College For Autism Spectrum Enhances Clinical Services

Gersh Experience, a college, vocational and independent-living program for young adults with autism-spectrum and related neurobiological disorders, announced several enhancements to its psychotherapeutic services today. These clinical enhancements began with the March hiring of Dr. Brian Moyer, a clinical psychologist with over fifteen years of experience working with children and adults with neurobiological disorders.

"We've implemented more sophisticated psycho-educational assessments and customized, ongoing treatment planning based on the most rigorous industry and Joint Commission standards of clinical care for this population," said Moyer. Gersh Experience students now have access to specially designed psycho-educational groups, processing groups, and individual psychotherapy all supervised by licensed clinicians and Ph.D.-level psychologists. Gersh Experience students live in college-style dorms and apartments, receive extensive social and life-skills training and 24/7 mentoring support, and attend either Daemen College or Erie Community College (part of the SUNY system).

Gersh Experience graduates have gone on to earn master's degrees, intern with U.S. congressmen and enter successful careers. According to Moyer, "What's often missed-especially with higher functioning autism-spectrum students-is their need for emotional support and psychological skill-building. These are highly sensitive young people who have a different style of expressing emotions."

"We've been successful with this population for over twenty years," said Gersh Experience founder, Kevin Gersh, "because we never stop learning. We hire professionals who love this population and are creative, curious and practical in their approach. As a team, we've always been committed to staying ahead of the curve in terms of 'best practices' for working with these highly capable, frequently misunderstood young people."

Gersh Education owns and operates innovative K - Career� education programs for mainstream and special needs children, including West Hills Montessori, Gersh Academies (k-12 schools for students with autism-spectrum and related neurobiological disorders), Gersh Experience (a residential college and vocational program for students with autism-spectrum and related neurobiological disorders) and Gersh Consulting (customized consulting for families, schools and school districts).