Dr. Elina Rosa Manghi, a nationally recognized family therapist and child psychologist, helped create a support group in Chicago for Spanish-speaking families with autistic children.
"These are families struggling with many things, but also with isolation," said Irma Hernandez, who helped start Grupo SALTO in 2003 with Dr. Manghi. "Parenting a child with autism is challenging … Grupo SALTO lets them know they are not alone in this."
Dr. Manghi, 59, a former clinical professor in the department of disability and human development at the University of Illinois at Chicago and former co-director of The Autism Program, died of lymphoma Sunday, Jan. 15, in her Oak Park home.
"Grupo SALTO was very close to her heart," said her husband of 23 years, Dennis E. McGuire. "She cared so much about these families. Not only did she inform them, but she gave them so much emotional support."
The former clinical services director at UIC's Family Clinic, where the group was launched and continues to meet once a month, devoted much of her time to helping families with autistic children break down language, financial and trust barriers to get the care, resources and support they need.
"She was so good at presenting information and material to parents," Hernandez said. "She developed very specific strategies and provided them with practical information to help them learn how to help their child.
"At the end of her talks, parents would gather around her, asking her questions and seeking her advice. It was as if they didn't want the session to end."
Grupo SALTO, Spanish for Latino Autism Society Working with Optimism, started with just a handful of families, and has grown in less than a decade to more than 400 families.
"Thanks to Elina, I started participating in Grupo SALTO's monthly meetings regularly," Maria de la Luz Limon said through a translator. (Her 9-year-old daughter was diagnosed by Dr. Manghi six years ago.) "I also began to learn and understand what autism is and how to best advocate for my daughter."
Dr. Manghi was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she received a licentiate in psychology at Universidad Argentina John F. Kennedy in 1975 and worked for seven years there as a psychologist helping children, including those whose parents had disappeared or had been killed under the nation's brutal military junta.
"Her work got her in wrangles with members of the military dictatorship," her husband said. "They didn't like what she was doing."
In 1982, Dr. Manghi moved to Chicago to work with Catholic Charities as a child and family therapist. She also attended The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where she received a doctoral degree in psychology in 1988.
She joined the faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1992. During her tenure, she also served as co-director of TAP Autism, a statewide network of resources for autism spectrum disorders.
In 2009, Dr. Manghi left UIC to teach graduate-level courses at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago.
"She was everything I always wanted to be," said Citlaly Gonzalez, a doctoral student at Adler and Dr. Manghi's former teaching assistant. "She generously taught me, mentored me and advised me. She inspired me to become more than I ever thought I could be."
Dr. Manghi was also the author of many publications based on her research and clinical work in the United States and internationally, particularly on the topic of autism.
Beginning this fall, The Elina Manghi Memorial Lecture Series will be held at Adler, featuring nationally known guest speakers in the field of psychology.
"What always struck me about Elina was how deeply she touched people," said David Castro-Blanco, a professor at Adler and coordinator of the lecture series. "She had such a profound effect on everyone who knew her."
Dr. Manghi is also survived by her son, Martin; her mother, Elina Jacoby Beyer; a twin sister, Ida Alvarez; and two brothers, Mario and Carlos.
Services have been held.