SOPAN’s Suvidya College of Special Education
NAAC Accredited
International Conference
Embracing Neurodiversity: Focus on Autism
Eminent Speakers
Prof. Karen Guldberg
Ph.D. Education and Autism Studies
Prof. Karen Guldberg is Head of the School of Education, Professor in Autism Studies and Director of the Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER) at the School of Education, University of Birmingham.
Mr. Jeremy Tang
MA Clinical Psychology
Mr. Jeremy Tang is a senior practicing psychologist, clinical supervisor and Applied Behaviour Analysis therapist based in Singapore. He is a certified ESDM Therapist and conducts training for KidSTART practitioners.
Prof. Rubina Lal
Ph.D. Special Education
A recipient of Full Bright Post-Doctoral Scholarship in 2003-04 and Maharashtra State Best University Teacher’s Award in 2011. Prof. Lal served as Professor in Special Education at Department of Special Education, SNDT Women’s University Mumbai, for more than a decade. Currently, she is the Director of Sopan’s Suvidya College of Special Education, Mumbai and Founding trustee of SOPAN.
Dr. Sushama Nagarkar
Ph.D. Special Education
Dr. Sushama Nagarkar is the founder of Yash Charitable Trust, an NGO with the vision that persons with developmental disabilities will live and work in the community of their choice with dignity and self-respect.
Dr. Vrajesh Udani
M.D (Pediatrics)
Diplomate of American Board of Neurology with Special competence in Child Neurology, Diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Neurophysiology His areas of expertise are Intractable Epilepsy, Neurometabolic Disorders, Autism and other Neurologic problem
Dr. Apoorva Panshikar
Ph.D. Special Education
Dr. Apoorva Panshikar is Head at Department of Special Education, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai. She facilitates continuous professional teacher development programs and serves as an expert committee member for organizations like the Rehabilitation Council of India and various academic bodies of different universities.
Ms. Meera Ramani
M.S., BCBA IBA QBA
Ms Ramani is the Founder and Program Director at Behaviour Enrichment, Dubai. She is one of the first to be registered in the Emirate of Dubai as a behaviour therapist. She has more than 27 years’ experience in the education field in UAE and India.
Ms. Vanashree Ghate
MBA, Art Based Therapy Educator
Ms. Ghate is a healer at heart, and Founder, Director of Holistic Abilities & Expression for Living (H.E.A.L) Foundation. She is also a certified Mindfulness Meditation Teacher, a certified facilitator for Socio-Ethical-Emotional (SEE) and Cognitively based Compassion Training from Emory University, Atlanta
Ms. Sneha Savla
M.A.S.L.P.
Ms. Savla is the Head at SPARKLE Multi-Disciplinary Intervention Centre. She is a guest faculty at AYJNISHD (D), Mumbai, GASLPC GSI, at Ahmedabad. She is also a senior speech and language pathologist at SOPAN Trust and a lecturer at SOPAN’s Suvidya College of Special Education
Prof. Petrus de Vries
MBChB, FRCPsych, PhD
Prof. Petrus de Vries is the Struengmann Professor of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Founding Director of the Centre for Autism Research in Africa (CARA) at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Ms. Mable Lai Yue Qin
BCBA, MCBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA, MCBA) with 15+ years’ experience in ABA, special needs education, and professional training. Course Instructor at SEED Autism Services, Malaysia. Expert in Positive Behaviour Support, functional behaviour assessment, and team coaching.
Prof. Sudesh Mukhopadhaya
Ph.D. Education
Prof. Mukhopadhyaya has served as a member of the faculty at NCERT and Director of SCERT. Prof. Mukhopadhyay was the Head, Department of Inclusive Education, NEUPA, and Chairperson, Rehabilitation Council of India 2014 -2015 and has contributed significantly to the capacity building of rehabilitation professionals.
Dr. Kersi Chavda
MBBS, DPM, FIPS, FIAPP, FAPA
Dr. Kersi Chavda is a practicing Psychiatrist and a Consultant at Hinduja National Hospital, Mumbai. A Founder Member of "Prafulta", an NGO dealing with Mental Health in Mumbai. He was a member of the first panel of the Maharashtra government that had laid down concessions for Learning Disabilities in Mumbai
Dr. Shoba Srivastava
Ph.D. Education
Dr. Shoba Srivastava is one of the founder members and Managing Trustee of Society of Parents of Children with Autistic Disorder (SOPAN) in Mumbai. She is a guest faculty at SOPAN’s Suvidya College of Special Education. A core member of Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance of India (TSAI) and a member of TAND Consortium.
Dr. Nishat Imam
Ph.D. Education
Dr. Nishat Imam is the Principal of SOPAN’s Suvidya College of Special Education. Her expertise in the field of special education dates back to more than two decades. She is an expert member of different academic committees.
Dr. Radhika Misquitta
Ph.D. Special Education
Radhika Misquitta is the Co – Principal of Gateway School of Mumbai. Working with children with disabilities, she strives to achieve inclusion for all. She drives the teacher development and research programme at Gateway.
Dr. Anjali Joshi
M.Sc. (O.T.) FAIOTA, S. I. Certified