Connie McGhee SolesConnie Soles majored in voice at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, with a degree in music education. She also holds an MA in counseling from Hampton University. While in college, Connie played Maria in "West Side Story" her fresman year. Her many experiences on stage as well as in piano, ballet, and tap lessons have equipped her with unique teaching abilities that have made her a very successful and popular teacher. Her teaching skills were challenged when scheduled with classes of autistic children. Teaching special-needs children requires a trial-and-error approach, which she believes is the reason that she was and is flexible, has honed her sense of humor, and is willing to try almost anything to reach student needs. Connie created a one-of-a-kind curriculum and became a distance learning instructor teaching children how to write original songs on a Macintosh computer and synthesizer during twice-a-week live educational broadcasts. Because of this telecourse, she was invited to Moscow, Russia, to teach Russian teachers of gifted Russian students the use of technology in the American classroom. Connie was named national teacher of the year for technology with this original curriculum developed on a Macintosh computer and synthesizer, although the contest was sponsored by IBM. Upon retirement, Connie created a nonprofit organization, AudioHope, using a very specialized music-based intervention called Auditory Integration Training (AIT) to treat ADHD and autistic clients, yielding amazing results. Nineteen-year-old client Andrew Porter, a charming young man with ultrasensitive hearing problems, was encouraged to draw during his AIT sessions. The results were astonishing. Andrew is a computer arts major and is very gifted in cartoon art. This unexpected union of talents was the impetus for writing an intriguing children's book about time traveling cats of ancient Egypt. Read More Read Less