Cathy Pratt is the Director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism at the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community located at Indiana University.
Cathy serves as Chair of the Board for the national Autism Society, serves on the board of the Autism Society and the Panel of Professional Advisors for the Autism Society, is a part of NATTAP (Network of Autism Training and Technical Assistance Programs) and on the College Internship Program’s advisory board.
Cathy Pratt, Board Chair of the Autism Society, Director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism at the Indiana Institute and CIP Advisory Board member recently attended a meeting hosted by the White House to discuss the Obama Administration’s efforts on autism research and to express support of families and individuals affected by autism.
The meeting took place April 2, in conjunction with World Autism Awareness Day and National Autism Awareness Month, and included representatives of other national advocacy organizations and service agencies.
By Ryan Therriault, Academic Coordinator, and Janet Hrezo
The CIP Brevard Center staff had the opportunity to attend Florida Institute of Technology’s Fourth Annual Applied Behavior Analysis Conference on February 22. Themed “Behavioral Interventions Across the Lifetime”, the conference featured speakers Dr. Timothy M. Weil, Dr. Patrick C. Friman and CIP National Professional Advisory Board Member Dr. Peter Gerhardt.
Whether or not one has a background in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), the conference was thought provoking particularly the presentation by Dr. Gerhardt who is on the National Professional Advisory Board of CIP. His presentation on interventions with autistic adults and older adolescents emphasized the need to help them acquire adaptive and functional skills in order to ultimately enhance their quality of life.
While many happily anticipate the coming holiday season, families of sons/daughters on the autism spectrum also understand the special challenges that may occur when schedules are disrupted and routines broken. Our hope is that by following these few helpful tips, families may lessen the stress of the holiday season and make it a more enjoyable experience for everyone involved. The following tips were developed with input from the Autism Society of America, the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, Easter Seals Crossroads, Sonya Ansari Center for Autism at Logan, and the Indiana Autism Leadership Network.
A well-known author and lecturer with 30 years of experience as an administrator of special needs residential programs, Rick’s intensive experiences at residential schools provided him with a “living laboratory” in which he developed and refined his methods and philosophies related to the education of children and adolescents with special needs.
As recent as 2009, Rick was the recipient of the Learning Disabilities Associations of America’s Samuel Kirk award.
During the 2009 Parent Weekend at the CIP Berkeley Center, staff, students and their families welcomed special guest and CIP advisory board member, Susan Moreno, who presented a keynote providing valuable tips to families concerning short and long-term planning strategies for a students care.
Self-advocacy plays a vital role in nearly every aspect of life for individuals on the spectrum, in school, at home, in the community, and at work. The more self-awareness they possess, the more active players they can be in advocating for their own comfort, happiness, and well-being—whether this involves approaching a teacher, if they are having trouble keeping up with the lectures because they just can’t write fast enough or being able to express to people that they don’t always “get” the person’s jokes because he or she takes them literally.
CIP National Professional Advisory Board members, Michelle Garcia Winner and Carol Gray, explore how students need to learn their own pathways to thinking socially, and how changing our own thinking as parents and teachers can encourage our students’ abilities to learn.
November 5th-6th, 2009
Grapevine Convention Center, TX
Valerie Paradiz develops educational programs for children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), including the pioneering ASPIE School, and has been featured in the New York Times, Redbook Magazine and The Guardian. She is the developer of Integrated Self Advocacy ISA™ (AAPC), a curriculum and training series for educators and therapists who wish to support individuals with ASDs in achieving greater ability in self-advocacy.
Have you ever thought about that with respect to individuals with ASD? We are quick to view their comments, silences, meltdowns, and actions as meaningless, unanticipated, inappropriate, or even defiant. Yet I believe that if or when they are able to process and to voice explanations for their actions, they usually have very valid reasons for them!
What then causes them to do what they do? Here are some possible explanations:
May 12th at the William Bennett Gallery in Soho in NYC, GRASP honored National Professional Advisory Board Members Dr. Stephen Shore and Brenda Smith Myles.
Dr. Stephen Shore was honored with the DSM Award (Distinguished Spectrumite Medal) for his work as an Asperger’s Educator around the world, while Brenda Smith Myles received the DNA Award (Divine Neurotypical Award) for her support of Individuals on the Spectrum.
Cathy Pratt, Board Chair of the Autism Society, Director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism at the Indiana Institute and CIP Advisory Board member recently attended a meeting hosted by the White House to discuss the Obama Administration’s efforts on autism research and to express support of families and individuals affected by autism.
Self-advocacy plays a vital role in nearly every aspect of life for individuals on the spectrum, in school, at home, in the community, and at work. The more self-awareness they possess, the more active players they can be in advocating for their own comfort, happiness, and well-being—whether this involves approaching a teacher, if they are having trouble keeping up with the lectures because they just can’t write fast enough or being able to express to people that they don’t always “get” the person’s jokes because he or she takes them literally.
Have you ever thought about that with respect to individuals with ASD? We are quick to view their comments, silences, meltdowns, and actions as meaningless, unanticipated, inappropriate, or even defiant. Yet I believe that if or when they are able to process and to voice explanations for their actions, they usually have very valid reasons for them!
May 12th at the William Bennett Gallery in Soho in NYC, GRASP honored National Professional Advisory Board Members Dr. Stephen Shore and Brenda Smith Myles.
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