Meet Kari Dunn Buron, author of “A 5 is Against the Law” ASA Award Winner

Kari Dunn Baron and Jordan Blackwell at NATTAP 2007

We caught up this week with Kari as she was returning from a trip to Africa (we’ll let her explain!). Her book, “A 5 is Against the Law” was just named Literary Work of the Year by the Autism Society of America. You can learn more about Kari’s work at her website.

AutismNotes: How did you ‘get started’ in the area of ASD?

Kari: In 1979 I was finishing up my Master’s work at Illinois State University. I had met a woman through my programming and we talked about where we might go when we finished our degrees. We both had an interest in Minnesota. She graduated before me and moved to MN to work in an EBD classroom. Just prior to my graduation date I got a call from this woman asking me if I would be interested in working with children with autism. Admittedly, I did not know very much about autism but I did want to work in Minnesota so I drove up and interviewed for a position to start one of the first autism programs in MN. I got the job and dove head first into what turned out to be the most rewarding and energizing careers one could ever hope for.

AutismNotes: What led you to become an author?

Kari: In the late ’90’s, my colleague Mitzi Curtis and I started running social skill groups for students with Asperger Syndrome and HFA who had significantly aggressive behavior. One of the strategies we started using was a visual scale to quantify and clearly explain social and emotional concepts. We modified the scale several times and eventually found that a scale of 5 seemed to work most efficiently. We had great fun with our 5 point scale and we started teaching other teachers to use it too. Every time we demonstrated, recommended or taught someone about the scale, people responded very positively. We received a lot of positive feedback locally about the success people were having with the scale strategy. Some others even suggested that we write a book about how to use the scale. It took about a year for us to get our thoughts clearly down on paper and submit it to the then fairly new publishing company of AAPC.

AutismNotes: Do you have an experience or person who truly stands out in your memory from your work in this field?

Kari: I have so many memories and wonderful stories of children with autism that span the last 28 years. I will tell you one that changed the course of my thinking. It was 1985 and I had been teaching children with autism for 5 years. I was learning more about autism every year but still struggling with explosive and aggressive behavior. The program I was teaching in at that time used locked timeout rooms for such behavior. If a child was aggressive, I was to lead the child to the timeout room and let them know that because they did what they did, they would need to go to timeout. One day a student of mine threw something at my head. I can’t remember what led up to this but my head began to bleed and my educational assistant immediately took the boy to the timeout room. I sat outside the timeout room and listened as the boy started to cry. He then called my name and asked me why he was in there. At that point I started crying myself, realizing that he was in there because I didn’t know what else to do. That summer I attended the national ASA conference (I think it was in Detroit) and I heard John McGee speak about Gentle Teaching. That changed the course of my career. I learned everything I could about GT and I had direct training from Dan Hobbs. Although the approach did not give me all the tools I would need to be successful, it gave me a rock solid philosophy for thinking about the behavior I was observing and introduced me to the concept of Proactive vs. Reactive teaching. I began to think of challenging behavior as a lack of skills rather than some well thought out response. This was a novel concept in the mid 80’s and I feel so privileged to have happened upon it early. Over the next few years, the program I worked for eliminated the use of time out.

AutismNotes: What are you working on currently? (I think WHERE is also a good question for you these days!!)

Kari: I have been doing volunteer work in Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies for many years and I recently spent a month in Tanzania working in a school for children with autism. I have retired from public school but still teach classes in the ASD Certificate program at Hamline University in St. Paul. This new flexibility has given me the time needed to participate in volunteerism in autism. My latest publishing projects include co-editing a new textbook with Pamela Wolfberg titled Educating Learners on the Autism Spectrum: Preparing Highly Qualified Teachers, published by AAPC’s new textbook division and developing a social skills magazine called The Social Times. I am very excited by both projects.

AutismNotes: And ‘just for fun’, what do you do in your down time to relax?

Kari: My husband and I have a house in Bear River, Nova Scotia. I love spending time there reading, writing and painting. We both enjoy drawing, photography and watercolor. I consider Bear River one of the most relaxing places on earth. Lately I have worked with the Hearing and Service Dogs of MN to train my dog, Claire. She and I work every summer at Camp Discovery, a camp for youth with Asperger Syndrome in northern MN. I am amazed at Claire’s intuitive abilities and feel excited about the possibilities of canine therapy and autism. I hope to see it formally research in the future. I also love swimming, skiing, sailing and hiking.

Kentucky Autism Training Center Autism Institute 2008

Autism Institute 2008

 

REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

KATC presents the 9th Annual Autism Institute - June 5-7, 2008 - to be held at the Marriott Downtown, in Louisville. The institute features strategies and techniques to enhance the lives of those affected by autism with over 20 sessions from national and regional presenters!

REGISTRATION BROCHURE (PDF) - All 3 Days

NEW! SATURDAY ONLY Registration Form (PDF) - Saturday Only (Book your room by 5/15 at http://marriott.com/sdflm?groupCode=ainaina&app=resvlink)

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES, SESSION DESCRIPTIONS and LEARNING OBJECTIVES (PDF)

SPONSORSHIP, VENDOR, and EXHIBITOR OPPORTUNITIES (PDF)

Would you like to print or save all of these documents in one click? CLICK HERE. (PLEASE NOTE: This is a 20 page packet in PDF form.)

Click here for: Hotel Reservations, Information and Driving Directions

The Blackwell Family will be presenting Saturday the 7th - first as a whole family and also Cam and Jordan will present their ‘Autism Mythbusters’ session.

MAAP Services for Autism and Asperger Syndrome Annual Conference 2008

MAAP Services for Autism and Asperger Syndrome
&
The Indiana Resource Center for Autism
presents its annual conference:
“Knowledge Is Power”

Wednesday, October 1st & Thursday, October 2nd, 2008
Indianapolis, IN

At The Sheraton Hotel, Keystone Crossing

OUR DISTINGUISHED KEYNOTERS
Michael John Carley
Bennett L. Leventhal, M.D.
Brenda Smith Myles
Cathy L. Pratt, Ph.D.

OTHER SPEAKERS AND PRESENTATIONS

• Alyson Beytien (Parent, Autism Professional)
• Cameron and Jordan Blackwell
• Lara Blanchard, B.C.B.A., M.A. (Autism Professional)
• Sonia Chand (Individual on the Specturm, Law School Student)
• Catherine Davies, M.A. (Autism Professional)
• Julie Donnelly, Ph.D. (Autism professional, parent)
• Melissa Dubie, Ph.D. (Autism Professional)
• Teresa Grossi, Ph.D. (Autism Professional)
• Brian Ketzner (Autism Professional, Parent)
• Brian King, M.S.W. (Parent, Autism Professional, Individual on the Spectrum)
• Rick Kresse, M.A. (Parent)
• Michael McManmon, Ph.D. (Autism Professional, Individual on the Spectrum)
• Susan Moreno, M.A,.A.B.S. ( parent, autism professional)
• Jenni Pause (Autism Professional and Mentor)
• Stephen Shore, Ed.D (autism professional & individual with autism)
• Marci Wheeler, M.S.W. (Autism professional, spouse of individual on the spectrum)
• Three Panels of Individuals on the Autism Spectrum (names to be announced later)

SPECIAL FEATURES

• “Ask the Doctor” with Bennet Leventhal, M.D.
• Panels of Presenters on the Spectrum
• For Fathers Only
• For Non-Spectrum Spouses Only

 

Network of Autism Training and Technical Assistance Programs (NATTAP) 2008

The Network of Autism Training and Technical Assistance Programs (NATTAP), and the Autism Society of America (ASA) present the Second Annual International Autism Training and Technical Assistance Conference hosted by the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence (OCALI) in Columbus, Ohio, USA. The 2008 NATTAP Conference is scheduled for November 19-21, 2008, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center (GCCC), 400 N. High St., Columbus, OH 43215 USA. Visit the NATTAP Conference site

The Blackwell Family will be presenting a preconference workshop entitled ” Removing Obstacles Together to Reach Our Unlimited Potential”

We will also be presenting two concurrent sessions during the conference.

Time Magazine reports on the Effects of Vaccines

Time Magazine’s current (5/21/08) issue has a cover story about the effects of vaccines and includes a section on the autism/vaccine controversy. Read the story here

‘Underdiagnosed’ Girls With Autism Struggle to Fit In

Nightline recently did a story on girls and autism spectrum disorders that received alot of feedback. Here’s the link to the webcast.

Meet the Blackwell Family

Greetings and welcome to AutismNotes! We’re a family of 6, living in Southern Indiana just outside of Louisville, KY. Our oldest son was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome when he was 8 years old. Within months of Cam’s identification through the school district, our youngest son was diagnosed with autism through our local evaluation center. We found much success through some very talented ‘helpers’ and alot of teamwork. The boys and I started visiting education classes at our local university when they were first diagnosed and more recently the entire family has begun presenting at conferences around the country. We hope to see you somewhere soon!

Finding Our Way: Practical Solutions for Creating a Supportive Home and Community for the Asperger Syndrome Family

Kristi Sakai writes from personal experience and straight from the heart. You will both laugh and cry as she takes you through situations all of us with loved ones on the autism spectrum will recognize. She provides practical insight and strategies for use in the family while also stressing ‘guilt free’ parenting advice. Her book is full of information but also an easy read, as it is not overwhelming. I loan my copy of this book to parents of newly diagnosed children and often they return it saying, “I bought my own copy!” It’s no wonder Kirsti’s book received the Autism Society of America’s Literary Work of the Year in 2006.

BUY IT AT THE AAPC BOOKSTORE–CLICK HERE

The Ziggurat Model: A Framework for Designing Comprehensive Interventions for Individuals with High-Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome by Ruth Aspy, Ph.D., and Barry Grossman, Ph.D.

The difference between “The Ziggurat Model” and so many other books describing interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders is that while those others give lists of interventions, “The Ziggurat Model” lays out how to develop the plan on an individual basis. The Underlying Characteristics Checklist and other components included with this work help identify behaviors that might otherwise be overlooked or lead to misdiagnoses, as well as provide information that is helpful in developing the individualized plan for each child. While it was written for professionals, I found it very helpful as a parent, as it provides practical input and ideas to have on hand at my children’s case conference reviews.

“The Ziggurat model” has been released as a college textbook as well.

Congrats to Ruth and Barry - “The Ziggurat Model” was recently announced as winner of the Autism Society of America’s Literary Work of the Year in the Education Division!!!

BUY IT AT THE AAPC BOOKSTORE–CLICK HERE

The Blackwell Family Holiday E-card 2007

Please take a minute and view our family Christmas e-card from 2007!

Thanks for letting us share our action packed year!

Welcome to Autism Notes!

We have an active online discussion forum that provides a place to share ideas and ask questions! Feel free to drop in, browse and see what other members have to say! Registration is free or you can be our guest and just read.

This site was founded as a place for the ENTIRE autism spectrum disorder community. We hope you will feel welcome and will add your experience to our resources. We are always looking for additional books, articles, interventions, news stories, videos- you name it!