Mary Barbera, Ph.D., RN, BCBA-D, fell into the autism world in the late 1990s when her first-born son Lucas started showing signs of autism. Over the past two decades, Mary has transformed from an overwhelmed and confused parent to a doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D) and the author of The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to Teach Children with Autism and Related Disorders, which has sold more than 50,000 copies and has been translated into 13 languages. Mary is an award-winning international speaker, podcaster, and online course creator. Her mission is to help parents and professionals turn autism (or signs of autism) around for millions of children around the world.