Tel:
(215) 746 1950

Melanie Pellecchia, PhD, NCSP, BCBA

Assistant Professor

Dr. Pellecchia’s clinical and research interests lie in improving the implementation of evidence-based treatments for children with autism spectrum disorders in under-served communities. She is an expert in delivering, and training others to deliver, high quality treatments for young children with autism. Dr. Pellecchia has extensive experience developing and evaluating publicly-funded education programs for children with autism spectrum disorder, and working with teachers, staff, and administrators to improve their implementation of evidence-based practices.

Dr. Pellecchia co-founded the Center for Mental Health’s School Psychology Doctoral Internship program, and is passionate about providing clinical training to pre-and post-doctoral clinicians. She also leads the parent training program in the Center for Mental Health’s Autism Clinic.

Dr. Pellecchia’s research is focused on partnering with community-stakeholders to develop implementation strategies that are feasible, sustainable, and appropriate for use in community settings. She is the recent recipient of an Early Career Development and Mentoring Research Training Program Award from the Institute of Education Sciences titled: Partnering with Early Intervention Providers to Increase Implementation of Parent Coaching for Families of Children with ASD. Through this award, Dr. Pellecchia which will partner with community stakeholders in early intervention to develop strategies to improve the use of parent coaching for families of young children with autism spectrum disorders in Philadelphia.