PYRAMID - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Leader
- Member of the Clinical Team
- President and Co - Founder of Pyramid Educational Consultants
Andy Bondy is president and co-founder of Pyramid Educational Consultants. Dr. Bondy is an innovative leader in the field of autism and applied behaviour analysis. He directed a statewide public school system for students with autism for fourteen years. He is co-author of the PECS Training Manual. He also wrote the Pyramid Approach to Education, a training manual that offers an integrated orientation to developing effective educational environments blending applied behaviour analysis with functional activities and creative communication strategies. Dr. Bondy received his MA and Ph.D. from the UNC Greensboro, and completed his clinical internship in 1976 at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Bondy has presented numerous papers, lectures and workshops in regional, national and international conferences and conventions on behaviour analysis, PECS and the Pyramid Approach to Education. He has remained active in research and writing, and continues to develop new and innovative methods of helping children with autism and related developmental disorders.
Komala Kyme began working in Disability Support roles whilst studying for her undergraduate degree in Fine Arts. With a growing interest in the field of Special Education and with a particular enthusiasm for working with individuals on the autism spectrum, she went on to complete her Masters in Teaching at the University of Sydney. Since that time she has been working in art and communication based educational programs tailored for adults on the autism spectrum as well as teaching in both mainstream and special schools in NSW.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Clinical Team
- Vice - President and Co - Founder of Pyramid Educational Consultants
Lori Frost is vice-president and co-founder of Pyramid Educational Consultants. She is co-author of The PECS Training Manual. She has been the driving force behind creating PECS, a unique system that allows children with limited communication abilities to initiate communication with teachers, parents, and peers. Ms. Frost has a wealth of background in functional communication training and applied behaviour analysis. She has assisted in the development of a number of training packages designed to teach language and academic skills. Ms. Frost received her BA in speech pathology and audiology from the University of Arkansas, and MS in speech and language pathology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1982. She has worked in many public and private school settings as a speech pathologist. As a Pyramid consultant, Ms. Frost has traveled across the country and the world, teaching workshops on PECS and the Pyramid Approach to Education. She has presented a number of papers and lectures on autism and communication, co-authored several articles and chapters, and is respected by professionals in her field as a leader in functional communication systems.
Rachel Jellett has a background in psychology, and is passionate about both Autism Spectrum Conditions and education. Alongside her studies, Rachel has worked as a teacher's aide primarily supporting children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Additionally, she worked as a research assistant where she visited homes across Victoria to observe the way parents create a home learning environment for children aged between 6 and 36 months. For her doctoral research, Rachel explored the wellbeing of parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and the ways in which they incorporated learning activities in to their home-life. She has also enjoyed teaching in undergraduate psychology courses. She completed postgraduate training in clinical psychology in 2015.
Sophie Kerr has worked in the field of disability in various capacities since 1996 with both children and adults with disabilities ranging from cerebral palsy to traumatic brain injury. Sophie's major focus over this time has been working with children on the autism spectrum aged between 2 and 14 years within Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) programs both in Australia and the UK. She has worked on an eclectic range of programs which have incorporated various interventions including picture communication, social skills development, speech and language development, motor skill development and sensory integration. Sophie completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Disability Studies) (Honours) at Deakin University in Melbourne in 1999. She returned to study in 2005 and graduated with a Bachelor of Education from Charles Darwin University in Darwin. Sophie commenced working for Pyramid Educational Consultants of Australia in February 2008. She has implemented PECS in her clinical work with numerous individuals and school groups with autism and related disabilities.