Case Studies for the Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Patricia Prelock, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-CL, is Provost and Senior Vice President, University of Vermont. Formerly the Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Vermont for 10 years, she is also Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders, and Professor of Pediatrics in the College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. Dr. Prelock studies the nature and treatment of autism spectrum disorder with a specific focus on theory of mind and the development of interventions to support social cognition by using a family-centered approach. She is a board certified specialist in child language, a University of Vermont Scholar, an ASHA fellow and honoree, and a fellow in the National Academies of Practice in speech-language pathology.

Rebecca J. McCauley, Ph.D. is a professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at The Ohio State University. Her research and writing have focused on assessment and treatment of pediatric communication disorders, with a special focus on speech sound disorders, including childhood apraxia of speech. She has authored or edited seven books on these topics and co-authored a test designed to aid in the differential diagnosis of childhood apraxia of speech. Dr. McCauley is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, has received Honors of the Association, and has served two terms as an associate editor of the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology.

Marc E. Fey, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is emeritus professor for the Hearing and Speech Department at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He has published numerous articles, chapters, and software programs on children's speech and language development and disorders and has written and edited three books on child-language intervention. He was editor of the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology from 1996 to 1998 and Chair of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association's (ASHA) publications board from 2003 to 2005. He holds the Kawana Award for Lifetime Achievement in Publications and the Honors of the Association from ASHA.

Ashley R. Brien, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a speech language pathologist in Vermont. She is pursuing her Ph.D. in Interprofessional Health Sciences at the University of Vermont under the mentorship of Dr. Tiffany Hutchins and Dr. Patricia Prelock. Her research focuses on episodic memory and its relationship to theory of mind. She is currently designing interventions and treatment materials to support episodic memory and social cognition in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).

Erik Carter, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department Special Education at Vanderbilt University and a member of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. His research and teaching focuses on evidence-based strategies for supporting access to the general curriculum and promoting valued roles in school, work, and community settings for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Prior to receiving his doctorate, he worked as a high school teacher and transition specialist with youth with significant disabilities. He has published widely in the areas of educational and transition services for children and youth with significant disabilities. He was the recipient of the Distinguished Early Career Research Award from the Council for Exceptional Children and the Early Career Award from the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. His research interests include adolescent transitions from school to adult life; peer relationships and peer support interventions; students with severe disabilities, access to the general curriculum; and religion, congregational supports, and disabilities.

Peter Dawson, M.D., M.P.H., practices pediatrics at the People's Clinic in Boulder, Colorado, and at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Fort Logan in Denver. He developed his knowledge of child development and families by teaching at the JFK Child Development Center of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, working for 17 years in multidisciplinary child development clinics, studying parent support by paraprofessional home visitors, and serving on the board of directors of the Family Resource Coalition of America. He learned about public health by working with public health nurses, serving in several positions in the Maternal and Child Health Section of the American Public Health Association, and founding the Boulder County Consortium on Access to Health Care. He teaches pediatrics and public health at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He has published 15 articles in professional journals and has received awards from the Department of Maternal and Child Health of the University of North Carolina, American Public Health Association, Boulder Valley Education Association, Boulder Daily Camera, and Voices for Children. Drs. Dawson and Kessler met while they both were Fellows with ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families and have collaborated extensively since that time in the area of pediatric undernutrition.

Ann Kaiser, Ph.D. is the Susan W. Gray Professor of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University. She is the author of more than 175 articles on early intervention for children with autism and other development communication disabilities. Her research focuses on therapist- and parent-implemented naturalistic interventions.

Connie Kasari, Ph.D., Professor, Human Development and Psychology, Center for Autism Research and Treatment, University of California Los Angeles, 68-268 Semel Institute, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90024

Dr. Connie Kasari is Professor of Human Development and Psychology at UCLA with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychiatry. Since 1990 she has been on the faculty at UCLA where she teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses, and has been the primary advisor to more than 40 Ph.D. students. Her research projects include targeted interventions for early social communication development in at risk infants, toddlers and preschoolers with autism, and peer relationships for school-aged children with autism. She is on the science advisory board of the Autism Speaks Foundation, and regularly presents to both academic and practitioner audiences locally, nationally, and internationally.

Lynn Kern Koegel, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is a clinical professor at the Stanford School of Medicine. She has been active in the development of programs to improve communication in children with autism, including the development of first words, grammatical structures, pragmatics, and social conversation. In addition to her published books and articles 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 that are used in school districts and by parents throughout the United States and have been translated in other major languages. Dr. Lynn 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. In addition, she appeared on ABC's hit show “Supernanny” working with a child with autism.

Amy C. Laurent is a pediatric occupational therapist who holds a master's degree in special education. Currently in private practice, she is a New England affiliate of Communication Crossroads and of Childhood Communication Services. Ms. Laurent specializes in the education of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and related developmental disabilities. Through her practice, she provides comprehensive evaluations, direct therapeutic services, and consultations to educational programs for children with ASD. She also provides extensive educational and emotional support for families of children with ASD. Ms. Laurent has co-authored several journal articles and frequently lectures throughout the United States on topics related to therapeutic and educational intervention for children with ASD. Her areas of clinical interest include therapeutic intervention as it relates to the development of self-regulation and social-adaptive functioning across contexts (e.g. school, home, and community settings).

Barry M. Prizant, Ph.D., has more than 25 years experience as a clinical scholar, researcher, and consultant to young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and related communication disabilities and their families. He is an American Speech-Language-Hearing Association fellow and is a member of the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disabilities. Formerly, he was Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the Brown University Program in Medicine, Professor in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Emerson College, and Advanced Post-Doctoral Fellow in Early Intervention at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has developed family-centered programs for newly diagnosed toddlers with ASD and their families in hospital and university clinic environments. He has been an invited presenter at two State of the Science Conferences on ASD at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and has contributed to the NIH Clinical Practice Guidelines for early identification and diagnosis of ASD. Dr. Prizant's current research and clinical interests include identification and family-centered treatment of infants, toddlers, and young children who have or are at risk for sociocommunicative difficulties, including ASD.

Emily Rubin is Director of Communication Crossroads, a private practice in Carmel, California. She is a speech-language pathologist specializing in autism, Asperger syndrome, and related social learning disabilities. As an adjunct faculty member and lecturer at Yale University, she has served as a member of its Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic. She has also served as an instructor for the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department of Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, where she has developed courses to prepare graduate-level 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 syndrome. She has participated as a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Ad Hoc Committee on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a committee 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.