Agency Details:

Our vision is that every child with a disability will achieve a full and productive life.

Description:
Summit Educational Resources is a private, not-for-profit agency providing a broad range of services to children and adolescents with autism, language disorders, hearing impairment and related developmental disabilities. Its network of services includes comprehensive evaluations for children birth to five years old, early intervention, preschool programs, home-based intervention, and elementary, middle and secondary special education school. Summit also provides specialized professional services in speech pathology, occupational and physical therapies, psychology, social work, audiology and teacher of the deaf.

History:
Summit is a private, not-for-profit organization approved by the New York State Education Department, New York State Department of Health and New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities to provide educational and therapeutic services to children with learning, communication and behavioral challenges.

In 1973, Nancy Harris, founder of Summit, was interested in expanding the speech and language skills of her son who was born with a severe hearing loss. She believed strongly that children with communication disorders could best develop meaningful speech and language during their everyday experiences, and developed a program for four children in the kitchen of her home.

After moves to several different locations in the Tonawanda area, Summit Educational Resources (originally called Language Development Program or LDP) leased space in the former Brighton Elementary School Building on Fries Road in the Town of Tonawanda. In 1977, Summit was incorporated as a not-for-profit agency and was approved by the New York State Education Department to provide special services to preschool children with communication disorders.

Summit developed a bilingual education program in 1988, and in 1990 expanded to include infants and toddlers and their families through the Department of Health's Early Intervention Program. In 1998 Summit was approved by the New York State Office of Mental Retardation to provide a range of Medicaid waiver services including service coordination, respite, and family support.

From its humble beginnings in 1973, Summit has grown to a staff of 425 full time, part-time and contractual employees dedicated to serving more than 1000 children a year. Nancy Harris retired in 1995, but her dream lives on - a dream to develop a program of excellence for children with disabilities.

Contact person: Kathy Bunce, Director Of Development, (phone), (email)

Address:

150 Stahl Road Getzville, NY 14068 (See a map)

Directions:

Go north on Millersport Hwy, past UB North Campus. The first traffic light past the campus is North Forest. Make a right on to North Forest. The next traffic light is Stahl Road. Make a left.. . . (more)   Nearest Bus Stop: Metro bus (Millersport Hwy), 2 minute walk