DRL Books :: publications for parents, professionals and children with autism

Authors and editors of books accepted for publication by DRL Books are recognized authorities and respected experts in this field. We invite you to learn more about them here.

Janis Krempa and Kelly McKinnon Social Skills Solutions: A Hands-on Manual for Teaching Social Skills to Children with Autism	Social Skills Solutions is the result of working with children for many years and searching for a tool that assesses and provides baseline social skills that meet all of the specific social skills needs for children with autism, as well as providing teaching strategies in a comprehensive process. The Social Skills Checklist (assessment tool) and module system (teaching methods) were developed with feedback from parents, children and school professionals. Without their help, this manual would not have been possible.

Janis Krempa, M.Ed., BCBA Social Skills Solutions	Janis is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst currently in private practice in Boston, Massachusetts. She has worked with children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their families for over 14 years. She received her undergraduate degrees in Education and Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and earned her Masters from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. She did post-graduate work at UCLA and holds a certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis for Special Education from Penn State. Janis currently teaches weekly social skills groups for students with language and learning disabilities. She consults with special education and regular education classrooms to develop meaningful inclusion opportunities for ASD students and to create a best-practices model for teaching skills, as well as managing behavior using ABA. She strives to make ABA interventions practical and accessible for students, teachers, parents and other professionals.

Kelly McKinnon, M.A., BCBA Social Skills Solutions	Kelly McKinnon is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst running a progressive, comprehensive therapeutic clinic for children located in San Juan Capistrano, Ca. The innovative clinic combines Speech & Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Social Skill Classes using the principles of ABA and Attention & Auditory Processing. She has worked with children & adults with autism and other developmental disabilities for over 15 years. Kelly earned her Master’s degree in counseling psychology from Boston College in 1992 and has a certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis for Special Education from Penn State. Kelly has provided articles in several publications, including The Autism News of Orange County and the Rest of the World. She presents regularly on appropriate curriculum for children with autism, and how to teach social skills using ABA approaches. In development is a comprehensive program on collaborating ABA and speech and language services, with Shaun Howell, CCC-SLP for children with autism.
	Contact Ms. Krempa and Ms. McKinnon

Lesli Mitchell Party Train	Lesli Mitchell is an active proponent of Applied Behavior Analysis and relied heavily on its teachings in writing this book. The book presents a step-by-step approach, using the language and reinforcement critical to any ABA setting. Lesli is a parent, writer and editor who has written extensively on her son's struggles and successes with autism. The text in *Party Train* reflects the same behavioral ideas and methods that she used while fostering her own son's speech development.
	Contact Ms. Mitchell
Ramon Gil, Illustrator	Ramon Gil is a graphic designer who has collaborated often with Different Roads to Learning and DRL Books. He teaches at Parsons and is closely affiliated with many non-profit organizations. Learn more about Ramon at this website: www.ramongil.com

J. Tyler Fovel

The ABA Program Companion

Tyler Fovel received an M.A.in Psychology (Applied Behavior Analysis) from Northeastern University in 1979, and has been active in ABA for 26 years. He participated in a year-long supervised practicum for professionals in applied behavior analysis therapy with Bridget Taylor, Gina Green, and Lynn Brennen, sponsered by The Autism Partnership for Behavior Analysis.

Tyler is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and is a senior consultant for ABA programs in Massachusetts and Connecticut .

Tyler founded Strategic Alternatives in 1986, specializing in program development and delivery for families, schools, agencies, and facilities. Serving those with autism and other developmental disabilities, as well as a wide variety of other special needs, the company has been active in the Massachusetts area, Connecticut , and New York through individual consultation, home-based educational programs, workshops, and lectures. Areas of specialization include behavior analysis, ABA educational programs (home-based or otherwise), functional analysis, scenario-based program model, quality enhancement, and evaluation of psychotropic medication .

In 1992, he received the Pathfinder Award from Alternatives Unlimited Inc. - Award for significant innovation in program development. In 1993, he became the Director of a pilot program receiving the Governor's Pride in Performance Award (Residential program serving adults with developmental disabilities, Massachusetts, 1993).

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Ron Leaf and
John McEachin, Editors

A Work in Progress: Behavior Management Strategies

Autism Partnership was the name chosen for the author's agency because of their conviction that working collaboratively with all of those involved in the treatment of an individual is critical to success.

John McEachin is a clinical psychologist who has been providing behavioral intervention to children with autism as well as adolescents and adults with a wide range of developmental disabilities for more than 25 years. He earned his Doctoral degree at UCLA where he worked on the Young Autism Project with Ivar Lovaas as his mentor. His research has included the long term follow-up study of young autistic children who received intensive behavioral treatment, which was published in 1993. Dr. McEachin has lectured throughout the world and consulted to numerous families and agencies, assisting in the development of treatment programs and providing training to parents, group home staff, and classroom personnel. In 1994 he joined Ron Leaf in forming Autism Partnership, which they co-direct.

Ron Leaf is a licensed psychologist who has over 25 years of experience in the field of autism. He earned both his Bachelor¹s and Doctoral degrees at UCLA where he worked closely with Ivar Lovaas. Dr. Leaf was extensively involved in many of the Young Autism Project research investigations, contributed to The ME Book, and is co-author of the ME Book Videotapes. He has consulted internationally to families, school districts, day programs and residential treatment facilities. Besides co-directing Autism Partnership, Dr. Leaf is also the Executive Director of Behavior Therapy and Learning Center, a mental health agency providing treatment, consultation and related services to parents, program staff and school personnel.

More information may be found at: www.autismpartnership.com

Contact Mr. Leaf and Mr. McEachin

Stephanie B. Lockshin, M.A. Ed., Ph.D., BCBA, Jennifer M. Gillis, M.A., BCABA & Raymond G. Romanczyk, Ph.D., BCBA

Defying Autism: Keeping Your Sanity and Taking Control

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(l to r) Romaczyk, Lockshin, Gillis

Raymond G. Romanczyk, Ph.D., BCBA. He is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the State University of New York at Binghamton and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry of the SUNY Health Sciences Center of Syracuse. He is a licensed clinical psychologist, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and founder and director of the Institute for Child Development. Dr. Romanczyk has been involved in advocacy, program development, the judicial and legislative process as expert witness, and providing direct services to children and families for over 30 years. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, serves on the board of numerous organizations, and consults to private, public, and government agencies. He serves as a member of the editorial board and reviewer for numerous professional journals, has published in many journals and books, and has presented several hundred addresses at regional, national, and international professional conferences.

Stephanie Lockshin, M.Ed., Ph.D.,BCBA. She has worked in the field of autism spectrum disorders for over 25 years, initially as a classroom teacher and parent educator and subsequently as a licensed clinical psychologist. Dr. Lockshin is currently employed as a Clinical Psychologist at the Institute, as a Neuropsychologist at Binghamton General Hospital in Binghamton, N.Y. and she is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst Dr. Lockshin has coauthored book chapters and research publications on various topics related to autism spectrum disorders. She has also coauthored the I.G.S. Curriculum and frequently presents at regional and national professional conferences. Dr. Lockshin is actively involved in training professionals in family services, curriculum planning and applied behavior analysis principles.

Jennifer Gillis, MA, BCBA, Doctoral Candidate. She was Co-Director of the Teacher Education Academy for Community College Scholars (UCI T.E.A.C.H.) program at University of California Irvine. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and at the Institute for Child Development is responsible for staff training, conducting social skills groups for children with ASD, and coordinating EI services. In addition to teaching, she provides ABA consultation to school districts, classroom teachers, early intervention service providers and programs. She has published in numerous books and journals, and is a frequent presenter at regional, national, and international professional conferences. In addition to providing psychological and educational services, she also is involved in the training of nursing and medical students.

Gary Mayerson

How to Compromise with Your School District without Compromising Your Child

Gary Mayerson is a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center . In 2000, after 12 years as a commercial litigation partner with a well known Manhattan law firm, Gary withdrew from his partnership to start Mayerson & Associates, the first and only law practice in the country dedicated to representing children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders and related developmental disabilities.

To date, Gary and his staff have worked with hundreds of families in more than two-dozen states, as far away as Alaska . Gary also has consulted internationally and has presented at numerous national conferences and universities.

Gary has testified before Congress on the subject of the federal IDEA statute and is the author of “How to Try an Autism Case,” published in the June, 2003 edition of New Jersey Lawyer Magazine. Gary 's chapter, “Notes from the Front: The Current Wave in ABA Litigation,” appears in Dr. Lovaas' most recent book, Teaching Children with Developmental Delays (Pro-Ed 2003). Gary also wrote the foreword appearing in Science for Sale in the Autism Wars (SKF Books 2003).

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Melinda J. Smith, MD

Teaching Playskills

Melinda Smith, M.D. is the parent of two young boys, the younger being diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum. Throughout two years of intensive Applied Behavior Analysis, Dr. Smith recognized the critical need to consistently incorporate play into any intervention program, depending initially on imitation and then moving steadily towards the goal of independent imaginative play. She found that the concept of play was surprisingly difficult for an adult to teach and that there was sparse literature addressing the issues and special nature of play for children with developmental delays and disorders. She networked with parents, researched on the internet, attended workshops and met with professionals who dealt with teaching playskills.Through her research and subsequent dealings with her son, she realized that she had useful information for the many parents in her same situation.

In 1999, she created a website "Teaching Playskills to Children with Autism" which can be visited at http://melindasmith.home.mindspring.com. Teaching Playskills to Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder is the culmination of her research and personal experience. As the number of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders grows at such an astonishing rate, parents like Melinda are meeting the lack of available product with innovative ideas that address the special needs of our constantly growing and learning children.

Contact Dr. Smith

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