Dr. Jennifer Dustow has focused on helping others since 2000. Whether as a counselor at Ho`okupono Adolescent Day Treatment Program working with students medically classified with attention deficient hyperactive disorder (ADHD), or as a volunteer for the Suicide & Crisis Center communicating direct steps to remove an individual from a potentially deadly consequence, Dustow has found helping others in need makes her heart sing.

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Equipped with a Doctoral of Education – Educational Leadership from Argosy University, she is now intently focused on mainstreaming children suffering from autism into productive educational situations. Also a certified cognitive-behavioral learning specialist, Dustow has spent the last five years working one on one with children diagnosed under the Autism Spectrum.

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As owner of Cornerstone Educational Preschool, she directs the preschool’s programs targeting children with autism. Dustow also holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Management, Bachelor of Science in Human Services with a focus on child development and family counseling.

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“It’s critical to work with children with autism between the ages of three and five, before the behavior has taken root in the child, potentially affecting both the child and family permanently,” said Dr. Dustow. “Our program addresses the three areas of development affected by autism: communication, social interaction, and creative or imaginative play.”

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Conducting the largest and only study of its kind, her work – “Bilateral Exercises that Cross the Midline Decrease Off Task Behavior in Preschool Special Needs Children on the Island of O‘ahu” (Pilot Research Project for Dissertation Topic) – was published by the Brain Gym International (Journal, March 2007, Volume XXI, Number 1) The Educational Kinesiology Foundation in March 2007. Dr. Dustow is also the author of “Groundbreaking Research in the Field of Autism”.

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Already adept at applying child centered learning successfully with preschool and school aged children, most of which are now enrolled in some of the most prestigious private schools in Hawai‘i, Dustow hopes to open additional classrooms throughout Hawai‘i to address and overcome the special learning needs of children with autism. drjenniferdustow.com