About the Author

Marlene Breitenbach, M.S.Ed, BCBA is a special educator and consultant with over 30 years of experience teaching children with autism and severe disabilities. She was an invited member of the Consensus Panel selected by the New York State Department of Health which authored Clinical Practice Guidelines for Early Intervention: Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorders and is currently Special Education Autism Coordinator at the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in Prince Edward Island, Canada. In her present position, Marlene coordinates the implementation of the Provincial Autism Strategy, provides staff training, academic and behavior assessment and individualized programming support for students in included settings. A special interest area has been the importance of play in the development of language and problem solving skills.