Barry M. Prizant, Phd & Tom Fields-Meyer
Barry M. Prizant, PhD, CCC-SLP is among the world’s leading authorities on autism, and is recognized as an innovator of respectful, person- and family-centered approaches for individuals with autism and neurodevelopmental disabilities. With close to fifty years of experience as a scholar, researcher, and international consultant, he is an adjunct professor of communication disorders at the University of Rhode Island, a certified speech-language pathologist and director of Childhood Communication Services, a private practice. Barry is coauthor of The SCERTS Model: A Comprehensive Educational Approach, now being implemented in more than a dozen countries. He has published four books, more than 130 articles and chapters and has received many awards, including the Honors of the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association (their highest recognition), the Princeton University Eden Foundation career award in autism and the "Divine Neurotypical Award" of GRASP, the world's largest autistic self-advocacy organization. He has been a two time featured presenter at the United Nations on World Autism Awareness Day. Barry lives in Cranston, Rhode Island, with his wife, Dr. Elaine Meyer, a clinical psychologist and nurse, and Associate Professor in the Harvard Medical School. Barry is a performing percussionist and has a specific interest in the impact of the arts on enhancing quality of life for individuals with disabilities and their families. He sits on the boards of two inclusive theatre companies co-founded by and including autistic actors.
Tom Fields-Meyer is author of the critically acclaimed memoir "Following Ezra: What One Father Learned About Gumby, Otters, Autism, and Love from His Extraordinary Son," a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. The coauthor (with Barry M. Prizant) of "Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism," and former senior writer for People, he lives in Los Angeles, where he teaches in the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program.
