Logo

20 Facts About Eric Schopler

1.

Eric Schopler was a German born American psychologist whose pioneering research into autism led to the foundation of the TEACCH program.

2.

Eric Schopler was born February 8,1927, in Furth, Germany to Erna Oppenheimer Schopler and Ernst Schopler, who were Jewish.

3.

Eric Schopler died at the age of 79 from cancer on July 7,2006, at his home near Mebane, North Carolina.

4.

In 1949 Eric Schopler earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago.

5.

Eric Schopler earned a PhD in clinical child psychology in 1964.

6.

Eric Schopler moved to Rhode Island where for 2 years he worked at the Emma P Bradley Hospital as the Acting Chief Psychiatric Social Worker.

7.

Eric Schopler was an investigator and therapist there until 1964, the same year that he attained his doctorate from University of Chicago.

8.

Eric Schopler joined the faculty as an associate professor of the Psychiatry department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1964.

9.

Eric Schopler became the director of the Child Research Project in 1966.

10.

Eric Schopler showed that most autistic children did not have mental disorders, as was believed by many at the time.

11.

Eric Schopler proved that parents of autistic children could be effective collaborators in the treatment and education of their children.

12.

Thanks to these TEACCH results, in 1972 Eric Schopler's methods were rolled out statewide in North Carolina schools and special state-funded clinics.

13.

Eric Schopler became the Associate Chair for Developmental Disabilities in 1992, which he held until 1996.

14.

Overlapping his time as Director of TEACCH and as Associate Chair for Developmental Disabilities, Eric Schopler was the Chief Psychologist from 1987 to 1999.

15.

Eric Schopler worked at the University of North Carolina's TEACCH program until 2005.

16.

Eric Schopler was editor for Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders from 1974 until 1997.

17.

Eric Schopler was on the Schizophrenia Bulletin and the Topics in Early Childhood Special Education editorial boards.

18.

Eric Schopler was a member of the Society for Research in Child Development, American Association on Mental Deficiency, and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

19.

Eric Schopler served on the advisory boards of Autism Society of America, Autism Society of North Carolina, Linwood Children's Center and Bitter Sweet Farms.

20.

Eric Schopler has spent his life working to determine the precise nature of autism and the most effective ways to treat it.