ABOUT OUR PRESENTERS
Shelley Booker completed her Master’s Degree in Speech Language Pathology in 2001 at Minot State University. While completing her graduate studies, she assisted researchers at the Yale Child Study Center with a study related to adaptive behavior in Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified. She has continued to explore research projects and intervention strategies related to functional communication outcomes, social-cognitive deficits, multi-sensory environments, and sexual development in children and youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Shelley has been employed by Society for Treatment of Autism in Calgary since 2003. In her position as a Speech Language Pathologist, she is responsible for: assessing the language, communication, and social skills of individuals with autism; developing and implementing individualized program plans, including designing child specific materials to augment communication development; facilitating group learning for children with social-cognitive deficits; staff development; parent training; community education; and teacher and aide programming support. Shelley is also involved in an independent government panel which provides recommendations for programming for children with a variety of disabilities.
Fernand is a Psychogeriatric Recreational Activity Coordinator at Ste. Anne’s Hospital, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue / Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Mr. Bruneau has worked for 21 years as a Recreation Coordinator with the elderly in long-term care at Ste. Anne’s Hospital, providing veterans with a wide range of programs and with a continuum of high-quality care. He holds a bachelors degree in Education and Leisure. Fernand is a member of an interdisciplinary team for introducing the multisensory approach and Snoezelen six years ago (2003) at Ste. Anne's Hospital. Fernand developed the white Snoezelen room (design and choice of equipment) and was the leading force in implementing the training of the nursing and recreational employees at the hospital. Fernand has spoken on the MSE at the Alzheimer Society of Montreal, at the Fédération québécoise du loisir en institution, at the Institut québécois de la déficience intellectuelle, and was the International Snoezelen Symposium (5th in Montreal Canada and 6th in Neuwied Germany). Mr. Bruneau is part of the interdisciplinary committee responsible for introducing the Sensory Approach and Snoezelen on four psychogeriatric units.
Born in Bad Segeberg, Germany, Martin studied music and mathematics. He played bass in various professional orchestras and bands, frequently accompanying well-known singers. Martin works as a music arranger and producer for record and CD productions, and composes music for TV and radio advertising and industrial films. Martin has contributed to a school textbook and developed computer programs for music, including the composition software which served as the basis for the production of his CDs of fractal music. For 20 years Martin Buntrock has composed and produced music that incorporates recent scientific findings concerning the effect of music on physiological processes. He coined the term”special relaxation music” to describe these compositions located at the interface between music and therapy. For the last several years, he has been presenting this music to medical and psychological professionals at various congresses, conventions and postgraduate seminars. Martin Buntrock is working for the Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences/Department of Körperbehindertenpädagogik (Disability Studies) of the Humboldt University of Berlin, where he conducts his research as part of a scientific study of the effects of special relaxation music in the Snoezelen room.
Monique Carlotti is a Physiotherapist who has worked with Adults with profound mental disability and with the elderly with dementia. She has a Master of Psycho sociology and works as certificate teacher in training centers for educators and physiotherapists. She organizes the first training session for Snoezelen in France in 1991. She conducts many seminars either for staff-members or for trainers in Multisensory environment. She has been a pioneer in implantation MSE in France.
Maria Jose Cid is a Doctor of Psychology for the University of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain) and has carried out Master Courses in Communitarian Mediation, Psycho-pedagogical Orientation, Familiar Therapy, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. She taught psychology at the Open University of Spain (UNED) from 1991 to 2005. She also taught at the University of Tarragona (Rovira i Virgili), Faculty of Education and Psychology, from 1997 to 2001 and from 2007 to the present, as Associate Professor. Since 2003 she has combined teaching with a professional job as psychologist in a center for persons with mental disabilities. Her experience also includes work in clinical psychology and attention to young people with behavioral problems. Her research work is specialized in the field of multisensory stimulation of people with intellectual disabilities, and in her doctoral thesis she investigated the effect of Snoezelen interventions in adults with profound mental disabilities.
Lesley Collier, PhD. MSc. Dip COT MBAOT email: ljp@soton.ac.uk
Lesley graduated from the London School of Occupational Therapy in 1985 and worked clinically in the South of England specializing in neurology and care of older people with dementia. While at Kings Park Community Hospital as Head Occupational Therapist she worked with Dr. Nick Moffatt researching the effects of multisensory stimulation with older people with dementia. This ground-breaking study led to the first Multi Sensory Environment for older people in England and a succession of training programs based on the research outcomes. In 1994 Lesley joined the School of Health Sciences where she was responsible for the coordination and teaching of biological sciences, neurology, and physical rehabilitation. She graduated with an MSc in Health Psychology in 1996. Lesley was seconded to a Department of Health National Researcher Development Award in 2003, investigating the effect of multisensory stimulation on the functional performance of older people with severe dementia. She graduated with a PhD in 2007. During this time Lesley also worked in collaboration with Dr. Staal at Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, exploring the effects of Snoezelen behavior therapy (SBT) on mood and anxiety, including the use of SBT with combination treatment programs with stable coronary artery disease and people with mental health problems. She has also worked in collaboration with Occupational Therapy staff at Chaing Mai University, Thailand.
Lesley is currently involved in extending her preliminary work in sensory processing and sensory stimulation among people with cognitive disorders and assisting on a study exploring the fatiguing characteristics of lifeboat crew. She is also principal investigator in a further trial building on her initial work exploring the influence of multisensory stimulation on the functional performance of people with dementia.
David Dobbs writes for the Atlantic Monthly, New York Times Magazine, Slate, National Geographic, Audubon, and Scientific American Mind, where he is a contributing editor. “Buried Answers,” one of his features for the New York Times Magazine, was included in Houghton Mifflin’s 2006 Best American Science and Nature Writings. Another feature for the New York Times Magazine, “A Depression Switch," was selected for the Ecco/HarperPerennial anthology Best American Science Writing 2007. He also keeps a blog on science, medicine, nature, culture, and a bit of sports and politics, at Neuron Culture. His latest book is Reef Madness (Pantheon, 2005). Oliver Sacks calls Reef Madness "brilliantly written, almost unbearably poignant.”
Maurits Eijgendaal is the General Manager of “Landsbyen Solund” (“The Village of Solund”), the largest organization in Denmark working with severely disabled people. In particular, vulnerable people with very special needs are welcomed in the village, a center where everybody is living with the necessary support in their own apartment. The organization tries to adapt to the needs of the people served, not the other way around.
The basic philosophy is Gentle Teaching, because we are convinced that a loving surrounding and loving relationships are crucial in an environment where a good and happy life is to be developed.
The knowledge center VISS.DK supports the organization in finding ways of developing employees as human beings and professionals. VISS.DK does research, teaches the 800 co-workers and colleagues from all over Denmark, and tries to create new ways to improve our work.
One of the latest initiatives has been the building of a new 800-square-meter Snoezelen Center Guldhornet (”The golden Horn”) where we try to help to develop MSE/Snoezelen. We proudly took the lead of ISNA from the beginning of this year.
Katie Gaudion is a multi-disciplinary textile practitioner who is concerned with exploring and enhancing the sensual and particularly the tactile properties of the materials. Her thirst for innovation, collaboration and exploration of old and new materials, techniques and technologies has fuelled her design practice and led her to a number of diverse freelance roles.
Katie began her textile career with a quest to look behind the label of our clothing, exploring the manufacturing process of textiles, from the cotton field and silk cocoon through to production, distribution, and merchandising. As part of her research she spent eight months working in India in a handloom and wood block printing factory, later New York where she was employed in a commercial fashion house. Prompted by her fascination for craft and the handmade, Katie travelled to South America for another eight months of exploring textiles, costume, and festivals, funded by The Royal Society of Arts.
With an ongoing interest in inclusive and user-centered design, Katie has continuously volunteered within charities, most notably FACT (Federation for Artistic and Creative Therapy). At FACT, Katie facilitated sensory sessions within a Snoezelen environment for both adults and children with unusual sensory processing patterns such as autism, spectrum disorders, and dementia. This experience has been the major inspiration for her MPhil research at the Royal College of Art, where she has continued to explore the design of the Snoezelen environment.
Christopher Giza graduated from Dartmouth College in 1986 and received his M.D. from the West Virginia University School of Medicine in 1990. After interning at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Giza completed his residency training in Adult Neurology and a fellowship in Pediatric Neurology at UCLA. Dr. Giza then spent two summers as a member of the Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR) team, gaining first-hand experience of traumatic injuries in the field. In 1998, he returned to UCLA for a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Brain Injury Research Center. He joined the faculty in the divisions of Neurosurgery and Pediatric Neurology in 2001. His current laboratory interests include neuroplasticity, recovery from injury, concussive injury, sport-related brain injuries, and brain development. He runs the Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) clinic at UCLA. His research is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, Child Neurology Foundation/Winokur Family Foundation, and the Thrasher Pediatric Research Foundation. His current position is Associate Professor of Pediatric Neurology and Neurosurgery, and he is also on the faculty of the Interdepartmental Programs for Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering at the David Geffen School of Medicine and Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA.
Dr. Hollander has been working in the field of Developmental Disabilities for well over 30 years. During this period of time he has developed many programs that have served as models for programs all over the United States. He has been the owner/director of several schools for children with developmental disorders. And has been either a Professor, Director, Dean, or President at several major universities.
Currently, Dr. Hollander is the Founder/President of the New York Institute for Applied Behavior Management, an educational facility that teaches students how to work with this population. Additionally, he is the Director of the SD Behavior Analysis Team, a clinical facility that works with families of persons with disabilities. He is a consultant to many schools around the country. He has worked with agencies to develop their own schools/programs. And, Dr. Hollander has conducted many scientific investigations involving a variety of subject areas, provided many workshops, and is a regular contributor to Spectrum Magazine.
Dr. Gillian Hotz is the Co-Director of Pediatric Neurotrauma Program UM/JMMC. Assistant Professor Daughtry Family Department of Surgery and the Director of the Snoezelen Program, Miami. Dr. Hotz has been involved in clinical and research activities for adults and children with brain injury for over 15 years. She has authored many articles, developed neurocognitive assessments for traumatic brain injury and presented at many international and national conferences. She is currently studying Multi Sensory Environment therapy for children with severe brain injury. Dr. Hotz holds a PhD in behavioral Neuroscience from Boston University School of Medicine and is a member of the Florida Injury Prevention Advisory Committee, the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program: Research/Outcomes Committee, the Florida Committee on Trauma, American Society of Neurorehabilitation, International Neurotrauma Society, The American Psychological Association, The American Speech Language Hearing Association, The Brain Injury Association, and the Aspen Neurobehavioral Group: Pediatric TBI Group.
Ms. Julius is a graduate of Physical therapy from Tel Aviv University with a specialization in pediatric rehabilitation. She has been working in the field for over 25 years. She is currently studying for PhD in Child Development at Bar Ilan University. Mona lectures at the Trump Institute for Ongoing Education in Developmental Disabilities and coordinates the controlled MSE (Snoezelen) training in Israel. Mona is the Director of the Community Child Development Unit at Beit issie Shapiro where MSE interventions are an integral part of the treatment service.
Reinhard is a special educator and works as a certified teacher for the blind and visually impaired. Reinhard has worked many years with the German Volunteer Service as a teacher in the Institute of Science and Technology in Kenya, Africa. Since 1995, Reinhard has been working as a teacher in the District School for Blind and Visually Impaired in Neuwied/ Germany. In 1996 he joined Ad Verheul and Jan Hulsegge in Netherland for his first course in Snoezelen. From there Reinhard went on to establish a new Snoezelen-room of 70 square meters, in Neuwied’s special school for the blind and visually impaired. Perceptive support, intentional Snoezelen, imaginary Snoezelen, free Snoezelen, and recreation are all used in the school’s MSE. In May 2006, Reinhard received his teaching certification for Snoezelen from the Humboldt University of Berlin. He has given a number of workshops on the topic of Snoezelen and has been instrumental in developing Snoezelen programs for the visually impaired.
Reinhard was the organizer of the 6th International Snoezelen-Congress which took place in October 2008 his huge institution. 220 experts from 18 nations took part.
Albert Krynski graduated from Brandon University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1992 and a Bachelor of Education in 1994. He is currently working on his Masters degree in Special Education and he is teaching in a Life Skills classroom where he works with special needs children at Portage Collegiate Institute. He has worked in various schools and divisions within Manitoba and briefly in South Korea. He has worked with a wide variety of Special Needs students in one form or another over the past 15 years, teaching in both the early and senior years’ environment. It has been in the last few years where he has undertaken the challenge if establishing a Multi Sensory Environment for the students of Portage Collegiate and utilizing it as part of the students’ individualized education program.
Dr. Anthony M. McCrovitz began his career in social services as a classroom paraprofessional. Through a scope of subsequent experience, ranging in roles of direct care giving to directorship, he has become acutely aware of the inherent human need for interdependence. He is the Founder and Executive Director of Globe Star, an agency of caring professionals providing personalized, meaningful support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Tony also is a leader in human service. Based on the principles of Dr. John McGee’s Gentle Teaching, he developed a model for discovering the values intrinsic to each individual’s quality of life. Today he mentors a spirit of gentleness in teaching crewmembers to implement Quality of Life Plans. He has presented his model nationally and internationally and is the author of The Quality of Life Manual, a guide to interdependent care giving and a co-author of a children’s book with his wife, Amanda, along with other material that mentors a spirit of gentleness. Dr. McCrovitz has been associated with the Gentle Teaching Community for many years with his wife Amanda, and children Anthony, John Paul, and Gretta, who have worked side by side with Dr. John McGee in Puerto Rico. Tony also teaches psychology as an Adjunct Professor at Purdue North Central University. Today he will share his experience and offer guidance in navigating the heart with gentleness.
Prof. Dr. Krista Mertens studied in the interdisciplinary border area connecting Special Education, Medicine, and Physical Education. She received an Education degree for primary and secondary schools as well as Special Education, and taught the subjects Biology, Political Science/History, Art, Physical Education and Crafts for more than ten years. She was a lecturer at the Institutes for Special education in Marburg and Würzburg, and was employed at the Institute for Physical Education and the Institute for Rehabilitation and Special Education at the University of Gießen and in the Education Department of the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. Afterwards she worked a Professor at the University of Applied Science in Darmstadt. In 1996, she spent six months as a visiting Professor at the Boston University. Since 1994 she has been a Professor at the Institute for Rehabilitation Sciences at the Humboldt-University in Berlin. Her main interests in research and teaching are in the areas of education through movement, psycho-motor skills, perception development and promotion, the design of exterior and interior spaces, and the improvement of the quality of life for the elderly and the disabled. She established with Ad Verheul at the 1st International Snoezelen Symposium in Berlin 2002 the ISNA (International Snoezelen Association). After a total of over ten years of experience working with Snoezelen, she has been convinced of the positive effects of Snoezelen rooms in pedagogical and therapeutic work with people of all ages, and to provide a solid theoretical and didactic basis for the way this intervention functions.
Linda Messbauer is one of the world’s leading experts on Multi-Sensory Environments. Linda graduated from New York University with a Master's Degree in Occupational Therapy. She has over thirty years of experience working in the field of Developmental Disabilities. Linda works from early intervention to adult services with a variety of diagnoses. She has been a Director for UCP, Rehabilitation Coordinator, and a private consultant to both public service agencies and private corporations. She had the unique opportunity to work at the infamous Willowbrook State School and learned a great deal about environments and their impact on individuals. It was there that she read an article about Snoezelen and knew someday she would work with it. In 1992, she designed and established the first Snoezelen room in the United States in New York. Linda has participated and published research on the efficacy of this treatment venue. Linda is an international speaker and trainer on the subject of Multi-sensory Environments. She is a founding member of the American Association of Multi-sensory Environments. In 2006 Linda started her own company; sense-zational-environments.
Paul Pagliano PhD is Associate Professor in Education at James Cook University, Australia. Paul has a passionate interest in the use of Multi Sensory Environments as a method of communication, where multisensory stimulation is made more pleasant, accessible, relevant and meaningful for individuals with sensory input difficulties or differences. He has published widely on this topic including the books: Multisensory Environments and Using a Multisensory Environment (David Fulton Publishers, London). An internationally recognized public speaker, Paul has presented in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Malaysia and Singapore. Paul is also on the editorial board of five national and international journals.
Carrie Plesuk graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Alberta in 2006. Clinical experience throughout her education included home healthcare, mental health rehabilitation and counseling, geriatric assessment and rehabilitation, adult stroke rehabilitation, and early intervention for children with global developmental delays. After graduating, Carrie joined Society for Treatment of Autism in 2007. Since the beginning of her career, Carrie has worked with children and families to facilitate the development of motor and self help skills as well as developing individualized sensory processing programs. In her role, she is also responsible for staff development, parent training, and the training/supervision of new occupational therapists and occupational therapist assistants.
Michele Shapiro is the Director of the Multi-sensory Environment (Snoezelen) and of environmental design at Beit Issie Shapiro, Raanana, Israel. She has been an occupational therapist for over thirty years. Since 1975, she has specialized in sensory processing dysfunctions and their effect on behavior. In 1997 she published a research paper on the efficacy of the Snoezelen for children with mental retardation. She received a PhD. specializing in the area of sensory adaptation in the dental setting to reduce anxiety amongst children with Developmental Disabilities. In 2001 she received an Award of Recognition in occupational therapy for her contribution to the development of the Multi-sensory Environment in Israel and abroad. Today she develops projects and trains professionals to understand the Sensory Processing Disorder and the Multi-sensory approach.
Marja Sirkkola is Principal Lecturer at HAMK, University of Applied Sciences, Degree Program in Social Services, Finland. She graduated 1982 from Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany, and worked seven years as an art therapist and twenty years as a vocational teacher in Finland. Her research interest on Snoezelen started during the 1990s along a participatory action research project, which led to a licentiate thesis in vocational adult education investigating the meanings of a multisensory center called ‘Pilvipeili’, 1998. Currently she is an EdD-student at James Cook University, School of Education, Australia as a part time over-sea’s student. Her dissertation on ‘MSEs in social care’ deals with empowering participation, happiness capital of people with profound and multiple disabilities and with staff education.
Jason A. Staal, Psy.D. received his Doctor of Psychology from Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology in 1993. In addition to serving as Director of Beth Israel Medical Center’s Snoezelen Behavior Therapy Research Program, Dr. Staal is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Staal is nationally known for his pioneering work on multi sensory behavior therapy (Snoezelen) having published and appeared on numerous television health news segments and health news print stories as well as presenting at academic institutions nationally and internationally, and collaborating with American, British, Canadian and Dutch researchers. He was a founding board member of The American Association of Multi Sensory Environments.
Lorraine Thomas is the Snoezelen Coordinator at Bloorview Kids Rehab, Canada’s largest children’s rehabilitation teaching hospital fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. She has worked almost exclusively in Snoezelen for the past eight years at Bloorview and has presented at national and international conferences including Germany and Holland. As Coordinator, she monitors MSE development and training content at Bloorview; develops resources for local, provincial & international outreach; works one-on-one with families and clients; and hosts educational tours for professionals interested in Snoezelen.
Lorraine is also responsible for establishing the first Snoezelen pool in North America, at Bloorview Kids Rehab in 2002. The Snoezelen pool has been a popular feature with clients ever since and has been featured extensively in local media It is a highly successful program which continues to be a benchmark in encouraging the development of similar facilities elsewhere.
Barbara has worked in the Mental Health system for over 30 years, specializing in Psychiatric Rehabilitation for adults, adolescents and children. She directs Rehabilitation Services which include Art Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Recreation Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Education Programs, and directs the MSE Program for inpatients at a Psychiatric Facility in upstate New York.
In 2005-2006, she developed the recreation and education programs for a new inpatient Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Treatment Service. It was at that time that she became interested in MSE and began to explore the uses and values of this approach with children and adolescents admitted to a short stay acute psychiatric unit. Ms. Vartanian was instrumental in establishing an MSE within this new Child and Adolescent Unit in upstate New York in 2006. This MSE is one of the first such programs within the NYS mental health system. The Program has been in operation for nearly 3 years, and is continuing to show evidence of statistically significant outcomes for the individuals served in the MSE.
Ms. Vartanian has been a member of the Board of the American Association of Multi Sensory Environments since 2007, where she has taken a leadership role in developing member services, as well as developing marketing and training materials for use in training workshops.
Päivi Veikkola, M.Soc.Sc., Psychologist and Senior lecturer at HAMK University of Applied Sciences, Degree Program in Social Services since 1996. She works as a body psychotherapist, and is a member of The Finnish Institute of Character analytic Body psychotherapy (based on Wilhelm Reich’s theories). Her main interests are body awareness in MSEs and movement, dance, and community dance.
AD is considered by many as the “founding father” of Multi Sensory Environments (Snoezelen) and has worked with MSE in Europe for over 30 years. Ad conducts many seminars on MSE in countries around the world. Since the early 70’s Ad has designed, implemented and ran MSE at the Hartenberg Center and throughout Europe. In 1974 Ad Verheul and his colleague Jan Hulsegge introduced the idea of Snoezelen. When they started and invented this special activity for profoundly mentally handicapped people, it became a great success in a short time! We never thought that such a simple idea would wake worldwide interest.
Kimberley Ward completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1995 at the University of Calgary. One of the requirements associated with her doctoral program was the completion of a one-year clinical internship at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. During her years in graduate school, her research focused specifically on the social-cognitive deficits associated with Autism.
Kimberley has been employed by the Society for Treatment of Autism in Calgary since 1984. In her current position, Director of Treatment Services, she is responsible for: assessing individuals with autism, developing and implementing individualized program plans, staff development, parent training, community education, and the training/supervision of Behavioral Consultants. She has also worked with the provincial government to develop a resource manual for teachers (i.e., Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders) and to draft recommendations (i.e., A System of Care for Children with Autism: Expert Panel Report) for Alberta Children’s Services in September of 2002.
Kara Wenzel has a diploma in Early Childhood Education and Development, a Certificate in Children’s Mental Health, and an Applied Degree in Child Studies. Currently she is completing a Masters of Arts in Counseling Psychology through City University of Seattle.
Kara has been employed by Society for Treatment of Autism since 2000. In her position as a Behavioral Consultant, she is responsible for: participating in assessment of cognitive and adaptive functioning; developing and implementing individualized program plans (i.e., for children aged 2 to 18); consultation and training of front line staff; parent training; developing and implementing positive behavior support plans based on functional behavioral assessments; consultation to school settings; community education; and material creation to target individualized goals. Special areas of interest include: prevocational training for youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders, the use of multi sensory environments to target specific skill development, removing the barriers that prevent children with ASD from participating in community recreational activities.
