Michael Alessandri
Michael Alessandri
Clinical Professor of Psychology
Executive Director, UM Center for Autism & Related Disabilities
Director, Marino Autism Research Institute
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 1992
Autism/Developmental Disorders
Bio
In addition to his role as Executive Director of UM-NSU CARD, Dr. Alessandri is also Clinical Professor of Psychology at the University of Miami. Dr. Alessandri has worked with individuals with autism and their families for over 25 years. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Rochester, where he earned his Bachelors degree in Psychology. He attended graduate school at Rutgers University, where he obtained both his M.S. (1989) and Ph.D. (1992) in Clinical Psychology. Dr. Alessandri completed his clinical internship at UNC-Chapel Hill's Center for Development and Learning (CDL). Prior to arriving in South Florida in 1996, Dr. Alessandri was an Assistant Professor of Psychology at San Jose State University (SJSU) and Associate Director of the Stanford University Pervasive Developmental Disorders Clinic.
Dr. Alessandri has presented, consulted and published internationally on developing appropriate and effective educational programs for students with autistic spectrum disorders. His work has taken him to Italy, Switzerland, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Panama, Barbados, Bahamas, Taiwan, Australia, and throughout the United States. In addition, he has received several awards within the field of autism and disabilities. In 1993, he received the Autism Society of America Special Recognition Award for Publications, and in 1995 was given the Outstanding Faculty award by the SJSU Disability Resource Center for instruction of university students with disabilities. Under his direction, the University of Miami Center for Autism & Related Disabilities was named the National Autism Program of the Year in 1999 by the Autism Society of America. In 2003, Dr. Alessandri was the recipient of the Wendy F. Miller ASA National Recognition Award for Autism Professional of the Year.
Dr. Alessandri proudly serves several community and professional organizations as a member of the Board of Trustees (Parent to Parent of Miami)or the Scientific (Organization for Autism Research)or Professional Advisory Boards (The Victory School for Children with Autism; Friends for Youth). Previously, he served as a member of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Scientific Affairs Committee of the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR), and actively supports Autism Speaks, which merged with NAAR in 2006.
CARD Research Projects
A Treatment Comparison of Two Comprehensive Treatment Models for Preschool-aged Children with Autism and Their Families. Funded by the Institute for Education Sciences (2007-2011). Site PI: Dr. Michael Alessandri; Co-PI: Dr. Anibal Gutierrez. The goal of this multi-site collaborative project is to establish the comparative efficacy of two existing classroom-based preschool models--TEACCH and LEAP--that serve children with autism. The Project PIs are Dr. Samuel Odom and Dr. Brian Boyd of UNC; additional sites are Colorado and Minnesota.
Clinical Randomized Control Trial of Joint Attention Intervention in Young Children with ASD. Funded by the Organization for Autism Research and the Marino Autism Research Institute; IRB Approved.. Project PI: Dr. J Durocher; Co-PIs: Dr. Anibal Gutierrez & Dr. Melissa Hale. Dr. Michael Alessandri serves in a consultative role on this project. This study will utilize a randomized control design to evaluate the effectiveness of a joint attention intervention for children with autism spectrum disorders between the ages of two and five. Children will be randomized into either a treatment or a “wait list” control group. Children in the treatment group will receive 16 intervention sessions over 8 consecutive weeks, which will target the ability to respond to joint attention bids and to initiate joint attention bids (shifting eye gaze, pointing, and showing) with the therapist. All control children will be enrolled in the intervention condition after the 3-month assessment is completed. This study will provide evidence of the efficacy of joint attention interventions and allow for better understanding of the individual differences among children with ASD that predict response to treatment.
Comparing the Effectiveness of Two Teaching Procedures Designed to Increase Receptive Language in Children with Autism. IRB Approved. Project PIs: Dr. Anibal Gutierrez & Dr. Michael Alessandri. The goal of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of an additional training phase to teach a simple discrimination between 2 items. We aim to evaluate if conducting training with an additional training phase would result in faster acquisition or improved maintenance of discrimination skills using picture cards.
Quantifying Measures of Intensity in Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention. IRB approved. Project PIs: Dr. Anibal Gutierrez & Dr. Michael Alessandri. The goal of this study is to quantify the intensity of early intervention programs by measuring the number of learning opportunities presented to the student in various types of programs. We aim to determine the number of teaching opportunities that occur in a behavioral intervention program in order to use that as an improved measure of program intensity.
CARD & ASAC Related Research. IRB Pending. Project PIs: Dr. Michael Alessandri, Dr. Jennifer Durocher, Dr. Melissa Hale & Dr. Anibal Gutierrez. These studies are designed to retroactively review psychological diagnostic records, collected at CARD and the Autism Spectrum Assessment Clinic, to identify associations between an autism diagnosis, and related family, medical, social, cognitive and behavioral factors.
Selected Publications
Alessandri, M., & Tuchman, R. (March, 2007). Autism: From intervention to outcome. The OARacle. Organization for Autism Research Monthly E-Newsletter.
Mintz, M., Alessandri, M., & Curatolo, P. (2006). Treatment approaches for the autism spectrum disorders. In R. Tuchman & I. Rapin (Eds.), Autism: A neurological disorder or early brain development (pp.281-307). London: MacKeith Press. International Child Neurology Series. Senior Editor Peter Procopis.
Alessandri, M., Mundy, P., & Tuchman, R.F. (2005). The social deficit in autism: Focus on joint attention. Rev Neurol. Jan 15; 40 Suppl 1:S137-141.
Alessandri, M., Thorp, D., Mundy, P., & Tuchman, R.F. (2005). Can we cure Autism? From outcome to intervention. Rev Neurol. Jan 15:40 Suppl 1:S131-136.
Alessandri, M., Bomba, C., Holmes, A., Van Driesen, D., & Holmes, D.L. (2002). Changes in developmental rates of learning in young children with autistic spectrum disorders. PERSONA, 5, 11-25.
Keating, L.M., Tomishima, M.A., Foster, S., & Alessandri, M. (2002). The effects of a mentoring program on at-risk youth. Adolescence, 37 (148), 717-734.
Cullen, J.M., Wright, L.W., & Alessandri, M. (2002). The personality variable openness to experience as it relates to homophobia. The Journal of Homosexuality, 42(4), 119-134.
Ball, J., Gerhardt, P.F., Holmes, D.L., & Alessandri, M. (1994). A new world - Facilitating employment opportunities for people with autism and other developmental disabilities: A parents' guide to the Social Security Administration and Social Security Work Incentive Programs (3rd Edition). Princeton, New Jersey: The Eden Press. (1993-Second Edition; 1992-First Edition)
Celiberti, D.A., Alessandri, M., Fong, P.L., & Weiss, M.J. (1993). A history of the behavioral treatment of autism. the Behavior therapist, 16, 127-132.
Celiberti, D.A., Alessandri, M., Fong, P.L., & Weiss, M.J. (1993). Current and future trends in the behavioral treatment of autism. the Behavior therapist, 16, 153-160.
Gerhardt, P.F., Holmes, D.L., Alessandri, M., & Goodman, M. (1991). Social policy on the use of aversive interventions: Empirical, ethical, and legal considerations. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 21, 265-277.
Handleman, J.S., Harris, S.L., Kristoff, B., Fuentes, F., & Alessandri, M. (1991). A specialized program for preschool children with autism. Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 22, 107-110.
Harris, S.L., Alessandri, M., & Gill, M.J. (1991). Training parents of developmentally disabled children. In J.L. Matson & J.A. Mulick (Eds.), Handbook of mental retardation (2nd edition) (pp.373-381). Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Press.
Harris, S.L., Alessandri, M., & Nathan, A.M. (1991). Behavior therapy with children. In M. Hersen, A.E. Kazdin, A.S. Bellack (Eds.), The clinical psychology handbook (2nd edition) (pp.567-579). Elmsford, NY: Pergamon Press.
Handleman, J.S., Harris. S.L., & Alessandri, M. (1990). Mothers, fathers, teachers, and speech therapists as assessors of treatment outcome for children with autism. Education and Treatment of Children, 13, 153-158.
Handleman, J.S., Harris, S.L., Fong, P., Gill, M.J., & Alessandri, M. (1990). The acquisition of color identification by students with autism. The Learning Consultant Journal, 11, 50-52.
Harris, S.L., Gill, M.J., & Alessandri, M. (1990). The family with an autistic child. In M. Seligman (Ed.), The family with a handicapped child (pp.269-294). MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Harris, S.L., Handleman, J.S., & Alessandri, M. (1990). Teaching youths with autism to offer assistance. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 297-306.