Provost’s Colloquium Series Presents “ESU Autism Education Center Virtual Socio-Emotional Learning Program

Provost Colloquium Series

Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on April 14, 2022, No Comments

East Stroudsburg University’s Provost’s Colloquium Series, an intellectual experience that promotes dialogue among ESU faculty, staff, students, and community, concludes the Spring 2022 semester with a presentation by Rachel Chapman, Ed.D., coordinator, ESU Autism Education Center, Rachel Wolf, Ph.D., associate professor, communication sciences and disorders, Caroline DiPipi-Hoy, Ph.D., associate professor special education and rehabilitation, and Gina Scala, Ph.D., department chair and professor, special education and rehabilitation. The presentation, “ESU Autism Education Center Virtual Socio-Emotional Learning Program: Opening a Door to Learning for Families When the World was Closed”, will take place on Wednesday, April 27, at 5:30 p.m. in Beers Lecture Hall. The presentation will also be live streamed on the ESU Live Events webpage.

In the summer of 2019, the AllOne Foundation awarded East Stroudsburg University a grant of two hundred and sixty thousand to establish the ESU Autism Education Center as part of its Autism Collaborative Centers of Excellence Initiative. The ESU Autism Education Center is a provider of services as well as a facilitator of services. It is a multi-disciplinary hub offering referrals, networking, resources, workshops, and training for the broader community, as well as for ESU students, faculty, community teachers, regional medical providers, and parents of children with autism. Additionally, the center provides opportunities for identifying and filling service gaps that affect individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and their families across the lifespan.

Information about the initiative and its impact will be presented along with trends and gaps in services identified since the establishment of the center. Those who attend will discover approaches to filling these service gaps for individuals and families impacted by ASD, identify ways of collaborating and utilizing interdisciplinary expertise to enhance service delivery, and continued areas of need and future directions for improving care across the lifespan. Additional information on the challenges faced with establishing and growing the center during a pandemic will be presented along with benefits realized due to conditions presented by the unforeseen health crisis.

For more information about the Provost’s Colloquium Series, contact Christina McDonald, director, office of sponsored projects and research, at (570) 422-7954 or cmcdonald9@esu.edu.