Science Advisory Board

Dr. Laura Schreibman
Dr. Schreibman is one of the world's most respected researchers in Applied Behavior Analysis and is a licensed psychologist. She is one of the creators of Pivotal Response Training (PRT), a naturalistic ABA intervention that has been shown to be effective for increasing communication, play, imitation, joint attention, and social skills in children with autism. Dr. Schreibman is an esteemed professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She has published in many journals, has served on several editorial boards for journals, served as the Associate Chancellor at UCSD and as the chair of her department, has written and received numerous grants, and is a prolific speaker in the autism.

Dr. Ilene Schwartz
Dr. Schwartz is Chair and Professor, Special Education at the University of Washington. Dr. Schwartz co-wrote the book entitled, The Exceptional Child: Inclusion in Early Childhood Education (1996). She researches the social relationships of children with disabilities and early childhood education. Her research also includes studies of autism, effective classroom-based instructional strategies, and factors that affect acceptability and sustainability of educational interventions.

Dr. William Frea
Dr. Frea is an autism specialist with a unique background in special education, clinical psychology, family therapy, and language development. A licensed psychologist, he also earned a master's degree in speech pathology. Dr. Frea completed a clinical internship at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, with a focus on developmental disabilities and family therapy. He has published over 25 research articles, papers, and book chapters, and has presented more than 100 papers at national and local conferences, as well as workshops addressing autism issues. Dr. Frea created the autism programs at California State University, Los Angeles. He also secured federal funding to grow the programs into the largest university-based training facility for autism professionals in the western United States.

Dr. Ronit Molko
Dr. Molko is a certified behavior analyst and clinical psychologist, specializing in the treatment of children with autism and related disorders. She holds a master's degree in applied developmental psychology and a doctorate in human development and family life with a focus on children with developmental disabilities. Dr. Molko completed a post-doctoral fellowship at UCLA where she specialized in behavioral assessment and intervention, treatment planning, and individual and group therapy for children and adults with autism and genetic disorders. She teaches graduate-level courses to teachers and administrators on classroom-based positive behavioral support and comprehensive programming. Dr. Molko has taught numerous workshops on treatment issues in autism, and has presented papers at national and local professional conferences.

Dr. Bryna Siegel, UC San Francisco
Dr. Bryna Siegel is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco and Director of its Autism Clinic. As a developmental psychologist specializing in developmental disabilities, she has worked with families of children with autism for the past 25 years. She has closely studied early diagnosis for autism, diagnostic methods, and the effect of autism on the family. Her books include The World of the Autistic Child: Understanding and Treating Autistic Spectrum Disorders (OUP, 1996) and What About Me?: Siblings of Developmentally Disabled Children. She lectures frequently to parents and professionals, comparing and contrasting treatments for autism and focusing on how to design and tailor treatment programs for the individual child.

Dr. Geraldine Dawson
Dr. Dawson is one of the world's foremost experts in autism research and Director of the University of Washington's Autism Center. Dr Dawson has published over 100 scientific articles and chapters in books including Autism: Nature, Diagnosis, and Treatment, Human Behavior and the Developing Brain, and A Parent's Guide to Asperger Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism. She is internationally recognized for her pioneering research on early diagnosis and brain function in autism and early biological risk factors for psychopathology. Dr. Dawson's prestige in the autism research community is unparalleled and she is widely recognized by parent groups as one of the leading voices in the autism community.

Dr. Connie Kasari
Dr. Connie Kasari is a Professor of Psychological Studies in the Graduate School of Education at the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART). She is the Principal Investigator in the CART Peer-Related School Interventions Project and CPEA Attention and Symbolic Play Project. Her research is on social-emotional and cognitive development in typical and atypical children. She has particular interest in affective development and caregiver-child interactions with a focus on mental retardation and developmental psychopathology.

Dr. Aubyn Stahmer
Dr. Aubyn Stahmer is a Research Scientist at the Child and Adolescent Services Research Center (Children s Hospital, San Diego), and Research Director of the Children's Autism Intervention Center. She also works as a researcher at the University of California, San Diego Autism Research Laboratory. Her current interests include the study of early intervention systems for children with autism, and the translation of research practices into community settings.Dr. Stahmer has published numerous research articles examining intervention with children who have autistic spectrum disorders

Dr. Gary Stobbe
Dr. Gary Stobbe is a Board Certified Neurologist sub-specializing in the fields of cognitive and behavioral neurology. Dr. Stobbe earned a BS in psychobiology from UCLA, and his MD from Albany Medical College. He completed his neurology residency at UCLA-West LA VA Medical Center in 1993 where he was mentored by world-renowned neurobehavioralists Jeff Cummings and Frank Benson. He opened his private neurology practice in Washington in 1993, and is currently a member of the University of Washington clinical faculty and Seattle Neuroscience Institute at Swedish Medical Center. He has participated as principal investigator in numerous clinical studies, and has developed special interests in the fields of multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, and autism. In addition to his neurology private practice, Dr. Stobbe is Founder and Medical Director of the Autism Spectrum Treatment and Research (ASTAR) Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing data-driven comprehensive treatment and clinical research in the field of autism spectrum disorders. Since opening its doors in 2003, ASTAR Center has worked with over 1000 patients and families across the spectrums of age and severity.

Dr. Brooke Ingersoll
Dr. Brooke Ingersoll is a visiting assistant professor of psychology at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Dr. Ingersoll directs the autism research laboratory at Lewis & Clark College where she conducts research on early intervention, parent training, and social-communication development in children with autism. Dr. Ingersoll has published a variety of research articles in these areas.

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Science Advisory Board