Ryan Konarski, B. Kin.

#2 180 17th Ave. E Vancouver, BC, Canada V5V 1A4 604.226.2266 ryan.konarski@gmail.com Ryan Konarski is a behaviour consultant with nine years of experience supporting families of children with developmental disabilities. His M.Ed. in Special Education with a concentration in autism and developmental disabilities will be conferred from the University of British Columbia in May 2014. He is also working toward national behaviour analyst certification. Since 2005, he has had the good fortune to work alongside numerous families of children with developmental disabilities, community agencies, and professionals in both clinical and school settings. From 2007 to 2012, he was the project and research coordinator at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) for a strength-based intervention project for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, funded by the Victoria Foundation. His duties included the development, coordination, and daily operation of the project. In addition, he was tasked with the administration of neuropsychological tests and training UFV students taking part in the research project. Throughout the course of the research project, he disseminated the results at numerous conferences and is co-author of several publications. In 2010, he received the University of British Columbias Faculty of Education Graduate Award. During his graduate studies, his research interests became focused toward the survivability of Positive Behaviour Support plans, parent training, and the unique needs and considerations of fathers of children with autism. His M.Ed. in Special Education has given him the knowledge and skills necessary to assess and address the unique needs of every family member of children with autism, including fathers. This expertise has enabled him to collaborate with each family member to optimize their involvement in the lives of the child with autism, resulting in the transformation of valued but problematic routines into successful routines associated with high ratings of acceptability and social validity. Ryan Konarski has a passion for assessing, understanding, and ultimately transforming problematic routines into successful routines alongside families of children with developmental disabilities using evidence-based strategies. His future aspirations include integrating the technologies of PBS with the theoretical and empirical foundation of family support and counseling psychology. A link to some of his professional skills and accomplishments can be found here.