Teaching Pre-Employment Skills to 14-17-Year-Olds: The Autism Works Now!(r) Method

Joanne Lara, MA was a professional dancer before becoming a classroom education specialist and university professor. She was the founder of the nonprofit organization Autism Movement Therapy®, based in Los Angeles, California, which certifies, trains, and licenses dancers, educators, parents, and professional service providers in AMT. Joanne was a Core Adjunct Professor at National University in LA, California and taught weekly Autism Movement Therapy classes in Van Nuys, CA, where she had a private ABA behavioral consultation practice. She produced the documentary Generation A: Portraits of Autism and the ARTS, was the executive producer of the LA musical event Temple Grandin & Friends: Autism Works Now and was a columnist for Autism Asperger's Digest and Sensory World.

Susan Osborne was the Director of Workplace Readiness at Autism Works Now where she created the curriculum and facilitated weekly classes for the original Workplace Readiness Workshop. She is the founder of Spectrum Help Coaching Services which focuses on post high school transition planning for young adults on the autism spectrum. She is the former programme director of a residential and academic support program where she facilitated career training and job placements and executive functioning support for young adults with autism. She is the mother of an adult son on the autism spectrum who graduated with a public high school diploma.