Effective Teaching, Successful Lives

Barbara T. Doyle is a nationally known teacher, consultant, trainer, presenter and author. She is known for her passionate approach to presenting practical and realistic solutions for everyday issues at home, school, work and social situations. She is an interesting and engaging presenter who keeps her audiences thinking and moving. H er “ready to apply” information is delivered with humor and humanity. Her more than 35 years of professional experience add to her life experiences as a family member of three people with disabilities. Barbara’s mission is to make the world a more inclusive place for everyone by increasing understanding, creating a truly accessible service delivery system and promoting effective teaching, adaptations and accommodations.

In her private practice, Barbara educates and supports schools, families, child welfare systems, adult services agencies, employment training programs, employers and others who are interested in improving the lives of people with autism spectrum disorders and others disabilities. She has a deep understanding of sensory impairments and autism at both a personal and professional level. Barbara is fluent in sign language and highly skilled in non-verbal communication methods.

Barbara has focused her attention on special populations and topics:

• Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) across the spectrum and across the lifespan
• Asperger Syndrome
• Down Syndrome
• Deafness and hearing loss
• Autism with hearing impairment or deafness
• Autism with vision impairment or blindness
• Autism with cognitive impairment or severe learning issues
• Deafblindness
• Children and young adults with developmental disabilities in child welfare systems
• Assistive technology, both low-tech and high-tech that enables people to do more things more successfully in life
• Sign language training and non-verbal communication

Barbara works with school districts of all sizes to help them become more truly inclusive. Her definition of real inclusion is success for everyone in the classroom: teachers, general education students and students with special needs. She has developed a repertoire of strategies that are likely to benefit most students and school staff and are designed to create a future society that values and empowers everyone. She trains teams to work more effectively together, prioritize what is most important, and understand and respond to family issues. She is skilled in successfully addressing sensory integration issues in people of all ages.

Barbara has worked extensively in adult services for over 30 years. Her experiences have led her to develop her “lifetime” approach to working with people with autism and other developmental disabilities. She focuses on what is most important to learn and on skills that will have the greatest positive impact on individuals across their entire lifetimes. Her approach is realistic and practical.

Barbara has Bachelor of Science degrees from Illinois State University in Elementary Education and Special Education, with a focus on deaf and hard of hearing children. Interested in adult learning, she earned a Master of Science degree in Business Management from National Louis University in 1991, focusing on Human Resource Development issues and the challenges of teaching adults.

Barbara is an adjunct faculty member of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry, Division of Developmental Disabilities in Springfield, Illinois. She provides support to clinic clients with autism spectrum disorders and helps teach medical students about future patients with ASD. She participates in international interactive videoconferencing, teaching, training and sharing successful strategies with others around the world.

Barbara is a founding member of the board of directors of the Illinois Assistive Technology Program, a federally and state funded program that provides information, technical assistance, training, device loans and cash loan programs to the citizens of Illinois. Her interest in assistive technology has led her to develop workshops and training on the use of assistive technology for people with ASD, and other disabilities.

Barbara is the co-author of Autism Spectrum Disorders from A to Z a comprehensive autism manual and textbook for staff and families published by Future Horizons in 2004. Barbara’s co-author is her sister, Emily D. Iland, who is an advocate, trainer, educational therapist and the parent of three great children, one of whom is a young man with ASD. In 2005, Emily, who is fluent in Spanish, undertook the monumental task of translating their book into Spanish. Los Trastornos del Espectro de Autismo de la A a la Z is now available via their website www.asdatoz.com

Barbara is a family member of three people with disabilities. Her wonderful husband of 25 years is Ed Kenney, a terrific blues keyboard player and piano technician who is completely blind. Together they have lived in many kinds of communities from rural to metropolitan. She enjoys traveling and teaching when not at home in Springfield, Illinois.

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