Tamara S. Kasper, MS, CCC-SLP, BCBA, is a pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist who has been treating children with challenging behavior since 1990, specializing in children with autism spectrum disorders since 1995. Tamara’s lifelong commitment to children with autism spectrum disorders led her to pursue expertise in treatment methods within and outside the field of Speech-Language Pathology. She received training in the methods of Nancy Kaufman and later partnered with Nancy to create The K&K Sign to Talk Materials and App, materials specifically designed for children with autism spectrum disorders who are struggling to speak. She further pursued advanced training in Applied Behavior Analysis/Applied Verbal Behavior, and under the mentorship of renowned Behavior Analyst Dr. Vincent Carbone and his protégé, Tamara became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She worked under the tutelage of Dr. Carbone for over five years, consulting to ABA teams, schools, and clinics, and proving workshops nationally and internationally. This provided a unique experience to treat hundreds of children with autism and develop additional strategies to improve verbal vocal language, often in conjunction with teaching sign language. As of late, her educational passions have also expanded to include methods for improving social communication skills in children with autism. Additionally, she has developed unique programming that combines physical training with social communication and social skills therapy to provide greater opportunities for community integration for children with autism.
Tamara has worked tirelessly to promote greater options for children with autism and their families, and has advocated for effective treatment of children with autism through various legislative acts within the United States. It was Tamara’s representative who drafted the initial legislation that allowed BCBAs to become “qualified supervising providers” of autism treatment in Wisconsin’s Autism Insurance Mandate. She is diligently and continually developing new and necessary alternative educational placements for individuals with autism. Internationally, she has trained treatment teams, parents and professionals in England, Ireland, Greece, Bermuda, Canada, and Senegal and most recently led an education team on a volunteer effort to support and train teachers and families in Ethiopia where services are virtually non-existent.
Described by attendees as “inspirational” and “empowering,” Tamara is a frequently invited international lecturer, enthusiastically sharing her unique approaches and intervention techniques that have been successful in building functional verbal behavior for children on the autism spectrum and furthering language to conversation. She is also a past recipient of the Wisconsin Speech and Hearing Association’s Clinical Achievement Award and nominee for ASHA’s DiCarlo award.
Tamara carefully handpicked the best and brightest from the field of Applied Behavior Analysis and partnered with these individuals to form The Center for Autism Treatment, Inc. in 2006. Currently, she serves as Director of The Center for Autism Treatment which provides Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention and a variety of unique social opportunities for children with autism. She is constantly furthering the combined fields of ABA and Speech-Language Pathology via research on a variety of topics, supervision and mentoring of individuals working towards Board Certification as Behavior Analysts, and through continued consulting, workshops, and presentations.
Her leisure time interests include travel with her remarkable husband and two wonderful adult children, mission trips, marathons, triathlons, physical training, and reading.