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PA Cyber School sponsors Carol Gray conference on teaching social behaviors to children with autism
April 8, 2008MIDLAND, Pa. – The subtleties of human social interaction often are lost on children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). How, when and why a person should say “Excuse me,” for example, may not make sense.
PA Cyber CEO Dr. Nick Trombetta announced Carol Gray will present “Solving the Social Equation in Autism Spectrum Disorders: From Social Stories to Real-Life Strategies for Home and School” on Friday, April 18, at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center in Midland, Pa., 45 minutes west of Pittsburgh. PA Cyber, based in Midland, is Pennsylvania’s largest online public K-12 school and a principal sponsor of this series of conferences on autism (http://www.pacyber.org)
A special education teacher for 22 years, Carol Gray in 1991 formalized her strategies called Social Stories and Comic Strip Conversations (which incorporate drawings) that are now used worldwide with children, adolescents, and adults with ASD. A prolific author and speaker, and director of her own center in Michigan, Gray’s honors include the Barbara Lipinski Award for her international contribution to the education and welfare of people with autism.
“The goal of a Social Story is to share accurate social information in a patient and reassuring manner that is easily understood by its audience,” said Gray. The social cues, perspectives, and common responses that most people understand and react to without thinking must be learned and practiced by a person with autism.
The conference is presented by the Hope Learning Center LLC. Participants may register at http://www.thehopelearningcenter.com, call 724.624.4293 ext. 1528, or email autism@pacyber.org. The $50 fee includes breakfast and all materials.
Speakers at upcoming Hope Learning Center autism conferences include: Jed Baker, Ph.D., June 19, and Richard LaVoie, July 21. Additional support for this conference is provided by the National Network of Digital Schools (http://www.nndsonline.org), Autism Speaks, and Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center (www.lppac.org)