Get Ready for our EXPERT OF THE MONTH, LAURA WALD

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone:

Wald will be joining us this Monday, December 8th- Friday,

December 12th to answer any questions you may have about how to

survive the holidays with your sanity intact.

Here is how it works:

IPADDU members post questions to starting Monday morning. In

the subject line put " Question for " or " Ask the Expert " so she

can easily pick out which posts are addressed to her. She will

respond to questions via return post to the entire group so that we

all have access to the information.

Here is some information about :

Wald, Bio Oct. 2008

has been a social worker for 34 years, primarily in special

education. was employed by Northern Suburban Special Education

District for twenty years, and this is her ninth year as a school

social worker in District # 15 in Palatine. Her caseload for the

past eight years has been exclusively children with autism spectrum

disorders and their families, but, she has extensive experience

across disabilities and age groups. She also has experience working

with children and adolescents with learning, emotional and behavioral

disorders.

In 's current position, she focuses on social skills within the

classroom at the elementary through junior high school levels. She

is responsible for parent education and parent support groups for all

of the above classrooms as well as doing assessments, consultations,

interventions and program development.

is actively involved in teaching social work students and

presenting at conferences. She is a regular presenter for the

son Institute on families with disabilities. She has also done

presentations on family issues for the Autism Society of Illinois,

the Autism Society of America and the University of Chicago's School

of Social Service Administration. also worked for the Illinois

Assistive Technology and Training Program (IATTAP) for three years,

ending this past year. In that role, she served as an Educational

Facilitator for the Family Focus Support for Autism Spectrum

Disorders. She is also a member of the Professional Advisory Board

for the Autism Society of Illinois.

Ellen