevelopmental Disabilities at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Maryland. While at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Margulies focused on the evaluation of children with known or suspected autism spectrum disorders and other types of neurodevelopmental disorders. She also worked at the Kennedy Krieger Institute NICU Follow-Up Clinic assessing and monitoring the development of children who were born prematurely. In addition to clinical work, Dr. Margulies is involved in a variety of academic and research related activities. She is an Editorial Board Member for the Journal of School Psychology and is involved in research at the Yale Child Study Center with the Simons Simplex Collection exploring the genetic and behavioral aspects of autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Margulies has co-authored several publications that examined the ecobehavioral assessment of preschool programs, body size stigmatization attitudes in African American preschool-age children, and the cognitive and academic profiles of children with learning disabilities and children with a variety of medical conditions.

Rebecca is a Behavior Analyst at the Center for Children with Special Needs, where she provides consultative and program development support to educational programs for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. She received her Educational Specialist Degree through Simmons College in behavioral education, and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Prior to coming to the Center she was Program Director for Behavioral Services for ACES Inc. in San Diego, California, where her responsibilities included consultation and program development in public schools for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Previously, Rebecca coordinated and developed programming for home-based ABA services, as well as provided parent training to families and caregivers in San Diego, Ca. Rebecca is a member of the California Association for Behavior Analysis, Greater Boston Association for Behavior Analysis and Applied Behavior Analysis International.