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Episode 10
Scaling Parent Coaching & NDBIs in
Public Systems
About This Episode
In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Melanie Pelichia, clinical psychologist and implementation scientist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Mental Health, where she leads groundbreaking efforts to embed high‑quality, evidence‑based autism interventions in public service systems. With over 25 years of experience, Melanie shares her evolution from traditional ABA to Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs), and how she’s driving large‑scale change through community‑partnered research and clinical innovation. Melanie’s work centers around community-based implementation of NDBIs with a focus on equity, family engagement, and fidelity.
Scaling Parent Coaching & NDBIs in
Public Systems
Dr. Melanie Pellecchia
About Our Guest Speaker
Dr. Melanie Pellecchia
Dr. Melanie Pellecchia, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, Nationally Certified School Psychologist, and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She serves as an Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and is a psychologist with the Young Child Program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Pellecchia specializes in early childhood development, autism spectrum disorder, and naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs), with a particular focus on caregiver-mediated approaches. Her research centers on improving the implementation of evidence-based interventions in under-resourced communities by partnering with local stakeholders to develop feasible and sustainable coaching strategies. She is especially passionate about supporting parent engagement in autism intervention and enhancing service delivery in publicly funded systems.
Show Notes
In this episode, we’re joined by Dr. Melanie Pelichia, clinical psychologist and implementation scientist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Mental Health, where she leads groundbreaking efforts to embed high‑quality, evidence‑based autism interventions in public service systems. With over 25 years of experience, Melanie shares her evolution from traditional ABA to Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs), and how she’s driving large‑scale change through community‑partnered research and clinical innovation. Melanie’s work centers around community-based implementation of NDBIs with a focus on equity, family engagement, and fidelity.
Episode Highlights:
Preschool-Based NDBI Models – A full-day therapeutic preschool (9am–2:30pm) for 3–5-year-olds on the autism spectrum, funded by Medicaid and designed around group-based NDBI principles that prioritize joyful learning, social communication, and readiness for inclusive settings.
School Consultation & Public Partnerships – A long-standing partnership with the Philadelphia school district, providing teacher consultation to support autistic students in public schools for over 15 years.
Project ImPACT & the PEACE Toolkit – A large-scale, five-year randomized trial training 200 early intervention providers and enrolling 400 families, examining how much support is needed for fidelity to Project ImPACT (a caregiver-mediated NDBI). The PEACE toolkit was developed to improve coaching implementation in real-world settings, especially where drift from fidelity is common.
Addressing Real-World Challenges – The team’s research revealed that providers often struggle to consistently coach caregivers, despite recognizing its importance. Melanie discusses how tools like PEACE, peer support, and practical training can close this gap and improve family outcomes.
From DTT to Developmental Models – Melanie reflects on her early years using discrete trial training and her shift toward NDBI practices after seeing limitations in access and effectiveness for diverse families. Her background in PCIT and personal experiences as a parent deepened her belief in caregiver collaboration, play-based learning, and strength-based intervention.
Advice for Clinicians & Leaders:
Reframe Fidelity – Embrace practical, scalable ways to increase fidelity in coaching through toolkits, training, and ongoing supervision.
Respect the “D” in NDBI – Understanding child development is essential. Effective intervention must be joyful, developmentally appropriate, and relationship-driven.
Bridge Gaps in Access – Push for models that are publicly funded, scalable, and feasible for under-resourced communities.
Support Providers – Address barriers such as lack of supervision, training, and burnout to sustain high-quality implementation.
Episode Resources
Episode Resources
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