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A Practitioner's Guide by
Peter F. Gerhardt & Shanna Bahry

The goal of Make it Meaningful is to help ensure that individuals with autism spectrum and related disorders have a meaningful life in adulthood by ensuring practitioners teach them the right skills, the right way, in the right environments. 
Peter Gerhardt
book cover for Make it Meaningful a book by Peter F. Gerhardt and Shanna Bahry

The Authors

Dr. Peter Gerhardt and Dr. Shanna Bahry are behavior analysts with expertise in working with learners with autism spectrum and related disorders, specifically with preparing for the transition to adulthood. They have been working together for several years, starting first as doctoral advisor and advisee. They share a passion for helping practitioners Make it Meaningful when it comes to instruction that has long- term impact for the learners they serve.​

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Learn more about Drs. Gerhardt and Bahry 

Why this book...

Outcomes in adulthood for individuals with autism spectrum and related disorders have remained poor for decades in the areas of independent living, employment, personal relationships, integration into the community, and other measures that greatly contribute to quality of life. This is largely in part to the relatively little education and training provided to practitioners when it comes to what skills to teach and how in order to positively contribute to a meaningful adult life. While many skills-based assessments and curricula exist already, Make it Meaningful is intended to fill the void that exists for information guiding practitioners to create individualized programming to ensure each learner maximizes their instructional time to adequately prepare them for the rest of their lives.

Key Book Features

Overall guidance in choosing what skills to teach and the value of adaptive behavior domains

Evidence-based methods for teaching important community-based and employment skills

Direction on writing goals with long-term considerations as well as specifically individualizing curricular paths

Practical processes to guide the development of goals of both quality and sound structure

A review of how interventions grounded in applied behavior analysis (ABA) should be used to teach meaningful skills, particularly for older learners   

Systems to ensure quality and guide leadership of meaningful programs

Specific Elements to Guide Practice Include...

12

Unique tools to guide goal development

8

Templated, customized forms / datasheets

11

Visual job aids to influence performance

What Readers Are Saying...

“It is interactive, user-friendly, astonishingly comprehensive, and it includes a treasure trove of user-friendly tools.”

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– Patrick C. Friman, Ph.D., ABPP | Vice President of Behavioral Health, Boys Town; Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, UNMC

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