1. How did each of you begin working in the field of ASD and how did you come to work together?

 Both of us worked as psychologists in the public schools.  We shared many projects and often consulted with each other on challenging cases.  Our roles included working as part of autism evaluation teams, consulting regarding behavior interventions for students with ASD, and training staff to identify and provide services for those students.  While we were working with all students, ASD became our special interest and area of emphasis. 

2. What led to the creation of ‘The Ziggurat Model?’ Have you been at all surprised by its success? We created the Ziggurat Model out of a need that we observed.  As psychologists, we consulted with a number of school staff and parents.  A need for increased knowledge about the characteristics of ASD as well as effective intervention for individuals with ASD was evident. We saw some common pitfalls in the design of interventions for individuals on the spectrum.  Too often students were “blamed” for behaviors directly related to the underlying ASD.  This resulted in punitive responses.  There was also a tendency to put students into settings without adequate support. We sought to give people a process for effective comprehensive intervention planning  

At times, we have been surprised by the positive response.  The Ziggurat seems to have “arrived” at a time when many people were ready for and seeking a framework to provide structure to the intervention process.   We have seen the Model adopted at statewide and province wide levels.  The model has been applied successfully in residential settings, social understanding groups, and parent training.  The applications of the model have definitely gone beyond what we had originally imagined.

3. Who has inspired you? (note:not necessarily just folks related to ASD) Dr. Brenda Myles is an inspiration.  She works tirelessly to make a difference for those with ASD.  Her knowledge is encyclopedic.  Throughout it all, she keeps her sense of humor.   Parents of kids with ASD who not only diligently work to remove obstacles that may impede the success of their children, but who also serve as educators and mentors for the broader autism community are also inspirations to us.  Eric and Jen Blackwell and Kristi Sakai are prime examples.  They are the true experts.

4. Are you currently working on any new projects? We are working with experts in evaluation to write a textbook on interdisciplinary evaluation for diagnosis of ASD.  This is an area that we think is critical.  It is essential that evaluations be conducted by highly trained and experienced professionals working as a team.  Our hope is that this textbook will improve the preparation of professionals who will serve on interdisciplinary teams and as a result more families will have access to quality evaluations. We are also building a private practice in Plano, Texas.  The practice includes a team of professionals from a variety of fields who work together to provide higher quality evaluation and intervention services.

5. Outside of work, how do you enjoy spending time?

We both enjoy spending time with our families and friends. 

BUY IT AT THE AAPC BOOKSTORE–CLICK HERE

BUY IT AT THE AAPC BOOKSTORE–CLICK HERE

(Eric:) Jill and Simon from OCALI- Fun to laugh with you guys about driving 15 hours! You guys are the best!

(Eric and Jen:) Keith and Brenda Myles from AAPC and from EVERYWHERE in the autism world. Come to think of it…EVERYONE at AAPC is cool and we get to see most everyone from there. Just look up “nice people” in the dictionary. Their picture is there!

Keith with Craig, Jamie and Jordan

(Eric:)Barry Grossman and Ruth Aspy from the Ziggurat Group. They are always helpful and ask about the kids. Simply put, they inspire me.

(Cam:) Steven Shore is a LOT of fun. He is a great guy who has been helping people with Autism and Aspergers advocate for themselves for many years. He has a great sense of humor and he is a brilliant presenter.

(Jordan:) I like Kirsten (from AAPC). I just love her passion for books and I like to talk with her. She is a nice friend that I can talk with about autism ideas.

(Craig:) I like hanging out with Dad the best. We have plenty of fresh seafood to sample here in Florida and at home we are always too busy for cooking and relaxing.

(Jamie:) I did not really meet him, but Elijah Wapner (presenter and comedian) was really funny…I enjoyed that presentation and laughed a lot.

Actually, we probably should start at Day 0 or even Day -1 (7pm…that’s when we took off on our 15 hour plus drive to Orlando). Long trips are always long and this was no exception, but Team Blackwell did just fine. By the time we got to Kissimmee (suburb of Orlando), everyone was READY to check into the condo and get some rest. Mom and Dad were pretty tired by overall it was a great trip.

We did decide that going through Lexington and south on I-75 through Chatanooga was a little more fun than through Nashville and it took about the same amount of time.

Alligators! Very cool!

Favorite Sessions for today:

Cam: My first 20 years, Learning to be an effective advocate. This was presented by Jordan Ackerson and Lisa Lieberman, Valerie Paraeiz, and Elijah Wapner. This was great because it had people on the spectrum and their mothers explaining how self determination and self advocacy have helped them in their lives. Awesome.

Favorite thing that he did today:

Jordan: I tried sushi and I liked it! It tasted different, like cold rice and greens, but I liked it!

Craig: Cooking Fresh Salmon last night and having some really good sushi today. Good eats.

Jamie: I like hanging out at the exhibit hall and finding some fun stuff at one of the jewelry places there! I also like to go swimming and that has been fun!

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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 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