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Mergner adds autism training coordinator role

Sherry Mergner has accepted a 30% position as the autism training coordinator at UNC’s Department of Allied Health Sciences, as of July 1. She will continue in her current role as AHEC (Area Health Education Centers) Liaison at the School of Social Work.

The autism training coordinator position is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services. The purpose is to prepare master’s-level speech-language pathologists and occupational therapists for working with young children with autism and their families.

The job responsibilities include:

  • Coordinating student grant applications and service agreements,
  • Helping prepare annual reports,
  • Serving as a liaison with students & setting up an agenda for meetings,
  • Taking a role in and recruiting parents as mentors for the fall Families and Teams in Early Intervention course,
  • Taking a role in the spring Autism in Young Children course,
  • Helping facilitate the summer Social Inclusion Facilitation course,
  • Working closely with the practicum coordinators of the two participating programs (Speech and Hearing Sciences and Occupational Science) to set up the specialized practicum and research placements for the student teams, and
  • Performing additional grant-related activities (e.g., helping with literature searches, development of presentations, development of publications).