Autism and COVID-19

Rob Bernstein, author of Uniquely Normal: Tapping the Reservoir of Normalcy To Treat Autism, holds a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and education from Stony Brook University and a master of arts from Teachers College Columbia University in special education, focusing on intellectual disabilities. He has devoted his career to improving the lives of children, teenagers, and adults with autism spectrum disorders. He developed his cognitive-based approach over more than 30 years of in-depth, one-on-one work with clients ranging from nonverbal toddlers to high-functioning adults. He has consulted for the pediatric neurology department at Bronx Lebanon Hospital and Pediatrics 2000, a medical clinic in New York City; an educational consultant to the National Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependencies; and has provided expert testimony at hearings on behalf of young people on the autism spectrum. Mr. Bernstein conducts evaluations for neurologists and neuropsychologists around the country, and was the coordinator for special education and science for the New York City Department of Education.

In addition to his private practice, he conducts workshops, seminars, and support groups for families of persons with autism spectrum disorders, and appears regularly on WVOX radio in New Rochelle. In 2012, he founded the Table Tennis Therapy Program for Asperger’s Individuals in Pleasantville, New York, the first program of its kind. He has two grown sons and lives with his wife, artist Rachel Gordon Bernstein, in Ardsley, New York.