SFN Dad To Dad 382 - Peter Gerhardt of Rich Hill Park, NJ ED at Epic Schools, Author, Autism Expert & Disability Advocate

Our guest this week is Peter Gerhardt of Rich Hill Park, NJ who is executive director at EPIC Schools located in Paramus, NJ, author of dozens of publications and books, an internationally recognized Autism expert and outspoken advocate for the disability community.

Peter has three degrees from Rutgers University: a BA in Psychology, an EdM in Special Education, and a PhD in Education Psychology and Special Education. 

He has dedicated his life to researching Autism and serving the disability community.  He has developed workshops and given hundreds of presentations domestically and internationally.  

Some of his publications include: 
Make it Meaningful: Creating Programs that Matter into Adulthood for Learners with Autism and Related Disorders (2024).

Handbook of Quality of Life for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism and Child Psychopathology Series (2022).

Transition to Adulthood for Adolescents and Young Adults with Autism: Can We Improve Outcomes? (2022) 

Social Skill and Adaptive Behavior Intervention with Learners with Autism (2013). 

Peter also served as a consultant for the widely respected documentary In A Different Key (2021) co-producers: Caren Zucker, John Donovan & Ray Conley with music by Wynston Marsalis.

Given the scope of Peter's work we decided to split his interview into two parts. This is part #1. 

Show Links:
Phone – [phone]
Email – [e-mail]
LinkedIn –  https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-gerhardt-112a4b29/
Website - https://www.epicschool.org/
Organization for Autism Research (OAR) - https://researchautism.org/
Books – 
- Make it Meaningful: Creating Programs that Matter into Adulthood for Learners with Autism and Related Disorders
- Handbook of Quality of Life for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism and Child Psychopathology Series - Publication
- Transition to Adulthood for Adolescents and Young Adults  with Autism: Can We Improve Outcomes?. Movie – https://www.inadifferentkeythemovie.com/

Special Fathers Network -
SFN is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Many of the 800+ SFN Mentor Fathers, who are raising kids with special needs, have said: "I wish there was something like this when we first received our child's diagnosis. I felt so isolated.  There was no one within my family, at work, at church or within my friend group who understood or could relate to what I was going through."

SFN Mentor Fathers share their experiences with younger dads closer to the beginning of their journey raising a child with the same or similar special needs. The SFN Mentor Fathers do NOT offer legal or medical advice, that is what lawyers and doctors do. They simply share their experiences and how they have made the most of challenging situations.

Check out the 21CD YouTube Channel with dozens of videos on topics relevant to dads raising children with special needs - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDFCvQimWNEb158ll6Q4cA/videos

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