DR. ANNETTE NUNEZ

30 Jan 2018

Dr. Annette Nunez is the founder and director of Breakthrough Interventions, LLC. She is a licensed psychotherapist and has worked with children with ASD and other related disorders for over 22 years. She received a B.A. in Psychology, an M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy and a Ph.D. in Quantitative Research Methods with a specialization in Child Development. At UCLA, she studied and trained with renowned autism expert, Dr. Ivar Lovaas in Discrete Trial Training (DTT). She also received training from the Institute for Child Development in California on the Floortime Approach and developed a successful behavioral program that combined aspects of DTT and Floortime.

As part of her doctorate work at the University of Denver, Dr. Nunez developed the Children’s Social Competence Scale (CSCS). The CSCS is an early intervention evaluation tool that measures social competency in young children. She served as the Program Director for Connect Us, a non-profit organization that helps children cultivate positive relationships through facilitated play. Her research interests include the mainstreaming and socialization of children with High Functioning Autism.

Dr. Nunez co-wrote and self-published the Friendship Is … book. She is also the co–owner of AMPublishingand plans to write more books about inclusion and autism in the near future. She conducts many seminars both nationally and internationally and has consulted with many schools in China and South Africa. Dr. Nunez also consults and supervises the therapists at the Breakthrough Interventions site in South Africa. She was honored by the Autism Society of Colorado as a finalist for the 2011 Faces of Autism Professional Award. Dr. Nunez has been featured in the Huffington Post, NPR, The Jenny McCarthy Show, and FOX News.

Not only does Dr. Nunez support children with autism, she is also a huge advocate for women empowerment. In 2015 she started writing a personal blog entitled “Forty-Forty Vision.” She intends to inspire women of all ages to discover self-love, trust their inner voice, and find the passion within! You can see Dr. Nunez on FOX News as she as she does many interviews on the power of positivity.

J.R.'s Story

When I first met JR at the age of 4 he was running around his house screaming with cars in his hands screaming. His parents were told by professionals to get used to the fact that he may never be invited to birthday parties, or navigate a classroom independently. Rather than focusing on the negatives of autism such as, “your child will never, can’t, etc.” I focus on the positives. All I saw in J.R. was a child with lots of potential. When I started with J.R. I set the expectations high and his parents were immediately onboard and trusted me to safely push their son outside of his comfort zone. JR worked very hard and each day there were different challenges as well as successes. Not only did JR have to put in the work but his parents did too, as they followed through with the implemented plans and homework. Twelve years later, JR. is attending a private high school independently. Has an amazing group of friends and he is the manager of the football team where he encourages his teammates to do their best. Although J.R. has to sometimes work harder than his peers he does it with ease and he is happy. He loves sports, traveling, Buffalo Wild Wings, Snapchat, and doing all the things a teenage boy at 16 loves to do. He has told his parents that he is working hard because he wants to go to college. Recently, I asked him, “Did you believe in my approach when I started working with you?”

His response, “At first I didn’t believe in you and the things you wanted me to do. I didn’t like it, but now I believe in you because you make me feel happy, like I’m myself, and my life… I have a beautiful life.”

Success for me is not what I can do for your child. Success is when parents trust and support the process no matter how hard it can be. Success is when I have the privilege to watch my clients realize their full potential and have a positive outlook on life and their future.