Colleen NybergPhyllis Coyne, M.S., has enhanced the quality of life of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for 40 years. She initially worked as a therapeutic recreation specialist, then as a special education teacher, and finally as an autism consultat for the past 30 years. She combines her expertise from these fields in this book, and other publications, such as Supporting Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Recreation and "Toward a Balanced Leisure Lifestyle for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder" in Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence-Based and Promising Practices. Mary Lou (Vandenburg) Klagge has been in the special education field for 35 years. She was a classroom teacher for preschool through elementary aged children with a variety of disabilities, including ASD, for 24 of those years. She taught in a summer program designed for elementary through high school aged individuals with ASD to access recreational and leisure activities throughout the community. Mary Lou has been an autism consultant for 11 years, developing and modeling effective strategies in supporting and teaching children with ASD within the school setting. She has been a presenter of new, successful and effective strategies at the local, state and national levels. Due to her extensive interactions with families, Mary Lou helped develop and lead parent and sibling support Colleen Nyberg has dedicated 26 years to teaching and consulting in the field of ASD and improving the understanding of autism for parents and professionals . She specialized in Early Intervention during her teaching years and branched out into trainings and presentations. Colleen consulted throughout 7 counties and was hired by the State of Oregon to develop training modules and traveled around the state providing training for other consultants. Colleen sat on state committees working on defining and reviewing the eligibility of students with ASD. She traveled nationally and into Canada presenting to parents and professionals. She taught for years at Portland State in their Continuing Education program. Colleen worked providing training for caregivers in a summer program and it was this experience that she drew from for this book. Read More Read Less