Destination Friendship: Developing Social Skills for Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders or Other Social Challenges. This item is unavailable.Destination Friendship: Developing Social Skills for Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders or Other Social Challenges

Among the many social skills programs and curricula out there, Destination Friendship presents a shift away from teaching discrete social skills in isolated situations. Instead, this model immediately infuses and weaves the ideas and principles of effective social thinking into each and every activity.

Mary Benton, MEd, BCBA, is a retired special education consultant for the Capital Area Intermediate Unit in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Mary has a private practice as a board-certified behavior analyst serving individuals with autism spectrum disorders and/or developmental disabilities. Additionally, she is co-founder of Destination Friendship, an organization that provides fun, community-based opportunities targeted at developing friendship skills in children, and adolescents with ASD. Mary has presented at national, state, and local conferences. Mary has had a life-long passion for working with individuals with special needs, their families, and schools to build skills that will improve and increase their quality of life.

Carol Hollis, MEd, BCBA, is an educational consultant for autism with the Capital Area Intermediate Unit in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In this role, Carol provides guided practice, training, and technical assistance to general and special educators in grades K-12. Carol and her therapy dog, Lily, also provide enrichment to students by visiting classrooms. Carol and her coauthors offer evening Destination Friendship groups in the community targeted at developing friendship skills in children and adolescents with ASD and other social difficulties. Carol has presented at national, state, and local conferences and is a board member of the Harrisburg chapter of the Autism Society of America. She particularly enjoys volunteering at several events sponsored by ASA for individuals with ASD and their families.

Kelly Mahler, MS, OTR/L, is a pediatric occupational therapist in the Central Pennsylvania region specializing in the development of self regulation and social cognition skills. Additionally, Kelly is co-founder of Destination Friendship, an organization that provides fun, communitybased opportunities targeted at developing friendship skills in children and adolescents with ASD. Kelly is also author of Hygiene and Related Behaviors for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum and Related Disorders: A Fun Curriculum with a Focus on Social Understanding. She has presented at numerous national, state, and local conferences.

Alice Womer, MS, CC-SLP, has served as a speech-language pathologist and educational consultant with the Capital Area Intermediate Unit in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, for 29 years, responsible for direct treatment with students with ASD in self-contained classrooms as well as integrated settings. Additionally, she provides consultation and training to educational teams regarding the communication needs of students with ASD. Alice is the creator of the concept of curve line-straight line thinking and co-author of the children's book Curvy Herbie and Straight Nate: A Lesson in Curve Line Thinking. She has presented locally and at the national level. Alice and her co-authors offer evening Destination Friendship groups in the community targeted at developing friendship skills in children and adolescents.