Robin R Parker

Parker, who died from pancreatic cancer, helped countless families cope, and thrive, with autism, a neurological disorder that leads to difficulty in communicating and socializing. Parker, a professor at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, spoke about “game changer” apps that could help patients merge into the mainstream through improved communication. “That became her passion, developing applications to help communicate better,” said her husband of 26 years, Dr. Glenn Parker. The two met when both were students at Boyd H. Anderson High School in Lauderdale Lakes. Years later, in 2008, Parker, who was also a consulting director at the University of Miami-NSU Center for Autism Related Disabilities, or CARD, helped pioneer the use of the UM/NSU CARD Mobile Autism Van to reach families in under-served communities through the use of a rolling autism clinic. The CARD clinic provided care to about 4,000 people in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties. Parker, along with friend and Nova professor Carole Zangari, began the autism blog, Practical AAC, 2 1/2 years ago to help educate people about autism. The two met 20 years ago when Parker was studying for her doctorate in speech pathology at Nova and Zangari was her dissertation adviser. Parker earned her doctorate in September 2000. The New York-born Parker had previously earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees in speech pathology at Florida State University. Parker is survived by her husband Glenn, daughter Sarah, son Michael, her parents Lenore and David Rosenthal, her sister Cari Smith, brother-in-law Alan Smith, and nieces Rachel Smith and Heather Smith Bitterman,