Autism Spectrum Disorders and AAC

Dr. Pat Mirenda earned her doctorate in behavioral disabilities from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA. For 8 years, she was a faculty member in the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA. From 1992 to 1996, she provided a variety of training, research, and support services to individuals with severe disabilities through CBI Consultants, Ltd., in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is now Professor in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology and Special Education at the University of British Columbia, Canada. From 1998 to 2001, she was editor of the journal Augmentative and Alternative Communication. In 2004, she was named a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and was awarded the Killam Teaching Prize at the University of British Columbia. In 2008, she was named a Fellow of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Dr. Mirenda is the author of numerous book chapters and research publications; she lectures widely and teaches courses on augmentative and alternative communication, inclusive education, developmental disabilities, autism, and positive behavior support. Her current research focuses on describing the developmental trajectories of young children with autism and factors that predict the outcomes of early intervention.

Teresa Iacono, Ph.D.,Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow, Director of Research, Centre for Developmental Disability Health Victoria, Monash University, 270 Ferntree Gully Road Building 1, Notting Hill, Victoria, 3166, Australia Dr. Iacono earned her doctorate in Special Education and Communication Disorders at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA. She is a speechlanguage pathologist, having received her B.App.Sc. and M.App.Sc. degrees in speech pathology in Australia. For 9 years she was an academic member of Macquarie University, where she co-convened a Masters in Communication Disorders within the Department of Linguistics and taught within the Institute of Early Childhood; she also held an honorary position within Macquarie University Special Education Centre. Her clinical, teaching, and research work has focused on developmental disabilities and complex communication needs. In her position at the Centre for Developmental Disability Health Victoria, this focus has extended to physical and mental health issues of adults with developmental disabilities. Dr. Iacono is the author of chapters and research publications concerning communication and health and well-being in developmental disabilities. She was editor of the journal Augmentative and Alternative Communication from 2002 to 2004. In 2007, she was a recipient of the inaugural National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia) Ethics Award for her work addressing ethical concerns of including people with developmental disabilities in research.