Beth Glasberg-Katz will discuss issues and strategies for siblings of kids with disabilities at Special Kids Special Parents, the family support group for families with special needs children in West Windsor and Plainsboro. The talk will be on Wednesday, October 18, at 7:45 p.m. at the Plainsboro Municipal Building.
“I became interested in developmental disabilities at a young age,” says Glasberg-Katz. “I have a second cousin with a developmental disability that we saw quite a bit growing up, and in high school, there was a volunteer program that allowed us to select from various options, and because of my cousin I chose to volunteer at a group home for Eden Institute and became more interested.”
Born in Queens, Glasberg-Katz was raised in Queens and later in East Windsor. Her mother is a recruiter and her father is a controller. Glasberg-Katz spent her high school years at Peddie School. She received a bachelor’s in psychology in English and psychology from Wellesley College, and her master and doctorate degrees in clinical psychology from Rutgers University.
In college she worked for Respite, and by chance, her first client had autism. After college, she worked as a graduate assistant for Sandra Harris at Rutgers and began to focus on autism. Now a consultant at the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center at Rutgers, Glasberg-Katz has been a board certified behavior analyst since 2000.
Glasberg-Katz is a co-author of “Siblings of Children with Autism: A Guide for Families” and author of “Functional Behavior Assessment for People with Autism.” She is also a two-time recipient of the Lebec Prize for Research in Autism, a privately funded award distributed through Rutgers university.
Her husband, Peter Katz, is an assistant U.S. attorney. Their children include Spencer Katz, 4, and Tessa Katz, almost 2. Longtime Plainsboro residents, they moved to West Windsor in January. “We moved to Long Island for my husband’s work a few years ago, and missed the area too much,” she says. “That’s why we’re back.”
“I will be providing an overview of research on the effects of growing up with a brother or sister with a disability, and following up by discussing how this research can guide us toward helping siblings on a day-today basis,” says Glasberg-Katz.
Special Kids Special Parents, a community based group formed this year, provides community support through shared knowledge and by providing resources on a variety of issues pertaining to the special education community and to alleviate the need for parents to attend multiple support groups throughout the country. Meetings are also scheduled for Wednesdays, November 15 and December 13, at 7:45 p.m. at the Plainsboro Municipal Building.
Support Group, WW-P Special Kids Special Parents, Plainsboro Municipal Building Community Room, 609-799-8036. www.wwpsksp.org. Wednesday, October 18, 7:45 p.m.
