Darlene Hanson, MA,CCC -‐ Director of Communication Services for WAPADH (Whittier Area Parent Association for the Developmentally Handicapped), Darlene is a speech and language specialist with an expertise in working with individuals with severe communication impairments and has been working in this field for almost 30 years. Her work focuses on bringing alternate modes of communication to those who do not use speech to communicate effectively. Currently she is focusing on training the communication partners to increase the communication. Darlene received her Masters degree from Whittier College, and her Bachelors of Arts from Chapman College, both in Communication Disorders. She is also recognized as a Master Trainer in Facilitated Communication, and has participated in the writing of the Standards of Best Practice for Facilitated Communication from Syracuse University, and has co-‐authored research on authorship for Facilitated Communication. You can read more on Darlene at www.wapadh.org.