Autism Online: Conference Faculty

Vicki Barnitt, MA, is a founding member of the Florida Inclusion Network (FIN), a statewide organization funded through federal assistance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. FIN provides support, consultation, and resources to educators and families in developing and implementing inclusive practices for students with disabilities. Vicki currently serves FIN as the statewide coordinator of product development, creating products and training programs to assist families and educators as they work together to successfully expand and improve inclusive practices for school-age children. She has authored or co-authored trainer guides on topics related to inclusive practices, collaborative models of support, flexible scheduling, differentiated instruction, family involvement, and peer supports.

Tom Buggey, PhD, has been conducting research in self-modeling since graduating from Penn State in 1993. Since 1997 his work in self-modeling has focused on children with autism in the areas of language and social development. He worked at the University of Memphis for 14 years before accepting endowed Chair position at the Siskin Children's Institute, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, in January of 2007. His book Seeing Is Believing was the first book dedicated to self-modeling research. He has also published numerous research articles and book chapters.

Sherri Cawn, MA, CCC-SLP, clinical director of Cawn-Krantz and Associates Developmental Therapies of suburban Chicago, has 40 years of clinical pediatric experience specializing in the assessment and treatment of infants, toddlers, and school-age children. She is a leading practitioner of the DIR/Floortime® model in speech and language development, and trains other professionals throughout the US and overseas on the concepts of this model. Sherri is also a member of the faculties of the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders and the Erikson Institute of Infant Mental Health. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Illinois.

Sylvia Diehl, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a faculty member of the University of South Florida Communication Sciences and Disorders Department, where she teaches courses in autism, augmentative and alternative communication, language disorders, and developmental disabilities. She has served as a consultant in autism spectrum disorders for the National Educational Association, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and numerous state organizations and school districts. Dr. Diehl has created on-line coursework for the Florida Department of Education, and a master clinician continuing education program for ASHA. Her research and publication interests focus on consistent frameworks to support learning and communication in children with ASD in classroom settings.

Lori Frost, MS, CCC-SLP, is co-founder of Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc. and co-developer of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). PECS allows individuals with limited communication abilities to initiate communication in a form understandable by peers, family, and educators. Along with Andy Bondy, she is co-author of the PECS Training Manual (2nd Ed.), A Picture's Worth, and Autism 24/7. Ms. Frost's background in functional communication training and applied behavior analysis is apparent in the products and services she designs to promote effective and efficient teaching tools for non-speaking learners. Ms. Frost received her BA in speech pathology and audiology from the University of Arkansas, and her MS in speech and language pathology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1982. She has worked in many public and private school settings as a speech pathologist. As co-founder of Pyramid Educational Consultants in nine countries, Ms. Frost has traveled the world teaching workshops on PECS, the Pyramid Approach to Education, and using B. F. Skinner's verbal behavior and applied behavior analysis to create rigorous and precise training protocols. She has presented numerous papers and lectures on autism and communication, co-authored articles, books, and chapters, and is respected by professionals in her field as a leader in analyzing and teaching functional communication.

Sima Gerber, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an associate professor of speech-language pathology in the Department of Linguistics and Communication Disorders of Queens College, City University of New York. Dr. Gerber has more than 35 years of clinical experience, specializing in the treatment of young children with autistic spectrum disorders. Dr. Gerber is on the advisory board of the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL), the faculties of the DIR Training Institute and the ICDL Graduate School, and the Board of Directors of the New York Zero-to-Three Network. She has presented nationally and abroad on the topics of language acquisition and developmental approaches to intervention for children with challenges in language development. Dr. Gerber is the recipient of the award for Outstanding Service to the Field of Speech-Language Pathology, given by the New York City Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and the Louis DiCarlo Clinical Achievement Award from the New York State Association. Dr. Gerber was elected to Fellowship by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in 2006.

Dr. Paula Kluth is a consultant, teacher, author, advocate, and independent scholar who works with teachers and families to provide inclusive opportunities for students with disabilities and to create more responsive and engaging schooling experiences for all learners. Her research and professional interests include differentiating instruction, and supporting students with autism and significant disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Paula is a former special educator who has served as a classroom teacher, consulting teacher, and inclusion facilitator. She works with teachers in K-12 schools, pre-schools, and early intervention programs, and also with family organizations and disability-rights and advocacy groups. She is the author of "You're Going to Love This Kid": Teaching Students with Autism in the Inclusive Classroom; the lead editor of Access to Academics: Critical Approaches to Inclusive Curriculum, Instruction, and Policy, and the co-author of four upcoming texts: A Land We Can Share: The Literate Lives of Students with Autism; Joyful Learning: Active and Collaborative Structures for the Inclusive Classroom; You're Welcome: 30 Innovative Ideas for Inclusive Schools, and Just Give Him the Whale: 20 Ways to Support & Honor the Interests of Students with Autism.

Dr. Lynn Kern Koegel, CCC-SLP, the clinical director of autism services in the UCSB Autism Research Center and director of the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Center for Asperger's Research, has been active in the development of programs to improve communication in children with autism. In addition to her published articles and books in the area of communication and language development, she has developed and published procedures and field manuals in the area of self-management and functional analysis. Dr. Koegel is the author of Overcoming Autism and Growing Up on the Spectrum with parent Claire LaZebnik, published by Viking/Penguin and available in most bookstores.

Pat Mirenda, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology and Special Education at the University of British Columbia, where she has been on faculty since 1996. She is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and teaches courses on augmentative communication, autism, inclusive education, and positive behavior supports. In 2004, she was named a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); in 2008, she was named a Fellow of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC). The third edition of her co-authored book Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Supporting Children and Adults With Complex Communication Needs was published in 2005. Her latest book, Autism Spectrum Disorders and AAC, was published in December, 2008. Her current research includes a Canada-wide study of developmental trajectories in children with autism, a study of the impact of a self-advocacy/self-determination curriculum with adolescents with Asperger's syndrome, and a study of the use of speech-generating devices to support social interactions between students with autism and their typically-developing peers.

Rhea Paul, PhD, CCC-SLP, is professor emerita at Southern Connecticut State University, and professor and director of the communication disorders section of the developmental disabilities program at the Yale Child Study Center. She received her BA from Brandeis University in 1971, her master's degree in reading and learning disabilities from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1974, and her PhD in communication disorders from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981. She is author of more than 70 refereed journal articles, 30 book chapters, and seven books. She has been principal investigator on research projects on language disorders and autism funded by the National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders, the National Institute of Child Health and Development, the National Alliance for Autism Research, the Meyer Memorial Trust, and the Oregon Medical Foundation. She is currently engaged in five-year research program funded by a Mid-Career Development Award from the National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders, and is a principal investigator at the Yale Autism Center of Excellence. Dr. Paul has participated in a variety of expert panels and boards for the Connecticut and Oregon State Departments of Education, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Institutes of Health. She has served as vice president of both the Oregon and Connecticut State Speech-Language-Hearing Associations, and is president of the Connecticut Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Winner of the National 1996 Editor's Award of the AJSLP, Dr. Paul is a Fellow of ASHA.

Patricia A. Prelock, PhD, CCC-SLP, is professor and chair of the Department of Communication Sciences at the University of Vermont (UVM). She also serves as training director for the Vermont Interdisciplinary Leadership Education for Health Professionals program, a federally funded project through the Maternal & Child Health Bureau. She is an ASHA Fellow, a board-recognized Child Language Specialist, and ASHA's Vice President for Standards and Ethics in Speech-Language Pathology for 2008–2010. Dr. Prelock is a University of Vermont (UVM) Scholar, an awardee of the Kroepsch-Maurice Excellence in Teaching Award at UVM, and a winner of the First Annual Autism Society of Vermont Excellence in Service Award. She has 94 publications and has given more than 320 presentations in the areas of autism, collaboration, phonology, language assessment, and intervention. Her areas of expertise include the nature and treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and language learning disabilities. Currently, she is engaged in research supporting the social communication of children with ASD using social stories and comic strip conversations to facilitate communication, behavior, and perspective taking as well as using typical peer models to support joint attention and social interaction.

Gail Richard, PhD, CCC-SLP, specializes in childhood developmental disorders, specifically autism spectrum and processing disorders, syndromes, learning disabilities, and selective mutism. She worked in the public schools before joining the faculty at Eastern Illinois University, where she currently serves as chair of the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences. Dr. Richard has published several clinical resources, including seven books in the Source series with LinguiSystems, three diagnostic assessment instruments, and three books providing treatment materials and suggestions. In addition, she has several book chapters and articles focusing on suggestions for clinical assessment and treatment. She conducts many workshops around the country, sharing her practical and applied ideas with practicing professionals.

Emily Rubin, MS, CCC-SLP, is the director of Communication Crossroads, a private practice in Carmel, California. She is a speech-language pathologist specializing in autism, Asperger's syndrome, and related social learning disabilities. As an adjunct faculty member and lecturer at Yale University, she has served as a member of their Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic. She has also been an instructor in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department of Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, where she developed coursework to prepare graduate students to address the needs of children with autism and their families. Her publications have focused on early identification of autism, contemporary intervention models, and programming guidelines for high functioning autism and Asperger's syndrome. She is also a co-author of the clinical manual for the SCERTS model, a comprehensive educational approach for children with autism spectrum disorders. She recently participated on ASHA's Ad Hoc Committee on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a group charged with developing guidelines related to the role of speech-language pathologists in the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of ASD. She lectures internationally and provides consultation to educational programs serving children and adolescents with autism and related developmental disorders.

Sherry Sancibrian, MS, CCC-SLP, BRS-CL, is associate professor and program director of speech-language pathology in the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, where she teaches courses in assessment and treatment of language and speech sound disorders. She is a member of the Specialty Board for Child Language and the editorial board of Communication Disorders Quarterly. She serves as the director of the South Plains Autism Network, is a member of the regional Autism Planning Team and Advisory Committee, consults with the Texas Statewide Leadership for Autism team, and is a frequent presenter at state and national meetings.

Helen Tager-Flusberg, PhD, received her BS in psychology from University College, London, and her doctorate from Harvard University. From 1978–2001 she was a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, and from 1996–2001 she also held the position of senior scientist at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Since 2001, Dr. Tager-Flusberg has been a professor in the Department of Psychology and the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology and Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Tager-Flusberg has conducted research on autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders for more than thirty years, investigating developmental changes in language and social cognition using behavioral and brain imaging methodologies. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and private foundations including Autism Speaks, the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation, and the March of Dimes. She has edited four books and written more than 150 journal articles and book chapters. Dr. Tager-Flusberg serves on the editorial board of several professional journals and is associate editor of the Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders and the British Journal of Psychology. She has presented her research at many professional conferences, parent advocacy groups, and training institutes.

Tina Veale, PhD, CCC-SLP, is associate professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Eastern Illinois University. Dr. Veale teaches courses in research methods, child language disorders, autism, neurology, and motor speech disorders. She researches psycholinguistic aspects of language development in children with autism, differentiation of autism spectrum disorders, and effectiveness of treatment strategies.

Amy M. Wetherby, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences in the College of Medicine and the Laurel Schendel Professor of Communication Disorders at Florida State University. She has thirty years of clinical experience and is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Dr. Wetherby has published extensively and presents regularly at national conventions on early detection of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and intervention for children with ASD using the SCERTS model. She is the project director of a doctoral training grant specializing in autism funded by the U.S. Department of Education. She served on the National Academy of Sciences Committee for Educational Interventions for Children with Autism and is the Director of the Florida State University Autism Institute. Dr. Wetherby is the Project Director of the FIRST WORDS Project, a longitudinal research investigation on early detection of ASD and other communication disorders, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, National Institutes of Health, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She is also the principal investigator of an early treatment study teaching parents of toddlers with ASD how to support social communication, funded by Autism Speaks and the National Institutes of Health.

Michelle Garcia Winner, MA, CCC-SLP, specializes in the treatment of students with social cognitive deficits, which includes diagnoses such as autism, Asperger's syndrome, and non-verbal learning disorder. She has a private practice in San Jose, California, where she works with clients and consults with families and schools. She travels internationally giving workshops, and has been invited to train psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, and state policy makers. She presents seven different full-day workshops and helps develop programs for schools and classrooms. Michelle coined the term "social thinking," and the related treatment strategies. She has written or co-authored numerous books published through Think Social Publishing, Inc. Michelle's goal is to help administrators, educators, and parents appreciate how social thinking and social skills are integral to students' academic as well as social experiences, as well as being critical for success in adulthood. She was honored with a Congressional Special Recognition Award in 2008. Michelle believes we can all do far more to help our students learn these abstract social lessons.