 Dr. Dennis Russo, Chief Clinical Officer of the May Institute, is responsible for supervising the May Institute’s new program development, clinical services, and research. He has held previous appointments as Associate Professor of Psychology at the Harvard Medical School; as Director of Behavioral Medicine at Children’s Hospital in Boston; and on the faculties of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Russo is Past President of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Past President of the Society of Pediatric Psychology, and has been elected a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Divisions 12, 25, 37, 38 and 54) and the Society of Behavioral Medicine. He is board certified in Behavioral Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology and in Behavior Therapy by the American Board of Behavioral Psychology. Dr. Russo has recently been awarded the Lee Salk Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to Pediatric Psychology from the Division of Pediatric Psychology of the American Psychological Association.
Dr. Russo serves on a number of editorial boards and has published numerous articles, books, and chapters on the psychology of autism, catastrophic and traumatic illness and disability, pediatric psychology, developmental disabilities, behavioral medicine, and rehabilitation. |
| Abstract: April 2005 marked May Institutes 50th year of providing comprehensive services to children and adults with Autism. A national organization, with centers from Maine to Florida and Massachusetts to California, May Institute has been at the forefront of providing applied behavior analysis to over 26,000 individuals to individuals with autism, brain injury, developmental disabilities, and behavioral health needs annually at nearly 200 service locations in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, and the West Coast. Mays staff of over 2000 includes more than 40 licensed and credentialed doctoral-level behavioral professionals and an additional 50 staff with BCBA and BCABA certification. Perhaps the most enduring contribution to the field made by May Institute is that it has been instrumental in bringing behavior analysis into the public domain to bridge the gap that might otherwise exist between a research-based methodology and the mainstream application of that methodology; between internally validated procedures and externally validated standards of practice; and between a demand for behavioral services and the development of mechanisms for funding them. This presentation will highlight May Institutes comprehensive autism services, including 6 private schools, a nationwide network of home and school based services, adult living and vocational services, and a program of applied research, competency-based training, peer review, and professional development which has been the standard of practice at May over the last 25 years. |