V. Mark Durand
University of South Florida, St. Petersburg
V. Mark Durand is known worldwide as an authority in the area of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). He is a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, where he was the founding dean of arts & sciences and vice chancellor for academic affairs. Dr. Durand is a member of the Professional Advisory Board for the Autism Society of America. He is the co-editor of the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions and has written 10 books including abnormal psychology textbooks that are used at more than 1,000 universities world-wide. In addition, he has more than 100 research publications. Major themes in Dr. Durand’s research include the assessment and treatment of severe behavior problems (such as aggression and self-injury) for children and adults with ASD and other severe disabilities, parent training and the development of treatments for child sleep problems. Most recently, he developed an innovative approach to help families work with their challenging children (optimistic parenting) and published a multiple award-winning book for parents and caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorders, Optimistic Parenting: Hope and Help for You and Your Challenging Child (Brookes Publishing, 2011).