Staff Bios
Facilitating Recovery for Children with Autism
and Their Families
Steven
R. Wertz, M.Div., BCBA, has 28 years of experience in training
parents to educate children with autism and other special needs. Steven
is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who has worked individually with
over 1,000 children with autism-spectrum disorders. Since 1998, he
has served as director of the Growing Minds Autism Program, which he
designed in order to train parents to facilitate their children’s
recovery from autism-spectrum disorders. Steven has taught the Growing
Minds approach to parents and professionals in both Europe and North
America. As a senior teacher with The Option Institute’s Son-Rise
Program from 1983-1998, Steven created and implemented teaching designs,
facilitated groups, provided consultations for individuals and professionals
and trained Son-Rise teaching staff. To our knowledge, he is the only
individual to have earned certification in both Behavior Analysis (also
known as ABA, DTT and Lovaas training) and in the Son-Rise program,
making him uniquely qualified to access and integrate the best of both
approaches. Steven holds a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Counseling,
and has also worked with at-risk youth, quadriplegic patients and chemically
dependent mothers and their children.
Kaitryn
Sheehan Wertz, M.Ed., L.M.H.C., brings over 30 years of experience
in the field of human development and group process to Growing Minds.
Kaitryn is licensed by the State of Florida as a Mental Health Counselor.
With over twenty years of experience working with parents whose children
have autism spectrum disorders, she provides counseling and consulting
services to Growing Minds parents for issues related to their special
life circumstances. With her husband Steven Wertz, Kaitryn established
the Growing Minds Program in 1998. Since then, she has provided both
individual and group services to hundreds of parents and professionals
in North America and Europe. In addition, she works as a psychotherapist
in private practice. Kaitryn was certified as an Option Process Mentor
in 1982 and was a primary teacher of The Option Institute’s adult
programs from 1983 to 1998. She designed programs, taught workshops
throughout the US and Canada, counseled parents attending the Son-Rise
Program and provided extensive training for staff. She was a founding
member of Kripalu Center, where she taught yoga and stress reduction
from 1972-1983.
Stefanie
Barenblat, M.Ed., BCBA, draws from 15 years of experience working individually and intensively with
over 500 children diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders. Stefanie
trains and coaches parents and professionals in person and by telephone,
and provides one-on-one therapy for children during our five-day programs.
Stefanie is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and was certified
as a Son-Rise Child Facilitator in 1998. In addition to her training
in Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT), she has also participated in training
programs in supported inclusion, Feuerstein’s
methods, and RDI. She has worked with children in a variety of school
and recreational settings. Stefanie has a Master’s degree in
Special Education.
15096 115th Avenue North, Jupiter, Florida 33478
Phone: 561-748-9697 Fax: 561-748-6543
Copyright © Growing Minds Autism Programs,
1999
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