Karen Jaggers, NCC, LPC, CAS

State/Country: Texas/, USA

School/ Organizations: University of Houston, MS/Mental Health Counselling – Capella University, CalSouthern University (PsyD Clinical Psychology candidate)

1) How has earning the Certified Autism Specialist been meaningful and satisfying?
I have been working with individuals on the autism spectrum for over fifteen years.  I have long advocated for a certification in autism that is well rounded and encompasses more than behavior.  Its great that now parents and professionals can search for an autism specialist who has met a strong vetting process.

2) How has the CAS credential affected your professional growth?
I believe adding the CAS credential to my other credentials is important because a large part of the individuals I work with as a psychotherapist are on the spectrum or families of these individuals.  By achieving the CAS designation, new clients can be assured that they are receiving information and advice from a professional with proven experience in autism.

3) How has your CAS credential been a benefit to your district/ organization/ or employer?
My partner Dr. Debra Stokan (child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist) and myself take pride in our many years of experience helping families with autism spectrum disorder.  This designation further assures them that we are striving at all times to remain at the top of our fields in serving the autism community.

4) How do you like to be recognized, acknowledged and rewarded for a job well done?
The reward that I get is seeing my clients become more successful as they work toward improving their social skills, behavior and personal independence skills.

5) What is your greatest challenge or roadblock?
My greatest challenge or roadblock is that there are so many families with autism, and that the numbers continue to explode.  My own son was diagnosed seventeen years ago and it was almost unheard of diagnosis.  Now its one of the more common diagnosis’ in young children today.

6) What makes you feel like a valuable contributor?
Seeing the progress that students have made is my greatest reward.  Its wonderful to be able to help families better understand their children and create plans to allow the individual to meet their greatest potential.

7) What do you enjoy most about your job?
I absolutely love my job.  What I enjoy most is knowing that even in the most difficult of cases I should be able to help this family and individual gain improvements that will affect their quality of life.

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Iuliia Sterpinska, Special Needs Teacher

State/Country: Ukraine, Europe

School/ Organizations: Pechersk School International

1) How has earning the Certified Autism Specialist been meaningful and satisfying?
Earning the Certified Autism Specialist opened the door to “another reality” for me whereI feel competent, meaningful and able to deal with any challenges .

2) How has the CAS credential affected your professional growth?
Thanks to the CAS credential I was able to find a job at Chadwick International School in South Korea and changed my position from Teacher Assistant to Special Education Needs Teacher.

3) How has your CAS credential been a benefit to your district/ organization/ or employer?
CAS credential helped me learn how to moderate the programs for the students with autism so they were able to participate effectively in mainstream classroom activities and take part in school social life. To be honest, there are no autism trainings in Ukraine at all. Lots of Ukrainian people don’t know what autism is at all, so I’m the first IBCCES-CAS certified   specialist in my country.

4) How do you like to be recognized, acknowledged and rewarded for a job well done?
To get positive feedback from parents, other teachers and administration.

5) What is your greatest challenge or roadblock?
Because of the absence of trainings in my country it was difficult for me to find good information about working with autistic and other disabled students. The second challenge was that English was my second language so in order to succeed with online training I had to learn lots of new specific terminology. But thank to IBCESS-CAS I succeed with all theses challenges.

6) What makes you feel like a valuable contributor?
My students reached great levels of success regardless of their academic, social and behavior life. The success was so noticeable that lots of teachers from our school came and told me about it. Verbal recognition from peers that acknowledges student growth is very rewarding too.

7) What do you enjoy most about your job?
SEN is my job, my passion and my lifestyle. Every day you come to school and see how successful your students are, how their lives are changing in a good way, knowing you can help even if they are struggling… This is the most enjoyable and satisfying part of my job.

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Shaneé Howell, MSW, CAS, ITFS

State/Country: North Carolina, USA

School/ Organizations: Applied Family Services – NC

1) How has earning the Certified Autism Specialist been meaningful and satisfying?
Earning the CAS credential has been extremely meaningful because of what it allows me to do for my clients. Because of the continuing education coursework that I have completed I have been able to guide families in the process of having their child evaluated, as well as being able to provide families with new tools learned in my continued studies.

2) How has the CAS credential affected your professional growth?
The CAS credential has given validity to my passion of working with individuals with Autism, and has allowed for me to grow, and even to have new positions created where I can best use my skill set.

3) How has your CAS credential been a benefit to your district/ organization/ or employer?
This credential has allowed for me to provide training to both parents and professionals who may not have been able to receive services otherwise.

4) How do you like to be recognized, acknowledged and rewarded for a job well done?
I feel most proud of my work when a family that I’ve been working with gets excited about progress and can see their own growth through all of the work we’ve done as a team. Their heartfelt “Thank-you” makes all of the hard work worth it!

5) What is your greatest challenge or roadblock?
My greatest challenge is in pulling professionals together to work as a team. I’ve found that if the professionals can check in with one another and ensure that each of the goals they are working on coincide with the others the child and family is much more successful!
6) What makes you feel like a valuable contributor?
I feel most like a valuable contributor when my advice is sought out, from both parents and professionals. Knowing that they find my knowledge helpful to them makes me feel valued.

7) What do you enjoy most about your job?
I love that I get to have a positive impact not only in a child’s life but in their family dynamic as well. Giving children and parents the skill set to grow to a place where they not only function, but enjoy being around one another, is what motivates me to continue this work!

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Ezra Lockhart, M.Hlth.Sc.(D.D.), MCSE, CDC I, CAS, Behavior Therapist

State/Country: Anchorage, Alaska, USA

School/ Organizations: Catholic Social Services – Alaska

1) How has earning the Certified Autism Specialist been meaningful and satisfying?

I am proud to be the first practitioner in Alaska to earn the Certified Autism Specialist credential.  Earning this internationally recognized credential provides those that I serve reassurances regarding my expertise in the field of autism support. I consider myself a global citizen and have studied in both the United States of America and Australia. Locating and obtaining board certification at the international level was important to me. Towards that aim, I found IBCCES and their autism credentialing track. For these reasons I find my CAS credential meaningful and satisfying.

2) How has the CAS credential affected your professional growth?

I initially earned the Autism Certificate credential while working towards completing a master’s degree at the University of Sydney in Australia. After completing and publishing a dissertation on the topic of computer-based social and emotional skills training for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), I upgraded to the Certified Autism Specialist credential. Since earning my Certified Autism Specialist I have been accepted into a doctoral program to continue my research focusing on the ASD population.

3) How has your CAS credential been a benefit to your district/ organization/ or employer?

Catholic Social Services, Family Disability Services is able with confidence to connect me with their client population to address specific acute and chronic issues. Mentioning that the agency has a CAS onboard helps to encourage parents and guardians that those in their care will be supported to the upmost professional standard by a highly qualified practitioner.

4) How do you like to be recognized, acknowledged and rewarded for a job well done?

Receiving accolades of any kind is something I personally and professional appreciate. For my contribution to the autism community I received the Man of Excellence Award in 2013 from AHAINA Multicultural Center and the Seawolf Student Leader Award from the University of Alaska Anchorage, Student Life & Leadership. In 2015 I was presented an original painting from the Michael Tolleson Savant Art Center in Kent, Washington. The painting “Epiphany” was created by Michael Tolleson, an autistic savant. Creating a positive lasting impact to no matter the size to this community is my passion and career goal.

5) What is your greatest challenge or roadblock?

The greatest challenge I have seen in my 12 years delivering direct support is the ever constant changes in federal and state regulations governing Medicaid. I have witnessed how this drastically impacts from year-to-year access to and continuation of services for individuals who desperately need support. Working for a Medicaid provider agency I have seen across the board client support hour reductions that frankly break my heart as I understand how this will impact the quality of life and skill development for the clients I serve.

6) What makes you feel like a valuable contributor?

When working with clients one-on-one the constant feedback I get from their actions, achievements, and accomplishments makes me acutely aware of how valuable my contribution is to their overall success. Even when clients are struggling to achieve their goals the fact that they continue to try signifies for me the value of my practice.

7) What do you enjoy most about your job?

I enjoy seeing change in the clients I serve regardless of how incremental that change may be. My reward is in their success. It is rewarding to know that I have the opportunity to impact clients in such a way that will have for them lifelong positive effects.

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How does a certificate differ from certification and licensure?

Certificates and certifications are becoming a major part of how education and expertise is recognized all over the world.  The days of just have a degree or even a secondary degree is quickly fading and most employers are now looking for proof of specialization or a specific skill set.  The true indicator of your expertise is most clearly noted with a certification or a certificate.  So what is the difference between a certificate, certification and a license?

A certificate represents successful completion of a body of coursework focused on a specific area and sometimes includes an examination of knowledge. Completion of the courses indicates a significant commitment on the part of the student to make the Certificate topic an area of expertise.

Examples of Popular Certificates: Continuing Education Certificate of Completion, High School Diploma, General College Degree

A Certification is essentially the process of publicly attesting that a specified quality or standard has been achieved or exceeded. Professional certifications, such as those obtained through a credentialing program like IBCCES,  use a formal process to identify and acknowledge individuals who have met a recognized set of standards. Usually these standards include formal education, documented work experience, and an examination of knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform the job. When an individual meets the standards, he or she receives certification from a certifying agency. Certifications are nearly always offered by a private, non-governmental agency. These agencies are typically made up of industry experts who identify and acknowledge those who have met a set of approved industry standards. Certification is voluntary and usually represents recognition of the expertise itself. Completion of the certification requirements indicates a significant commitment on the part of the applicant to make the certification topic an area of expertise. An individual takes the certification exam because they want to enjoy the benefits of certification which may include career promotion, increase in compensation and many other benefits.

Examples of Popular Certifications: Microsoft Certification, Certified Autism Specialist, Six Sigma Certification

Licensure usually refers to a state-based regulatory system, where a professional is required to document education, work experience, and perhaps some examination of knowledge level in order to legally provide a given type of service. It grants permission to an individual to engage in an occupation if it finds that the applicant has attained the degree of competency required to ensure the public health, safety, and welfare will be reasonably protected. Licensing it always based on the action of a legislative body. Once a licensing law has been passed it becomes illegal for anyone to engage in that occupation unless he or she has a license. The health care professions are typically licensed at the state and/or local level, but not usually at the federal level.

Examples of Popular Licenses: Physical Therapist, Speech Language Pathologist, Registered Nurse

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Delivering his sixth State of the Union, President Obama noted that “America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free, sent a generation of GIs to college, and trained the best workforce in the world.”

To thrive in the 21st century, the POTUS proposed to make two years of community college free for responsible students. The announcement wasn’t news. The POTUS announced his vision a few weeks before the SOTU. Michelle Weise, senior research fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute, believes President Obama’s presupposition that employers will increasingly require degrees to fill job opportunities and as a result, college is the only path to the middle class, is flawed. In her recent WSJ article, Weise challenges the POTUS’s assumption. Using Facebook, Google, and AT&T as examples, Weise outlines how more and more companies are 1) pursuing nontraditional paths to credential employees; and 2) using credentials other than the college degree to quantify talent. Given this shift, Weise argues that the policy question of the 21st century shouldn’t be how to make it easier for all Americans to earn a college degree, but rather “how can the country shift the emphasis away from a degree as the sole proxy for talent?”

Written By: Emily Foote, CEO of ApprenNet

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