“Supernanny” Teams With Acclaimed Autism Expert to Help Child with Autism

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Show to Air Friday, November 4

ABC Media Relations:

Patrick Preblick (212) 456-7819

Supernanny Jo Frost teams with world-renowned autism expert Lynn Koegel,

Ph.D., to tackle the parenting issues faced by a family whose three-year-old

son is an outsider in his own home. This episode of “Supernanny” airs on

Friday, November 4 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EST) on the ABC Television Network.

Deirdre and Trae Facente don’t know how to integrate their autistic son

Tristin into their daily life with their twins, Kayla and Marlana (4).

Tristin is completely non-verbal, caught up in his own world of spinning,

jumping, swinging, and, often, taking off his clothes. The only time he

spends with his family is sitting at the dinner table.

Enter Koegel and Supernanny Jo. Together they refine the classic

“Supernanny” methods and teach all the Facentes about Koegel’s inclusion and

communication techniques to help engage Tristin. In just a week, silent

Tristin goes from zero words to speaking hundreds of times using over 20 new

words. He is bursting with requests to play a favorite game, be tickled, or

eat a treat.

Step-by-step, Jo and Koegel help the parents keep Tristin from his

disruptive behaviors by including him in family chores and activities. These

efforts culminate in the boy helping his dad set the table, a seemingly

mundane task that is so miraculous for Tristin, it brings tears to Trae’s

eyes.

Lynn Kern Koegel, Ph.D., is one of the world’s foremost experts on the

treatment of autism. She and her husband, Robert L. Koegel, Ph.D., founded

the renowned Koegel Autism Center at the Graduate School of Education at the

University of California, Santa Barbara. She co-wrote the bestselling book

on autism, Overcoming Autism: Finding the Answers, Strategies, and Hope that

can Transform a Child’s Life, and also co-authored with her husband the new

book, Pivotal Response Treatments for Autism.