91¶¶Òõ

S.O.A.R. students spend half of their day at 91¶¶Òõ in classes taught by NEIU teachers. Instruction focuses on independent living, communication, life skills, and career education.

The rest of the day is spent in vocational placements that pair students with 91¶¶Òõ staff. S.O.A.R. students work in housekeeping, food services, maintenance, the library, information technology, groundskeeping, and the print shop.

Collaboration with NEIU 19

S.O.A.R. is a collaborative program of 91¶¶Òõ and the Northeastern Educational Intermediate Unit. The  supports local school districts in educating students through collaboration and innovation. Classes for SOAR students are taught by NEIU instructors.

Dr. Kathleen Sottile | Executive Director
Kelly Dickey | Director of Special Education
Vanessa Nee | Supervisor of Special Education

Real-World Job Training

• Life Skills Education
• Family Involvement & Collaboration
• 91¶¶Òõ Student Involvement
  • A graduate assistant facilitates the program.
  • Undergraduate education students act as job coaches and mentors.
  • Graduate psychology and education students help S.O.A.R. students develop social skills.
• Research
  • Graduate and doctoral students conduct research for their thesis and dissertation.
  • Faculty members utilize the program as a research on program evaluation, social skills, and integration of universal design principles

Real Life Experiences

S.O.A.R. provides students with autism "real life experiences" in an age-appropriate environment. The six enrolled students attend classes at 91¶¶Òõ, participate in a half-day of vocational activities in various offices and departments at the University, and participate in student activities.

Regina Fidiam | Educator, NEIU 19
rfidiam@iu19.org

Kelly Dickey | Director of Special Education, NEIU 19
kdickey@iu19.org

Vanessa Nee | Supervisor of Special Education, NEIU 19
vnee@iu19.org

Dr. Suzanne Galella | Department Director and Associate Professor, School of Education; SOAR & STRIVE Director
sgalella@maryu.marywood.edu

Dr. Jennifer Barna | Professor, Department of Psychology and Counseling; SOAR Consultant
jbarna@marywood.edu

Dr. Monica Law | Department Director and Associate Professor, School of Business and Global Innovation; SOAR Consultant
mlaw@marywood.edu

Jeanne Santarsiero | Externally Funded Grant Specialist
jsantarsiero@maryu.marywood.edu 

Dr. Tabbi L. Miller-Scandle | Assistant Provost for Research and Sponsored Programs
tlmillerscandle@marywood.edu

Dr. James Eckler | Dean of the College of Professional Studies
jeckler@marywood.edu

Dr. Renee Zehel | Vice President for University Advancement
rzehel@marywood.edu 

Jessica Chelik | Lackawanna-Susquehanna Behavioral Health / Intellectual Disabilities/ Early Intervention (Lack-Susq BH/ID/EI), Behavioral Health Coordinator / Early Intervention Supervisor
chelikj@lsbhidei.org

Dr. Maria Montoro Edwards | President and CEO, Maternal & Family Health Services, Inc.
mmontoroedwards@gmail.com

Staff

Regina Fidiam | Educator, NEIU 19
rfidiam@iu19.org 

Janice McDonald | Paraeducator, NEIU 19
jmcdonald@iu19.org

Angela Croop | Graduate Assistant
ancroop@m.marywood.edu 

Dr. Suzanne Galella | Department Director and Associate Professor, School of Education; SOAR & STRIVE Director
sgalella@maryu.marywood.edu

Work Supervisors

Amy Fotta | Director of Community Service & Social Justice
amfotta@marywood.edu 

Kim Halibey | Gear Shop Manager
kimberly.halibey@getugear.com

Rob Misko | Executive Director of Dining Services
robert.misko@compass-usa.com

Karen Rossmell | Administrative Assistant, Department of Psychology and Counseling
rossmell@marywood.edu

Sunny Schwartz | Housekeeper, Maintenance
sschwartz@marywood.edu

Lunch Buddies - Students with a meal plan can stop by the Nazareth Dining Hall any day from 11:3 0a.m.-12:30 p.m. to join our S.O.A.R. students for lunch!

Fun Fridays - Clubs can prepare an activity to engage the S.O.A.R. students in or individual students can just stop by and hang out with S.O.A.R. students in the game room in Nazareth Hall while they play pool or board games! Every Friday from 1-2 p.m.

Job Coaching - S.O.A.R. Students are placed in a job on campus as part of their vocational training and job coaches go with them to make sure that they are being safe, staying on task, and getting appropriate feedback during their "work day." Job coaching takes place from 12:30-2 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Interested students do not need to attend every day (they can do just Mondays, or just Tuesdays and Thursdays, etc.), but they do need to attend for the entire time slot for the entire semester. Clearances are required by the state to work with these students.

Publications

Peer-Reviewed

• Arter, P., Brown, T., Law, M., Barna, J., Fruehan, A. & Fidiam, R. (March, 2018). E. Langran & J. Borup (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference, (1086-1088). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE, Washington, D.C., United States.
• Brown, T., Arter, P. & Paciej-Woodruff, A. (March, 2018). E. Langran & J. Borup (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference, (1326-1328). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE), Washington, D.C., United States.
• DeMatteo, F.J., & Arter, P.S. (April, 2015). Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education, 3, 3,
• DeMatteo, F. J., Arter, P, Sworen-Parise, C, Fasciana, M. & Paulhamus, M. (October, 2012). Social skills training for young adults with autism spectrum disorder: Overview and implications for practice.National Teacher Education Journal, 5, 4, (57-66).
• Arter, P., DeMatteo, F. J., Paulhamus, M., & Reese, A. (January, 2012). Bridging the gap: An interdisciplinary experiential model between school psychology and special education. Pennsylvania Teacher Educator, 11, (51-56).

Presentations

• Arter, P.S., Brown, T.B., Law, M., Barna, J., Fruehan, A., Fidiam, R. & D’aquila, J. (February, 2020). You’re Hired! Supporting interviewing skills in individuals with ASD through virtual reality. Accepted for poster presentation at Council for Exceptional Children Convention and Expo, Portland, OR.
• Arban, K.S., Arter, P.S. & Barna, J. (February, 2020). Bridging the Gap: Mental health for individuals with ASD. Accepted for panel presentation at Council for Exceptional Children Convention and Expo, Portland, OR.
• Arter, P.S., Brown, T.B., Law, M., Barna, J., Fruehan, A., Fidiam, R. & D’aquila, J. (October, 2019). You’re Hired! Supporting interviewing skills in individuals with ASD through virtual reality. Accepted for presentation at Division on Career Development and Transition International Conference, Seattle, WA.
• Arter, P.S., Arban, K.S., Barna, J. (October, 2019). Bridging the Gap: Mental health for individuals with ASD. Accepted for panel presentation at Division on Career Development and Transition International Conference, Seattle, WA.
• Arter, P.S., Brown, T.B., Law, M., Barna, J., Fruehan, A., & Fidiam, R. (January, 2019). Using virtual reality to improve job-interviewing skills of students with autism spectrum disorder. Poster presented at Council for Exceptional Children Convention and Expo, Indianapolis, IN.
• Arter, P.S., Brown, T.B., & Paciej-Woodruff, A. (October, 2018). Creating Teaching and Social Presence in Online Courses: 6 Easy to Use Tools. Association for Advancement of Computing in Education: E-Learn, Las Vegas, NV.
• Arter, P.S., Brown, T.B., Law, M., Barna, J., Fruehan, A., & Fidiam, R. (October, 2018). Virtual Reality: Improving Interviewing Skills in Individuals with ASD.. Association for Advancement of Computing in Education: E-Learn, Las Vegas, NV.
• Arter, P.S., Brown, T.B., Law, M., Barna, J., Fruehan, A., & Fidiam, R. (June, 2018). Using Virtual Reality to Improve Job Interviewing Skills for Individuals with ASD. International Society for Technology in Education, Chicago, IL.
• Arter, P.S., Brown, T.B., Law, M., Barna, J., Fruehan, A., & Fidiam, R. (March, 2018). Virtual Reality: Improving Interviewing Skills in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, Washington, D.C..
• Brown, T.B., Arter, P.S., & Paciej-Woodruff, A. (March, 2018). 6 Easy to Use Tools for Creating Social Presence in Online Courses. Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, Washington, D.C..
• Arter, P.S., & DeMatteo, F.J. (April, 2016). Where are they now? Success and challenges with Autism Spectrum Disorder post-graduation. Council for Exceptional Children Convention and Expo, St. Louis, MO (International).
• Arter, P.S., DeMatteo, F.J., Williams, T., and Uppling, K. (April, 2014). Transition: It Takes a Village. Council for Exceptional Children Convention and Expo, Philadelphia, PA
• Arter, P.S., DeMatteo, F.J., Williams, T., & Uppling, K. (November, 2013). Transition: It Takes a Village. Teacher Education Division (TED) of Council for Exceptional Children, Fort Lauderdale, FL. (National).
• Arter, P.S., DeMatteo, F.J., Williams, T., & Uppling, K. (October, 2013). Bridging the Gap. Teacher Education Division (TED) of Council for Exceptional Children, Fort Lauderdale, FL. (National).
• DeMatteo, F. J., Maldonado, C., & Bedwick, M. (February, 2013). Families of students with autism: A resource based transition program. NationalAssociation of School Psychologists 2013 Annual Conference, Seattle, WA.
• Arter, P. & DeMatteo, F.J., Paulhamus, M., & Reese, A. (November, 2012). Transition: It takes a village. Pennsylvania Counsel for Exceptional Children 2012 State Conference, Harrisburg, PA.
• Arter, P., DeMatteo, F. J., Paulhamus, M., Reese, A. (October, 2012). Bridging the gap: An interdisciplinary, experiential model between school psychology and special education. Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators-Teacher Education Assembly, Harrisburg, PA.
• Arter, P. & DeMatteo, F. J. (June, 2012). reating a community of practice between community agencies, secondary, and post secondary institutions. Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching, Washington, D.C..
• Arter, P., DeMatteo, F. J., Paulhamus, M., & Reese, A. (January, 2012). Bridging the gap: An interdisciplinary experiential model between school psychology and special education. Pennsylvania Teacher Educator, 11, (51-56).
• Arter, P. & DeMatteo, F. J., & Paulhamus, M., Reese, A. (November, 2011). Do as I do, do as I say: Using peer coaching to teach social skills to young adults with autism spectrum disorder. Pennsylvania Counsel for Exceptional Children 2011 State Conference, Harrisburg, PA.
• Arter, P, DeMatteo, F.J., Murphy-Fox, M., & O’Brien, S. (April, 2011). Students on-campus achieving results: A community of practice. Voices of Advocacy Autism Conference, LaSalle University, Philadelphia, PA.

• Supports regional collaborations that enhance the lives of Pennsylvanians with autism of all ages and abilities through services, education, research, and training.

• Dedicated to funding autism research, increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders, and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families.

• Provides state-sponsored autism services.

• 
  Provides scholarships through the Pittsburgh Foundation to individuals with ASD who require substantial support and whose families do not have the means to provide them with quality experiences or learning opportunities.

• Utilizes applied science to answer questions that parents, families, individuals with autism, teachers, and caregivers confront daily.

• Provides technical assistance, information, skill development trainings, workshops, and referral services to parents to help children reach their full potential in educational, vocational, and community settings.

• Provides support and encouragement for families raising children with autism.

• Focuses on needs, not labels.

• Provides additional information about benefits, civil rights, community life, education and employment for individuals with Autism.

• Promotes mental well-being and serves people with mental illness and retardation.

• Serves 13,000 individuals through various local providers of mental health and retardation services.