About the Authors

The authors of Perkins Publications talk about their books and share what compelled them to write down their experiences and put their knowledge in your hands.

Click on the appropriate title below to read more about the author and the publication.

Cynthia O'Connell, M.Ed., author of Beyond Pegboards: A Guide for Teaching Adolescent Students with Multiple Disabilities

In this book, Cynthia O'Connell talks about her theme-based education strategy. She offers a how-to on 23 of her activities she's developed in her 36 years teaching. She explains in detail how activities like these can meet Massachusetts educational standards in a fun and innovative way.

Timothy Hartshorne, PhD, presents Behavioral Issues in CHARGE Syndrome

Dr. Timothy Hartshorne, PhD, says behavior is a form of communication. When a child with CHARGE Syndrome exhibits difficult behavior, this usually indicates a function of their genetic syndrome, not that they are spoiled or just plain fussy.

Haley Schedlin, MS, & Lauren Lieberman, PhD, co-authors of Sports for Everyone

Sports for Everyone fills both the need kids who are blind, deafblind or visually impaired have for physical activity and the need college students have to work with these kids.

Diana Autin, Co-Author of DB Guidelines Companion Materials for Families

Parents are the "heart and soul" of their child's, who is deafblind, educational development, yet the complexity of deafblindness can be daunting to even the most diligent and motivated families. Enter the advocacy tools.

Sue Shannon, OTR/L, Author of Help Yourself: Mealtime Skills for Students Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

Can you remember when you learned how to effectively wield a fork or cut a piece of meat with a knife? Chances are 'Probably not.' Sighted individuals learn these skills automatically through observation and imitation. Ask someone who is blind when they learned how to use utensils and they can probably give you the exact date.

Clifford E. Olstrom, Author of Undaunted by Blindness

Ask the typical person to name some famous people who are blind, and chances are they’ll mention Helen Keller, Stevie Wonder and perhaps a handful of others. But for Clifford E. Olstrom, the challenge when writing Undaunted by Blindness wasn’t coming up with enough worthy people who are blind to fill a book of biographical sketches, but winnowing down his immense list to make it fit.

Dennis Lolli, Co-Author of How We See It: A Basic Guide to Low Vision in Children

Today more and more children with low vision are being taught in inclusive settings where teachers may not have training in meeting the diverse special education needs of learners with visual impairments. At the same time, parents are inundated with medical details about their child’s visual condition and struggle to understand the everyday life practical implications of test scores and unfamiliar diagnosis.  

Michele Engelbrecht and Kate Fraser, Authors of Making Science Accessible

An effective technique for teaching physics is linking the invisible forces of nature with their observable effects in the real world. A bouncing ball can help students grasp principles of kinetic energy and gravity, while ripples on a pond can help illustrate wave theory. But how can a teacher convey those lessons to students who are blind – and don't have the everyday visual experiences that sighted students take for granted? One answer is Making Science Accessible.