Kari Dunn Buron, MS, taught in the K-12 special education for 30+ years and was a founding member of the MN Dept of Education’s Autism Project. Kari developed an Autism Certificate program for educators in the Education Graduate School at Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, and she sits on the Advisory Board for the Autism Society of Trinidad and Tobago and for the Autism Society of MN. In 2003, Kari received a Self-designed Fellowship that allowed her to spend a year interviewing and working internationally with a number of scientists and researchers in the area of neuroscience, social cognition, education and autism with a focus on challenging behaviors.

Kari is the co-author of The Incredible 5-Point Scale and Social Behavior and Self-Management. She is the author of When My Worries Get Too Big, (winner of the 2013 Mom’s Choice Award), Adalyn’s Clare, A 5 Could Make Me Lose Control and A 5 is Against the Law! (ASA literary award winner). Kari is also the co-editor of a textbook for educators titled Learners on the Autism Spectrum: Preparing Highly Qualified Educators (2009 ASA literary award winner) and the creator of The Social Times.

Kari has done volunteer work related to autism in Ghana, Tanzania, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and Nepal and in 2012, Kari was inducted into the Illinois State University Department of Education Hall of Fame.

Kari recently revised and re-launched her books under her own label, 5 Point Scale Publishing (www.5pointscale.com).