Real Life, Real Progress for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Strategies for Successful Generalization in Natural Environments Paperback - 2009 - 1st Edition

Robert H. LaRue, Ph.D., BCBA, Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of Research and Training, Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, Rutgers University, 151 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901. Dr. LaRue received his doctorate in biological and school psychology from Louisiana State University and completed a predoctoral internship and a postdoctoral fellowship with the Kennedy Krieger and Marcus Institutes at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Emory University. He is Assistant Director of Research and Training at The Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center. He has coauthored articles in peer-reviewed journals as well as book chapters and has presented at national and international conferences.

Dominic W. Massaro, Ph.D., Professor, University of California, Santa Cruz, Department of Psychology, Santa Cruz, California 95060. Dr. Massaro is Professor of Psychology and Computer Engineering, Director of the Perceptual Science Laboratory, and Founding Chair of Digital Arts and New Media M.F.A. program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow, a University of Wisconsin Romnes Fellow, a James McKeen Cattell Fellow, and a National Institute of Mental Health Fellow. His research uses a formal experimental and theoretical approach to the study of speech perception, reading, psycholinguistics, memory, cognition, learning, and decision making.

Annie McLaughlin, M.T., Doctoral Student, Experimental Education Unit, University of Washington, Box 353600, Seattle, Washington 98195. Ms. McLaughlin has a master (TM)s of teaching in special education from The University of Virginia with a specialization in working with people with developmental disabilities, learning disabilities, and emotional/behavior disorders. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in severe disabilities at the University of Washington. Her classroom and research experiences focus on students with severe disabilities, autism, and challenging behavior.

Ronit M. Molko, Ph.D., BCBA, Founder, Autism Spectrum Therapies, 6001 Bristol Parkway, Suite 200, Culver City, California 90230. Dr. Molko is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and clinical psychologist, specializing in the treatment of children with autism and related disorders. She is co-founder of Autism Spectrum Therapies (http: //www.autismtherapies.com), an agency that specializes in intensive behavioral interventions, positive behavior supports, and social skills for individuals with autism across the life span. Autism Spectrum Therapies also works closely with school districts to develop state-of-the-art autism programs.

Daniel Openden, Ph.D., BCBA, Dr. Openden serves as the president and chief executive officer for the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center, an internationally recognized nonprofit organization dedicated to autism research, education, evidence-based treatment, and community outreach to support individuals with autism and their families throughout their lifetimes. As a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral, Dr. Openden has expertise in developing training programs for teaching parents and professionals to implement Pivotal Response Treatment. Dr. Openden is an adjunct professor at Arizona State University, is a founding member of the Council of Autism Service Providers, and serves on the Autism Speaks Mission Delivery Committee and the Scientific Council of the Organization for Autism Research.

Nancy E. Rosenberg, Ph.D., Teaching Associate, Experimental Education Unit, University of Washington, 4000 15th Avenue Northeast, Seattle, Washington 98195. Dr. Rosenberg received her Ph.D. in special education from the University of Washington with a particular focus in autism. She currently teaches classes for both educators and parents around issues related to autism and consults with families and school districts for these children. Dr. Rosenberg is also the parent of a son with autism.

Laura Schreibman, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093. Dr. Laura Schreibman directs the UCSD Autism Intervention Research Program, a federally funded research program focusing on the experimental analysis and treatment of autism. A co-developer of Pivotal Response Training, her general research interests include naturalistic behavioral intervention strategies, development of individualized treatment protocols, analysis of language and attentional deficits, generalization of behavior change, parent training, and issues of assessment. She is the author of three books and more than 120 research articles and book chapters.

Dr. Schwartz is Professor of Special Education and Director of the Haring Center at the University of Washington. Dr. Schwartz is also the Director of Project DATA (Developmentally Appropriate Treatment for Autism), a school‐based early intervention intensive behavioral intervention program for children with autism. She has an extensive background working with young children with special needs and their families, specifically with young children with autism and related disabilities.

Dr. Schwartz is the director of the Applied Behavior Analysis Program at the UW, and is dedicated to creating high quality inclusive schools so that all children, regardless of their background or ability, can attend the school of their choice and receive a high quality education.

Dr. Schwartz has published numerous chapters and articles about early childhood education and social validity. She serves on the editorial review boards of Topics in Early Childhood Special Education and the Journal of Early Intervention.

Bryna Siegel, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, Director, Autism Clinic, Co-director, Autism Neurodevelopment Center, 401 Parnassus Avenue, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), California 94143. Dr. Siegel founded and directs the UCSF Autism Clinic. She has been involved with autism research for the past 25 years and has authored numerous books, chapters, and scientific papers. Her work has focused on operationalizing a definition for autism as specific autistic learning disabilities and autistic learning styles that can be treated with developmental curricula administered using behavioral methodologies.

Lori Frost, Co-founder, Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc., 13 Garfield Way, Suite 1, Newark, Delaware 19713. Ms. Frost is Vice-President and Co-founder of Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc., as well as a coauthor of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) Training Manual. Ms. Frost has been the driving force behind creating PECS, a unique system that allows children with limited communication abilities to initiate communication with teachers, parents, and peers. She has a wealth of background in functional communication training and applied behavior analysis.