Autism Conference May 19, UConn, Waterbury, CT features noted experts

[Guest guest]

Foundations and Innovations II:

Effective Strategies for the Education of Children with Autism and Related

Disabilities

Saturday May 19, 2007

University of Connecticut Waterbury campus

8:30 AM to 3:PM

Continuing Credits for Educators and Behavior Analysts

On Saturday May 19, 2007, Connecticut Families for Effective Autism

Treatment (CT FEAT), in collaboration with the River Street Autism Program and

the

Litchfield County Autism Spectrum Association (LACASA), will host an exciting

learning opportunity for educators and related service providers,

administrators, students and family members interested in effective education

for

children with autism and related special needs. The conference will be held

from

8:30 AM to 3:PM at the University of Connecticut Waterbury campus.

Foundations and Innovations II: Effective Strategies for the Education of

Children with Autism and Related Disabilities aims to examine the roles of

science-based research and the art of innovation in developing effective autism

treatment programs.

The conference will feature four presentations by noted experts in autism

research, intervention, and clinical practice.

Keynote Speaker: Beth Bruder, Ph.D. (University of Connecticut A.J.

Pappanikou Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education,

Research, and Service) Are We There Yet? Building the Road from Scientifically

Based Research to Effective Educational Policies

Presentations:

Andy Bondy, Ph.D. (Pyramid Educational Consultants) How to Help Children and

Adults with Autism Talk About Their Emotions

Kathleen Dyer, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCBA (River Street Autism Program)

Assessment and Remediation of Speech Disorders in Children with Autism Spectrum

Disorders

Deborah Fein, Ph.D. (University of Connecticut) Research and the Recovery

Phenomenon

A panel discussion of questions from the audience will follow the

presentations, from 2:30 to 3:00 PM.

Registration fee: $75 for professionals $60 for parents and students

Fee includes light continental breakfast, mid-morning coffee break and

buffet luncheon. Continuing education credits will be available for educators

and

behavior analysts. Information and brochure available at the CT FEAT web

site, _www.ctfeat.org_ (http://www.ctfeat.org/) .

Are We There Yet? Building the Road from Scientifically Based Research to

Effective Educational Policies , will be presented by Beth Bruder

Ph.D., director of the University of Connecticut A.J. Pappanikou Center for

Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, and Service, and

Professor of Pediatrics and Educational Psychology at the UCONN School of

Medicine. She has been involved in the design, provision, and evaluation of

early intervention services within a number of states and across a variety of

agencies. Dr. Bruder will discuss the components of research-based intervention

and educational programs under current federal law, which requires

special educators to provide learning programs that are based on " peer-reviewed

research,†and that focus on improving student academic achievement. Dr.

Bruder will also address the distance between current practices in professional

training and the goals of competence mandated by IDEA. She will share her

perspective on how to move from where we are to where we need to be in

effective service delivery.

Research and the Recovery Phenomenon, presented by Deborah Fein, Ph.D.,

clinical neuropsychologist and Professor of Psychology at the University of

Connecticut, will provide conference participants with a look at her findings

on

children with autism who have had excellent outcomes with intensive early

intervention. Dr Fein has been conducting research about autism for over 25

years. She has investigated numerous areas in autism, including peptide

abnormalities, brainstem evoked potentials, language and memory, estimating and

other cognitive skills, sensory abnormalities, early detection and

theoretical

issues concerning diagnosis. She and her colleagues at UCONN developed the

M-CHAT (Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers), a comprehensive screening

tool for early detection of autism. Dr. Fein’s research has been supported

by several NIH institutes, the March of Dimes, and the National Association

for Autism Research (NAAR). She was recently awarded the University of

Connecticut Board of Trustees Distinguished Professors Award, UCONN’s highest

recognition for a faculty member. Dr. Fein also has a small private practice

in

Springfield, MA, where she conducts neuropsychological assessment primarily on

children with autism.

Innovations

The third presentation will be a workshop on Assessment and Remediation of

Speech Disorders in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders with Kathleen

Dyer, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCBA. It is designed to teach participants to assess

and treat intelligibility problems often found in children with autism. Dr.

Dyer, the Clinical Director of the River Street Autism Program at Coltsville,

in Hartford, Connecticut, is a certified speech and language pathologist, a

certified behavior analyst, and a nationally recognized expert in

autism. She has served children with autism for over 30 years in clinical and

university-based research settings, and has collaborated with pioneers in the

field of effective treatment, including Ivar Lovass, Koegel, and Andy

Bondy. Dr. Dyer has taught in various university settings, and is currently

on the faculty at Elms College. Her work has been disseminated through

national and international conferences, as well as in numerous research

articles

and books on applied behavior analysis (ABA). Dr. Dyer participated in

developing the current Guidelines for Identification and Education of Children

and Youth with Autism for the State of Connecticut.

In How to Help Children and Adults with Autism Talk About Their Emotions,

Bondy, Ph.D. will discuss modifications and strategies to help people

with autism effectively communicate about their emotions and other internal

states, using vocal speech and augmentative devices. Dr. Bondy has over 30

years of experience working with children and adults with autism and related

developmental disabilities. He served as the Director of the Statewide

Delaware Autistic Program for over a dozen years, where he and his wife, Lori

Frost, a speech pathologist, pioneered the development of the Picture Exchange

Communication System (PECS), a unique augmentative/alternative training package

that allows children and adults with autism and other communication

deficits to initiate and develop functional communication. PECS has received

worldwide recognition for focusing on the social components of communication.

Dr. Bondy is the co-founder of Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc., an

internationally based team of specialists from many fields working together to

promote the integration of the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA)

within functional activities. He developed the Pyramid Approach to Education

as a comprehensive approach to establishing effective learning environments

for children and adults with autism and other severe learning impairments.

The Pyramid Approach is a combination of broad-spectrum behavior analysis and

functional communication strategies. Dr. Bondy continues his life’s work

designing educational plans for children with autism that emphasize

communicative opportunities across all environments and social communication in

enhanced

settings.

For more information, please visit the CT FEAT web site at www.ctfeat.org

or call the CT FEAT information hotline at (860) 571-3888.¤

(mailto:notify-dg- )

************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.