Want to know more about the speakers in Autism Awareness Centre's conferences, trainings or events? Scroll down for a list of bios on past or upcoming speakers, including links to books that they have authored for purchase at our store. Not finding who you are looking for? Feel free to contact us and we will see if we can help!
Paula Aquilla is the mother of two teenagers and lives with her family in Toronto, Ontario. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto and has been practicing occupational therapy in community, clinic, school and home based settings for 22 years. Paula is a co-author of the book Building Bridges Through Sensory Integration and has contributed to several other…
Ruth Aspy, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist. She is co-creator of the Ziggurat Model and author of the following books: Designing Comprehensive Interventions for High-Functioning Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Ziggurat Model, High-Functioning Autism and Difficult Moments: Practical Solutions for Reducing Meltdowns, and FBA to Z: Functional Behavior and Intervention Plans for Individuals with ASD. Dr. Aspy also specializes…
Jed Baker is the director of the Social Skills Training Project, an organization serving individuals with autism and social communication problems. He is on the professional advisory board of ASPEN, ANSWER, YAI, the Kelberman Center and several other autism organizations. In addition, he writes, lectures, and provides training internationally on the topic of social skills training and managing challenging behaviors.…
Maureen Bennie is a mother of a son and a daughter with autism. She has managed an at-home Intensive Behavioral Intervention Program for 8 years for her children. She has written hundreds of articles and book reviews that have appeared in publications and on websites throughout North America and the UK. Maureen also gives presentations across Canada on various topics…
Barbara Bloomfield is a veteran speech and language pathologist with more than 30 years’ experience. She has specialized in offering direct services and consultation to individuals with autism spectrum disorders in a variety of settings. Barbara has designed and published numerous commercially available teaching materials for students with special needs including Super Symbols: A Book of Positive Behavioral Directives. She…
Erin Brooker Lozott, M.S., CCC-SLP, is the Director of Clinical Services and Global Support at Els for Autism Foundation. She oversees the development and delivery of all therapeutic services across the lifespan. Erin is a licensed and certified Speech-Language Pathologist. She has been working with individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related disabilities across ages and settings for over…
Leslie Broun has worked with students who have Autism Spectrum Disorder for more than twenty years. In 2007, she was a member of the cross-ministerial ASD Reference Group that helped formulate new policy for students with ASD in the province of Ontario. For six years she served on the Board of Directors of Autism Ontario and in 2008 received the…
Amy Buie, MEd, BCBA, LBA, has over 25 years of experience working in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. She is the CEO of Learning Momentum, an agency specializing in the treatment of children with emotional disorders who have challenging behavior. She is also the founder and organizational consultant for The Center for Autism Education, a not-for-profit agency working with…
Carol Burmeister, M.A., has a life-long passion for supporting individuals with special needs, their families, and the schools and community settings that serve them. Her professional experience includes serving as a paraeducator, general education teacher, special educator, program specialist, university instructor, and consultant across a variety of educational settings. Burmeister has presented extensively on autism and related disorders as well…
Kari Dunn Buron worked in K-12 with students with autism for 30+ years. Kari developed an Autism Spectrum Disorders Certificate program for educators at Hamline University and has done volunteer work specific to autism in Trinidad, Tobago, Barbados, Tanzania and Ghana. In 2003, Kari received a Self-designed Fellowship that allowed her to spend a year interviewing and working internationally with…
Jenny Clark, OTR/L, is a licensed pediatric Occupational Therapist with over 16 years experience in school settings. Mrs. Clark currently works for Three Lakes Educational Cooperative where she is a Staff Occupational Therapist, and she owns a pediatric therapy private practice Jennys Kids, Inc. She received her Bachelors degree in Occupational Therapy and graduated with distinction from the University of…
John Clements is a British Clinical Psychologist, specializing for over 35 years in the field of developmental disabilities in general and autism in particular. After holding senior posts in the UK health and university systems, he established with Ewa Zarkowska the UK’s first independent psychological consultancy dedicated to people with developmental disabilities. In 1996 John emigrated to the USA and…
Joyce Cooper-Kahn is a clinical child psychologist with specific expertise in the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with executive functioning deficits. She is the author of two books on executive functioning: Late, Lost and Unprepared: A Parent’s Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning (Woodbine House, 2008) written with co-author Dr. Laurie Dietzel, and Boosting Executive Skills in…
Pamela J. Crooke is the senior therapist at the Social Thinking Center and part of the social-cognitive team in San Jose, CA. She has an active caseload of children, teens, and adults, conducts Dynamic Assessments, and consults with school programs. She received her B.S. and M.S. in Speech Pathology/Audiology from Idaho State University and her Ph.D. in Language Development in…
Dr. Lori Ernsperger has more than twenty-three years of experience working in public schools as a teacher, administrator and behavioral consultant. She has had extensive training working with students who have developmental disorders, particularly those students on the autism spectrum. Lori has put her experience and education to work in a variety of teaching and therapy roles. She not only…