Tom Galperin

I have been in the Autism and Developmental Disability Field since 1996 and have worked in numerous environments/roles including Supported Employment, Home and Community Supports, Behavioral Crisis, Parent Training and Education, and Mental Health Counseling. I have trained professionals in Autism-specific strategies from North and South America, Europe, and Asia.

As a child I spent a lot of time around people with Developmental Disabilities. My Uncle, who has an Intellectual Disability, was, and is, very dear to me. One of my best friend's sister has a Developmental Disability and as a child I spend countless hours with her, as she accompanied her brother and I on club soccer trips up and down the East Coast. My father ran a Sheltered Workshop Agency back in the days when they were the standard of service. There really isn't any wonder I ended up working with people with disabilities. My admiration for people with ASD began in 1996 when I started my first full-time job in the field, and it didn't take long for me to get "hooked" on autism. To this day I'm still hooked.