The Ireland Family Foundation recently pledged $100,000 over three years to fund a new Clinical Director position at the Autism Society of North Carolina (ASNC). This position is designed to give families affected by autism increased access to clinical expertise in behavior planning and management, resulting in improved access to the highest quality of care for their loved ones.aleck
The Autism Society of North Carolina has hired Dr. Alexander Myers as Clinical Director. Dr. Myers has over thirty years of experience working with individuals with autism. In his most recent position as the Director of the Murdoch Developmental Center, Dr. Myers worked with families in crisis whose children experienced severe behavioral challenges to ensure structured programming and improvements to their children’s lives. Under his leadership, four highly specialized and effective statewide programs were developed to serve some of the most challenged populations (BART, PATH, STARS, and TRACK). Dr. Myers has led individual and group consultations and authored many professional articles on autism and behavior. He is an honored recipient of both the Fred Keller Award for Excellence in Behavior Analysis and the TEACCH Award for contributions to the field of Autism Spectrum Disorders.
In addition to expanding behavior planning for families, Dr. Myers will oversee ASNC’s Training Department curriculum, which brings the most effective and up to date research and methodology to the teachers, medical professionals, and direct care professionals that ASNC trains. He will provide oversight to ASNC’s Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), who perform Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services. In addition, Dr. Myers will frame clinical policy recommendations to improve service delivery practice to children with autism in North Carolina through various advisory committees ranging from education to health and human services.
“Behavioral challenges in individuals with autism are something that many families struggle with daily,” says Tracey Sheriff, CEO of the Autism Society of North Carolina. “We feel extremely fortunate to have the unique opportunity to work with Aleck and further build our expertise in this area. This will be an incredible benefit to the individuals, families, and professionals that ASNC serves.”
Gregg and Lori Ireland of the Ireland Family Foundation are strong supporters of the autism community. Their Foundation’s mission is to support autism research and direct services for adults on the autism spectrum. For more information, please visit www.irelandfamilyfoundation.org.
Background
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. Recent studies estimate that up to 1 of every 70 children born in North Carolina will be affected by ASD.
For over forty years, the Autism Society of North Carolina has led efforts to address areas of need and expand services for the autism community in North Carolina. ASNC works to directly improve the lives of individuals affected by autism, by providing advocacy, education, and services.
Additional information is available by calling 1-800-442-2762 or by visiting www.autismsociety-nc.org.
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