Broun, Leslie, M.ED

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 Gerry Bloomfield Professional Award. Leslie has worked for both the Ministry of Education and the Geneva Centre for Autism and has been a teaching instructor and presenter at workshops and conferences across Canada and internationally. She co-authored Literacy Skill Development for Students with Special Learning Needs with Patricia Oelwein. Her primary professional focus has been the development of effective learning strategies and materials for teaching academic skills to students with ASD.

Let’s Really Look at this Child: Considerations for Effective Program Development

As parents, teachers and others involved in the life of a child with ASD work together to conceptualize his or her educational program, we are painting a picture of what that individual’s days and weeks at school, home, and in the community will look like. In constructing this “whole life perspective,” parents, teachers and therapists want the experience to be positive, to know that the individual is moving forward and that they have planned appropriately. In this process, it is critical to consider the individual’s particular expression of ASD, along with the skills, interests and areas of difficulty that he or she brings to the learning situation. Leslie offers perspectives and strategies for effective interaction and teaching, as well as current data from the field of neuroscience. Always practical, Leslie also shares tools for planning, curriculum modification, data collection and evaluation which focus on creating a balanced program that enables a state of equilibrium for the individual while challenging them to move forward in skill development.

Bonus: Old Tricks, New Data!

Leslie Broun shares archival footage of a strategy for communication skill development that she implemented in 1992/1993. This promising practice has recently been discussed in the periodical, Brain Research, focusing on the role of the mirror neuron system in speech development.