Southeastern's Stiegler selected for Clinical Achievement Award
Monday, September 11, 2017 
by: Rene Abadie
HAMMOND – A professor in Southeastern Louisiana University’s Department of Communication
and Sciences Disorders has been selected to receive the 2017 state Clinical Achievement
Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation.
Lillian Stiegler, a specialist in the field of autism spectrum disorders, will
be honored by the association at its annual meeting in November in Los Angeles. The
award recognizes professionals whose clinical work results in innovation in science
and practice.
Stiegler, a resident of Covington, was nominated for the award by Southeastern
colleague Paula Currie, for her work in helping to establish Lions Connected, a program
that provides a post-secondary educational experience at Southeastern for individuals
with mild or moderate intellectual disabilities. With the support of other Southeastern
professionals from various disciplines and a family donor, Stiegler helped to develop
the program, now in its second year.
Participants in Lions Connected, which is housed in the College of Education,
are immersed into the college campus experience with their age peers, working side-by-side
with an academic and social mentor, Currie explained.
“Dr. Stiegler has devoted her professional career to helping children and families
who deal with the challenges of autism and other communication problems,” said Jackie
Guendouzi, head of the Department of Health and Human Sciences and professor of Communication
Sciences and Disorders. “Her commitment to this cause is her vocation, and the Lions
Connected program is just one example of her hard work. The department is very proud
of her achievements.”
“Dr. Stiegler’s vision and efforts in helping to develop the Lions Connected
program has had a tremendous impact,” said Currie, “especially on the families of
individuals with intellectual disabilities in our community who now have the opportunity
to participate in post-secondary educational experiences.”
Stiegler was recognized several years ago by the American Speech-Language and
Hearing Association as one of only 20 professionals across the nation selected as
ASHA’s Faces of Inspiration, a recognition of individuals “who serve as beacons of
inspiration in their everyday work.” She is a recipient of the Award for Higher Education
Excellence by the Greater New Orleans Chapter of the Autism Society of America and
was honored by Southeastern in 2010 with the President’s Award for Excellence in Faculty
Service, one of the highest honors the university bestows on faculty.
