Dr. Koegel

Dr. Lynn Kern Koegel, Ph.D. is Paige's speech teacher from the Webb Family episode. She also teaches autistic three-year old Tristin of the Facente Family as a speech teacher.

Clinical Director of the Koegel Autism Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Dr. Koegel has been active in the development of programs to improve communication in children with autism, including the development of first words, development of grammatical structures, and pragmatics.

Dr. Koegel is co-author and co-editor of major textbooks on autism and positive behavioral support and is co-author of the bestselling book Overcoming Autism: Finding the Answers, Strategies, and Hope That Can Transform a Child’s Life (Penguin, 2004).

In addition to her published books and articles in the area of communication and language development, she has developed and published procedures and field manuals in the area of self-management and functional analysis that are used in school districts throughout the United States and have been translated in most major languages used throughout the world.

Dr. Lynn Koegel is actively involved in providing support and intervention services in school districts, both locally in California and throughout the United States. Dr. Koegel, and her husband Robert, were awarded the first annual recipient of the Sesame Street Children’s Television Workshop Award for brightening the lives of children.