Home | Archive: 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | Alecia M. Ellis Obituary

Alecia M. Ellis Obituary. Sadly, we share with you the loss...

Alecia M. Ellis, CCC-SLP

Sadly, we share with you the loss of a speech pathologist "extraordinaire" and dear friend to AGS Publishing. Alecia M. Ellis died Sunday, September 1 in a Las Vegas hospital. She collapsed the previous day while attending her daughter's volleyball game. The cause was an aneurysm. She was 47.

Alecia was just gaining national recognition for her work in the area of autism. She was a frequent presenter at national conferences on intervention for students with autism. Alecia taught both graduate and undergraduate university courses in language disorders in children. She also developed and provided training workshops for school districts around the country. In September 2001, Alecia received the Allen Crandy Memorial Outstanding Educator Award in recognition of her significant contributions to the education of children with autism.

As a result of her expertise in diagnostics, Alecia served on the AGS Speech & Language Advisory Board as the testing consultant for the State of Nevada. For AGS Publishing, she authored a course on autism, served as a trainer for the Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL) , and was scheduled to present (for AGS Publishing) at an upcoming ASHA conference.

Alecia and Dr. Williams at a past AGS National Speech and Language Advisory Board meeting in Minneapolis

When Alecia was deciding on a career over two decades ago, she knew she wanted to help people. At first she pursued nursing, but switched to speech-language pathology on the advice of a school counselor. "After the intro class I was hooked for life," she remembered.

"Learning should be fun." That was Alecia's philosophy of teaching children, specifically those with autism. "We have fun every day . . . we take things that children naturally like to do and teach them how to enjoy them, interact with them, and share them with others."

Alecia was born on July 8, 1955, in Columbus, Ga. She was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the American Speech and Hearing Association, the Nevada State Hearing and Speech Association, and the American Association of African American Speech and Hearing Pathologists, as well as a 25-year resident of Las Vegas.

She received her Bachelor's Degree in Communicative Disorders from Columbus State University in Georgia and began working for the Clark County School District of Las Vegas as a substitute speech-language pathologist in August 1979. She later earned a Master's Degree in Special Education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and also completed a second Master's in Speech-Language Pathology from San Jose State University. Alecia held the certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech and Hearing Association and was recently promoted to Administrative Specialist of Low Incidence Disabilities in the Clark County School District.

Alecia teaching students to request snack items using PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System.) They exchange a picture for the item desired.

Dr. Kathleen Williams, vice president of product development for AGS Publishing, said of her friend and colleague of eight years, "She really had her life on a roll as a mom, a professional, and a super person. Our field has lost an exceptional talent, especially those who looked to her for training and advice. Alecia will be sorely missed."

Alecia is survived by her daughters, Carla Ellis, and Natalie Smart, both of Las Vegas; mother, Mattie Mitchell of Columbus; sisters, Brenda Willington, and Paulette Cook, both of Riverdale, Ga.; Barbara Rockwood of Frederickburg, Va.; and a brother, Ronald Montgomery of Las Vegas.

The family requests memorial donations be made to the Families for Ethical Treatment of Autism. A trust account has also been set up for Alecia's daughters. Contributions can be made at any Las Vegas branch of the Washington Mutual Bank. The account number is 488-122244-5.

Personal notes can be sent to:

The Family of Alecia Ellis
4464 Wild Honey Court
Las Vegas, NV 89147