Debbie Meringolo is a special educator, clinician, and developmental specialist. She is currently a consultant at the Rose F. Kennedy Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation (CERC) of Montefiore. After a 27-year history at CERC as the Associate Director of the Infant/Toddler Team and RELATE program, a diagnostic and therapy service for children on the autism spectrum, Debbie is now LEND Faculty (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities) teaching and training clinical staff about the diagnosis and therapy of children and adults with social cognitive disabilities.
Debbie also serves as a consultant, bringing the Social Thinking® Methodology to staff members at Quad Preparatory School, a K-12 private school for twice-exceptional children. In addition, Debbie has a long history working in schools as a reading specialist, supervisor, and program developer in the New York City Department of Education for many years, and as one of the Early Childhood Directors at Quad Preparatory School.
She has a private practice, along with Nancy Tarshis, for children ages 14 months through adulthood. In this setting, they provide individual and group sessions, consult to public and private schools, and provide training for parents and professionals.
Debbie is an enthusiastic speaker who enjoys sharing her own clinical experiences with audiences across the country. She has been speaking about social cognitive development, preschool play skill development, assessment and intervention, and developing social groups across the age range.
Speaking Experience
Debbie has presented on the following topics in addition to the core Social Thinking workshops listed above:
- Social Thinking® for students in grades K-12
- Preschool Social Emotional Development and Play Skills
- Connecting Social Thinking® to Challenges in Reading and Writing
- Supporting Siblings and Families
- Play and Language: Assessment and Intervention for the Preschool Child
- Play and Language: Development, Assessment and Intervention
- Identifying Autism Spectrum Disorders in Young Children
- Using the Autism Diagnostic and Observation Schedule
- Educating Children with Autism
Click here to download Debbie's CV
Financial Disclosure
Financial: Speaker for Think Social Publishing, Inc. and receives speaking fees.
Non-financial: No relevant non-financial relationships exist.
Note: Nancy Tarshis and Debbie Meringolo are available to co-present and bring a unique perspective to the Collaborative. As clinicians and administrators at a university-affiliated developmental disabilities clinic, they provide evaluation and therapy to individuals from birth to age 21. In their joint private practice, they offer a variety of supports that include school consultations, staff training, parent education, and weekly therapy groups. They are uniquely qualified to offer professional training to teachers, therapists, administrators, and parents on the Social Thinking framework.
