March 14, 2008 Hill Day for Creative Arts Therapies. I participated with other Presidents from the membership organizations of the National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies (NCCATA) in presenting an education program on the treatment of children with autism and veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ( PTSD) for congressional aides for both the House and Senate. Here is a link to the slides on art therapy in the presentation. ArtsTherapies Hill Day April 14, 2009 I recently gave the keynote address, sponsored by Caldwell College, at the 8th Annual New Jersey Art Therapy Association Conference earlier this month. I spoke on the subject of how art therapy is helping one child diagnosed with autism. Art therapy is being used in combination with other creative arts therapies; a variety of special education practices; and two leading intervention models for children diagnosed with autism.     August 15, 2009 Dani (my special client) and I have our first session together after summer vacation last night, August 14, 2009. During the session Dani told his first independent story about one of his drawings, without any continuous prompting. Both his mother and I were thrilled. She asked for a copy of this part of the session that was taped to send to relatives and asked that I share it with you too. It is now posted on the Children's Corner: Art Therapy for Children's Professional Facebook Page. August 15, 2009 I recently purchased a text written by art therapist. Nicole Martin ( the first of its kind) that I highly recommend. Art as an Early Intervention Tool for Children with Autism Author: Nicole Martin Publisher Jessica Kingsley Publishers ISBN # 978-1-84905-807-0 September 3, 2009 I first discovered these books last winter. They compliment my work as an art therapist. Scribbles: A Really Giant Drawing and Coloring Book Squiggles: A Really Giant Drawing and Painting Book Doodles: A Really Giant Coloring and Doodling Book Doodle All Year All the books are created by Taro Gomi September 9, 2009 Teaching children diagnosed with autism about feelings begins with images of facial expressions in photographs. The next step is to use photographs of children's faces expressing different feelings. Photograh the children's own faces and start with the basics: happy, sad, angry, and afraid. Once the children can identify the basic feeling states in both photgraphs and drawings, I recommend the follow text to expand the children's understanding of feelings and to develop higher thinking skills. Although this text is specifically written for children with autism any child can benefit from this text. Note: the authors are British so you may have to" Americanize" some of the examples used in the lessons to faciliate familiar experiences drawn from early childhood. Teaching Children with Autism to Mind-Read A Practical Guide Authored by Patricia Howlin, Simon Baron-Cohen, and Jullie Hadwin Published by John Wiley & Sons ISBN 0-471-976223-7     May 2010   I had the priviledge of being invited to be a keynote speaker at the annual Korean Academy of Clinical Art Therapy (KACAT) Conference. I presented some of my work on the use of art therapy in the treatment of children diagnosed with autism.