Schreibman, Laura

(Laura Ellen Schreibman)

PERSONAL: Female.

ADDRESSES: Office—Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093-0109. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Psychologist, educator, and writer. University of California, San Diego, distinguished professor and director of the Autism Research Program.

WRITINGS:

Autism, Sage Publications (Newbury Park, CA), 1988. The Science and Fiction of Autism, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA), 2005.

Contributor to numerous periodicals, including Clinical Psychologist, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Journal of Positive Behavioral Intervention, and Behavior Modification; contributor to the sound recording Parent Training Approaches, Center for the Improvement of Child Caring (Los Angeles, CA), 1977.

SIDELIGHTS: Laura Schreibman is a psychologist who is interested in the areas of behavior modification, experimental psychopathology, and developmental disabilities, especially autism. One of the author's primary research pursuits is the development of individualized treatment programs for autistic children, parent training, language and social skills training, and remediation of deviant attention and learning patterns. Schreibman is also the author of two books about autism, including The Science and Fiction of Autism. In this 2005 book, the author provides an overview of current scientific data on autism and clarifies many of what she believes are wrongly held views concerning the causes of autism and its treatment. The author presents her case that autism is the result of biological differences and that the best treatment approaches are those based on a behavioral model. Among the past theories about the origins of autism that the author refutes is the theory that some childhood vaccines cause autism. Noting that Schreibman "never forgets to illuminate the human side of autism," a Publishers Weekly contributor commented that the author also relates that much more research is needed "to fully understand the biology of autism." Corey Seeman, writing in Library Journal, noted that the author has provided "a solid if conservative book" that focuses on ABA and related treatments. In a review on the Autism Alliance of Metro West Web site, Anke Kriske wrote that the author "tries for a calm and fair tone."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, September 15, 2005, Corey Seeman, review of The Science and Fiction of Autism, p. 79.

Publishers Weekly, August 1, 2005, review of The Science and Fiction of Autism, p. 51.

ONLINE

Autism Alliance of Metro West Web site, http://www.autismalliance.org/ (March 26, 2006), Anke Kirske, review of The Science and Fiction of Autism.

University of California, San Diego Department of Psychology Web site, http://psy.ucsd.edu/ (March 26, 2006), faculty profile of author.