Staff

Sophie Kerr, BAppSci. (Disability Studies) (Honours) BEd
Rebecca Wright, BSpPath
Andy Bondy, Ph.D.
Lori A. Frost, MS, CCC/SLP

Sophie Kerr, BAppSci. (Disability Studies) (Honours) BEd

Sophie Kerr has worked in the field of disability in various capacities for the past 10 years with both children and adults with disabilities ranging from cerebral palsy to traumatic brain injury. Sophie's major focus over this time has been working with children on the autism spectrum aged between 2 and 14 years within Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) programs both in Australia and the UK. She has worked on an eclectic range of programs which have incorporated various interventions including picture communication, social skills development, speech and language development, motor skill development and sensory integration.

Following her secondary education at Numurkah Secondary College in Victoria, she completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Disability Studies) at Deakin University in Melbourne and went on to complete her honours in 1999. She returned to study in 2005 and graduated with a Bachelor of Education from Charles Darwin University in Darwin.

Sophie's work within ABA programs has focused on teaching children social, play and academic skills as well as readying children for integration into mainstream school settings. She has been extensively involved in the training of new staff members and has been supervising ABA programs for 5 years.

In August 2002, Sophie relocated to London, United Kingdom, and commenced employment as the Program Supervisor for the Behavioural Intervention Group. In this position, Sophie worked within team settings utilising the principles of ABA to develop individualised educational programs for students.

In 2005, Sophie relocated to Darwin, Australia, where she was employed directly by parents to supervise and act as a consultant on their pre-existing ABA programs, developing and implementing behaviour intervention plans and educational programs for individuals who have a diagnosis of autism.

Prior to beginning work as a Pyramid Consultant Sophie attended various Pyramid workshops including: Teaching 9 Critical Communication Skills and PECS Review Practice and Problem Solving workshops in Darwin, presented by Rachel van der Linden, The Pyramid Approach to Behavior Intervention and Using Verbal Behavior to Analyze Language in Melbourne, presented by Andy Bondy. She commenced working for Pyramid Educational Consultants of Australia in February 2008. She has implemented PECS in her clinical work with numerous individuals with autism and related disabilities.

Rebecca Wright, BSpPath

Rebecca Wright has worked as a speech pathologist since 1999. Following her secondary education in Bendigo, Victoria, she graduated with a Bachelor of Speech Pathology from the LaTrobe University, in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1999, Rebecca returned to Bendigo for her first job with the Department of Education and Training (DEET). From this time, Rebecca has continued to work for the Department of Education in various capacities. In 2000, Rebecca relocated to the Mornington Peninsula where she continued to provide speech pathology services to numerous primary and secondary schools. Since 2002, Rebecca has worked at a dual mode specialist school (i.e. special school and special developmental school combined), with students aged between 5 and 18 years who have various disabilities. Rebecca's role in this setting has been varied, but has predominantly focused on developing and implementing communication programs, curriculum and policy development and professional development.

In 2004, while continuing to work in education, Rebecca also commenced her own private practice on the Mornington Peninsula focusing on providing services to pre-school aged children and their families. Rebecca continued to combine her work in education and private practice until mid 2008, at which time Rebecca and her family moved to Ireland for 18 months. While in Ireland, Rebecca worked for the Health Service Executive as part of a multi-disciplinary team which provided services to children with a disability from the ages of 0 to 18 years.

In 2008, just prior to leaving Australia for Ireland, Rebecca attended a two-day PECS workshop in Melbourne. Since this time Rebecca has implemented PECS in her clinical work with numerous individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Andy Bondy, Ph.D.

Andy Bondy is Co-Founder of Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc. Dr. Bondy is an innovative leader in the field of autism and applied behavior analysis. He directed a statewide public school system for students with autism for fourteen years. He is co-author of the PECS Training Manual, 2nd Edition, A Picture’s Worth, and Autism 24/7. Along with Dr. Beth Sulzer-Azaroff, Andy wrote The Pyramid Approach to Education, a training manual that offers an integrated orientation to developing effective educational environments blending applied behavior analysis with functional activities and creative communication strategies. In addition, Andy has written many articles and book chapters and has remained active in research and writing while continuing to develop new and innovative methods for helping children with autism and related developmental disorders.

Dr. Bondy received his MA and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and completed his clinical internship in 1976 at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Andy has presented numerous papers, lectures and workshops in regional, national and international conferences and conventions on behavior analysis, PECS and the Pyramid Approach to Education. He is a dynamic, entertaining, and a frequent key-note speaker at a variety of conferences and conventions. Andy consults to schools and families and as a champion of the needs of individual students has served as an effective liaison between families and schools

Lori A. Frost, MS, CCC/SLP

Lori Frost, M.S., CCC/SLP is co-founder of Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc. and Co-Developer of The Picture Exchange Communication System. She has been the driving force behind creating this unique system that allows individuals with limited communication abilities to initiate communication in a form understandable by peers, family and educators. Along with Andy Bondy, Lori is co-author of the PECS Training Manual, 2nd Edition, A Picture’s Worth, and Autism 24/7. Ms. Frost’s background in functional communication training and applied behavior analysis is apparent in the products she designs that promote effective and efficient teaching tools for non-speaking learners. Ms. Frost received her BA in speech pathology and audiology from the University of Arkansas, and MS in speech and language pathology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1982. She has worked in many public and private school settings as a speech pathologist.

As Co-Founder of Pyramid Educational Consultants in 9 countries, Ms. Frost has traveled the world, teaching workshops on PECS, the Pyramid Approach to Education, and using B.F. Skinner’s Verbal Behavior and Applied Behavior Analysis to create rigorous and precise training protocols. She has presented a number of papers and lectures on autism and communication, co-authored article, books and chapters, and is respected by professionals in her field as a leader in analyzing and teaching functional communication.

Caricatures were done by George and Matt at Caricatureking.com