We recently connected with Michael Alessandri and have shared our conversation below.

Michael , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
Upon graduation from high school, I volunteered with a friend at summer camp for children with developmental disabilities near my home in New York. On my very first day, the staff asked me to support one young African American boy with autism, a condition I had never heard of until that moment. That one day changed my entire life. I was so in awe of this young boy and so inspired to understand him better. He was like no other person I had ever met and I was simply enthralled by his uniqueness. That night I told my parents I knew what I was going to do with the rest of my life, and that was in 1981 and I have spend every day since then devoted to working with the autism community.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am the Executive Director of the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (UM-NSU CARD). Our mission is dedicated to optimizing the potential of people with autism spectrum disorder, dual sensory impairment, sensory impairments with other disabling conditions, and related disabilities. We fulfill our mission by providing individual and direct family assistance, programmatic consultation and technical assistance, parent and professional training, and public education and awareness. Our primary goal is to build capacity within our community by fostering collaborative strategic partnerships with families, schools, social service and medical agencies, related professionals, businesses, municipalities, and other community entities that interface with individuals with autism and related disabilities and their families. UM-NSU CARD serves a 3-county catchment area that includes Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe counties in southeastern Florida. Residents of these three counties who are diagnosed with autism or a related disability, have a family member with autism or a related disability, or serve those individuals in any capacity are eligible for any of the free services and supports from UM-NSU CARD at any point across the lifespan. Currently, we are provide a comprehensive range of free services to nearly 15,000 families. UM-NSU CARD is widely recognized as the leading organization in our community for supporting those with autism and related disabilities across the lifespan

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
In psychology graduate school, we were taught about the importance of always maintaining a very rigid professional boundary with our clients. That approach works very well in psychotherapy, but when your job is to help families who have children with developmental disabilities walk a road that is often challenging, stressful, unpredictable, and lonely, I have found it is most effective to eliminate those unnatural boundaries and, in fact, become more emotionally involved in their journeys. I find I do my best work when I am as committed as a family member might be to the well-being of my clients. It took me awhile to find the balance in this as I had to unlearn or modify some of those early lessons in my training.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
In my career, the four personal traits of mine that have contributed most significantly to my success are (1) passion for my field of study and the career that has followed; (2) a genuine compassion for the clients and families to whom I have dedicated my life’s work; (3) an unflinching loyalty to my team who gives so much of themselves each and every day on behalf of our community; and (4) and endless supply of optimism and hope for a better world for all those living with autism and related disabilities.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.card.miami.edu
• Instagram: @drmalessandri
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drmalessandri
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/UMNSUCARD

Image Credits
Michael Alessandri