about charlie buckley

A Long Time Ago…...

In 1989, while working on a Master’s Degree at Colorado State University, I became interested in working with children with autism. At that time, 1 in 10,000 children were diagnosed with autism. A deficit in language and communication were part of the diagnostic criterion. However, there weren’t many Speech and language pathologists (SLP) researching the diagnosis and treatment of the disorder. I was fortunate enough to meet Dr. Barry Prizant, one of the first SLP’s to research autism. I completed my graduate internship with Dr. Prizant, in Rhode Island. Upon returning to Colorado my good fortune continued with a job at University Health Sciences/JFK where I worked with Dr. Sally Rogers and was supervised by Terry Hall M.S. CCC, SLP. Both continue to work with families and research autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). My first parent training groups happened at JFK. I spent the next 15 years working with families and their children along the front range of Colorado.

More Recently………

In the past few years, several events came together and the Show Jo connections started happening.

I was working with a wonderful family, the Bakers, right here near Loveland. They had incredible success with their son Ryan using routines and actual photos, as a part of his treatment program. Ryan’s diagnosis of autism became one of what was then being reported as one in 166 children. The Bakers encouraged me to get this information out to more parents, when I showed them stories I had written and photographed.

My son Gabriel, age 14 at the time, showed me how we could illustrate photos digitally. He has continued to teach me new technology! Check out the dancing Jo on the music tab. Gabe’s handy work. So, Jo the bear was chosen. My brother made a copper frame and my mother sewed it into the bear. My daughter, Josephine, helped me take all the sequencing pictures. She really had her hands in it in more ways than one! My husband Bill supported the project with constant encouragement and he picked up the tab! Be sure to listen to the music…more family contribution! I am so blessed when it comes to family. Mine is right there ready to share their talents and treasures.

By pure luck, I met Kelly Hines-Keller from grafiknature. I showed her my idea and she brought it to life. Kelly also directed me to Literary Architects and Renee Wilmeth, and Bryan Gambrel, the Show Jo publishers. Good fate ensued when a long time friend, Julie Seat, offered to design this web site. An amazing job by Julie: Longs Peak Web Design.

As the diagnosis for autism grows to 1 in 150, there are more and more parents asking for information. The information on this site and in these books applies to all language learners. And for children with special needs, it provides ideas for interactions that encourage turn taking. It is in interactions where children are allowed to take many turns that they build strong language skills.