The Developmental Disorders Program at Maine Behavioral Healthcare is one of the only specialized hospital program in the country for children with autism and other developmental disorders who are experiencing emotional or behavioral crisis, and Dr. Matthew Siegel is the program’s director. Each day Siegel is driven by his desire to understand and help children with serious developmental challenges. Most recently, Siegel received the support of the Harold Alfond Foundation and the Glickman family to open the Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders in South Portland, which offers a multidisciplinary treatment clinic and day treatment program for children in the community. Siegel is leading a national research study of children severely affected by autism and he coauthored the national guidelines for the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry on the assessment and treatment of children with autism. He also led the construction of Maine’s first playground designed for children with developmental challenges, located at Spring Harbor Hospital.