About the Authors
Lauren Kenworthy
Lauren Kenworthy, PhD, is Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry at the George Washington University School of Medicine, and Director of the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Children’s National Health System. Dr. Kenworthy received her BA from Yale University and PhD from the University of Maryland. Her research interests are in describing the cognitive strengths and supporting the cognitive weaknesses seen in autism ADHD and other developmental disabilities. She is an author of more than 90 peer-reviewed publications, and of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), as well as the Unstuck and On-Target curricula. She has completed two trials of Unstuck and On-Target in schools for children with ADHD or ASD.
Monica Werner
Monica Adler Werner, LCPC, MA specializes in program development, executive function interventions in autism, and parent coaching and support. She currently works in private practice and has deep experience in schools developing programming for children with Autism. She is a co-author of Unstuck and On Target Curricula (Brookes, 2011, 2024), a curriculum to enhance cognitive flexibility and problem solving in students with Autism and ADHD, and Solving Executive Function Challenges: Simple Ways to Get Kids with Autism Unstuck and on Target. Monica has an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters degrees from Johns Hopkins and Palo Alto University.
Lynn Cannon
Lynn Cannon, M.Ed is a social learning specialist at The Ivymount School and The Maddux School. Ms. Cannon received her M.ED in Special Education from the University of Virginia. For over 15 years, she has worked as an educator, administrator and program director, serving students with neurodevelopmental disabilities. Ms. Cannon is also a co-author of Solving Executive Challenges, a resource guide for teachers and parents, The Conversation Club, an instructional manual for teaching conversation skills to students with neurodevelopmental disabilities and the Ivymount Social Cognition Package, a comprehensive, online system for supporting social and emotional learning in K-8 students with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders. Her research and teaching interests are in developing interventions and support materials for students with neurodevelopmental disabilities, therapists, educators and their families.
Katie C. Alexander
Katie C. Alexander, OTD, MS, OTR/L is an occupational therapist and clinician-researcher. Dr. Alexander received her BS, post-professional masters and doctorate from the University of Kansas Medical Center. For over 15 years, she has specialized in community and school-based intervention for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities and served as the founding program director for the Model Asperger Program at The Ivymount School. Her research and clinical interests are in developing research-and strengths-based interventions and supports that improve the daily lives of individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families. Dr. Alexander also works to disseminate evidence-based practices and improve interprofessional collaboration.
John F. Strang
John F. Strang, PsyD, is a clinical neuropsychologist in the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Children’s National Hospital. He is also an Assistant Professor in the School of Medicine at George Washington University. Dr. Strang received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan and his doctorate from George Washington University. His clinical and research efforts focus on autistic adolescents, including those who are gender diverse. Dr. Strang celebrates the many members of his own family who are on the autism spectrum and approaches his work from a neurodiversity-affirmative framework, which recognizes the strengths inherent in variations in thinking style. He has received two foundation grants to develop and test the Unstuck and On Target: Grades 6-8 curriculum.
Laura Gutermuth Anthony
Laura Gutermuth Anthony, PhD, Professor, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado School of Medicine, and the Pediatric Mental Health Institute at the Children’s Hospital Colorado. Dr. Anthony completed a dual degree PhD program in clinical and developmental psychology at the University of Illinois, Chicago in 1997. Since then, she has focused her most of her research and clinical work on children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and intervention development and implementation. She has also received funding for 11 federally-funded and 7 foundation research grants including several to study the Unstuck and On Target suite of interventions.
Cara Pugliese
Cara Pugliese, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Behavioral Sciences, and Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine, and a clinical psychologist at the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Children’s National Hospital. Dr. Pugliese received her BA from the University of Richmond, and PhD from Virginia Tech. Her clinical and research work focuses on developing evidence-based strategies to support executive function in transition-age youth with autism, and how best to implement these practices in community settings. She has received 4 federally funded and 1 foundation-funded research grants to develop and test the Unstuck & On Target: High School curriculum (to be published), served as an investigator on five community-based pragmatic trials, and is the author of over 20 peer-reviewed publications.