Gail J. Richard

Gail J Richard, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, worked in the public schools in Iowa for four years before joining the faculty at Eastern Illinois University, where she has been for 35 years. She was Chair of the Department of Communication Disorders & Sciences for 14 of those years, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses, and supervising in the Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic. She is currently a professor emeritus and Director of the Autism Center and Students with Autism Transitional Education Program (STEP) at Eastern Illinois University.

Dr. Richard specialized in childhood developmental language disorders, with expertise in autism, auditory and language processing, syndrome disorders, selective mutism, language-learning disabilities, and executive functions. She has numerous clinical publications, including The Language Processing Test, Differential Screening Test for Processing Disorders, The Source for Processing Disorders, The Source for Selective Mutism, The Source for Development of Executive Functions, The Source for Syndromes, The Source for ADD/ADHD, The Source for Autism, several clinical materials, book chapters, and articles. She has given over 500 presentations in her professional career and enjoys sharing her practical clinical knowledge with practitioners.

Dr. Richard has been very engaged with professional organizations, including the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ISHA) and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). She served in many roles, with the highlight being President of ASHA in 2017. She is a Fellow of ASHA and received Honors from ISHA, as well as numerous college teaching and service awards. Her other activities included Faculty Athletics Representative for EIU and service on the NCAA Management Council, which resulted in her induction to the EIU Athletics Hall of Fame!