Hi my name is Phillip and I have been working with children with disabilities for most of my life. I am presenting a workshop entitled "this is your brain on autism", based on research I have done, and the experiences I have had. What I have found is that most individuals with autism are primarily right brained. Not just right brain thinkers, but right brain period. There is a lack of communication between the left and right brain and as a result, brain messages don't transfer in the same way a typical brain does. So I have to create instruction that plays to the right brain dominance (visual, spatial, memory) to teach their right brain to attain left brain skills (language). The WBT method seems to involve both, plus it could be easily integrated, so as not to single out the individual with autism from the classroom for therapy.

By the way, I am not a certified teacher, I am a certified therapeutic recreation specialist and see how WBT could be used in any program for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Thank you for listening to my rant.

I look forward to the West Memphis seminar

P.S. Has anyone had the opportunity of including someone with autism in your classroom or program. If so how did it go?