Laura Kasbar
Founder, ChairmanGemIIni Systems
Member Since October 2022
About
Laura Kasbar is the co-founder, chairman, and former CEO of Gemiini, an on-demand speech and communication training platform for people of all ages on the autism spectrum. In 2000, Laura and Brian Kasbar's three-year-old twins were diagnosed with autism and began receiving intensive early therapy. Both were minimally verbal. Their daughter, Ana, was diagnosed with moderate autism, while their son, Max, was diagnosed with severe autism. The family was told he would never speak and would probably live in an institution. After speaking with adults on the spectrum about how to best reach her children, Kasbar designed a way to present video therapy to Max and Ana in a very straightforward and sensory-managed way. A variety of therapy techniques were added to the video presentation. This became the foundation of the Gemiini Discrete Video Modeling (or DVM) approach, used by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Kasbar lives in Spokane Valley, WA. with her family. She is the author of Embracing the Battle: Secrets of Victory from a Warrior Mom (2018). She has been featured in Orange Coast Magazine, The Spokesman Review, and as a guest on ABC Nightly News.
Laura Kasbar
Published content
expert panel
Doing a thorough examination of their own habits can help leaders see which behaviors are holding them back. Leaders play an essential role in organizations, helping to establish workplace culture and acting as examples for employees to model their behavior after. When leaders have good habits, it results in increased satisfaction, productivity and morale in employees. However, when leaders have bad habits, even when the intention isn’t to set a bad example, it limits and decreases the amount of success a leader and business can achieve. To help leaders identify which habits they should consider eliminating completely, 20 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one seemingly harmless habit that can actually hinder leadership success.
expert panel
Committing to building a culture of unwavering customer centricity can effectively transform your business for the better. From Fortune 500 companies to startups, companies that prioritize customer centricity stand out in the market. They understand that customers are more than just revenue sources—they are the foundation of business survival and expansion. A customer-centric culture places the customer at the heart of every decision, fostering trust, loyalty and long-term relationships. But how can businesses truly embed this philosophy into their culture? Below, 20 Newsweek Expert Forum members explore the most effective strategies to cultivate a customer-centric culture within an organization and delve into the reasons why these approaches are vital for sustainable growth.
article
Starting in her own home, Newsweek Expert Forum member Laura Kasbar is working to revolutionize the way autistic children are taught language skills.
Company details
GemIIni Systems
Company bio
Gemiini is a clinically-proven program that uses on-demand video therapy and teaching tools to help people on the autism spectrum improve their verbal and communication skills, as well as eye contact. Gemiini’s platform leverages a clinically-proven approach called discrete video modeling, which focuses on one concept at a time and presents that information in a video session-based format. The program’s signature videos break down information into understandable and digestible bites to teach speech, language, reading, social skills, and life skills. This makes Gemiini an ideal solution for people with special needs like autism, Down syndrome, speech delay, people recovering from stroke, and more. Unlike other solutions, Gemiini’s service is online and has a huge library of content that is easily tailored to suit everyone’s unique needs. To make sure the learning never has to stop, Gemiini’s on-staff videographers and editors are always hard at work to make new videos available daily. And with the ability to create and upload your own video clips, the learning possibilities are endless. Gemiini’s program has been studied and vetted by the Child Language Teaching & Therapy, Journal of Special Education Technology, and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Treatment Intervention Advisory Committee, along with numerous other journals and institutions.