Keynote Speakers

Robert Perske tracks, works with and writes about people with intellectual disabilities who confessed to murders they did not commit, over 100 of them.  He founded The Friends of Richard Lapointe described in the Emmy winning 60 Minutes presentation, “Did He Do It?”  Perske wrote the case vignettes for the 1976 Report to President Nixon, Mental Retardation: Century of Decision, and authored the 1978 Report to President Carter, Mental Retardation: The Leading Edge – Service Programs that Work.

Robert and his illustrator wife, Martha, received The Healing Community Arts and Letters Award for their work in  developmental disabilities at the United Nations in 1987.  In 1999, The National Historic Preservation Trust on Mental Retardation honored Robert and Martha as two of the 35 persons who made major contributions in the field of mental retardation in the 20^th Century.

Perske was the first non-lawyer to receive the American Bar Association’s Paul Hearne Award for Service to Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, Washington, DC, in 2002. 

Dennis Debbaudt is the proud father of Brad, a young man who has autism. In the 1980's, Dennis wrote for the Detroit News and worked with network television current affairs programs in the U.S., Canada and United Kingdom. A professional investigator and journalist for 28 years, Dennis turned his attention to autism spectrum disorders in 1987 after his son was diagnosed with this condition.

Debbaudt has authored numerous articles and books including Autism, Advocates and Law Enforcement Professionals: Recognizing and Reducing Risk Situations for People with Autism Spectrum Disorders for Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London UK (2002) and Contact with Individuals with Autism: Effective Resolutions with Darla Rothman, Ph.D. for the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin (2001).