Marisa H. Fisher, PhD Joshua Plavnick, PhD Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, & Special Education 9/17/15

1. Marisa H. Fisher, PhD
Joshua Plavnick, PhD
Department of Counseling, Educational
Psychology, & Special Education
9/17/15
Applied Behavior Analysis at
MSU: Project to Enhance and
Expand Programming

2. Practicum & Training
Early Learning Institute
Partnership between College of Education and College of Social
Sciences
Housed at the Child Development Lab
Currently has 6 preschool aged children with ASD enrolled
8 behavior technicians hired and trained
1 week training bootcamp
Full day therapeutic services
Training site for ABA practicum and other students
Also supports a research agenda
Funding Sources
Current funding from donor support, University, CSS/COE, and
MDHHS grant;
Sustain with insurance revenue, grants, additional donor
support

3. ABA Training: Needs & Barriers Analysis
Survey to assess consumer interest in and barriers
to ABA graduate training (to become BCBA)
Survey closed in July with 351 respondents from MI
Interest in ABA
High level of general interest in ABA (4.05 on 5-pt scale)
Interest in “becoming a BCBA” slightly lower (3.46)
Behavioral technicians more interested in ABA and becoming a
BCBA than other professions
Most interest was in an ABA certificate program (currently offered)
or Masters program (in preparation)
Some interest in ABA Hybrid PhD Program, with 18 indicating
immediate interest and 46 within 1-3 years

4. Personnel to Build ABA Capacity at MSU
2 fixed term BCBA-D faculty
Dr. Gabrielle Lee from Columbia University
Teaching 1 course for the online ABA program
Conducting research about effective online instruction
Dr. Kate LaLonde from WMU
Clinical Director of Early Learning Institute
Administers assessments of children for Early Learning Institute (ELI)
Oversees training and clinical services
Outreach Specialist as ABA Program Manager
Katy Colaluca
Manages the graduate certificate ABA program and serves as
outreach specialist at ELI

5. Increase ABA Students
Progress toward doubling ABA enrollment with high
quality applicants (50% in 2015 and 50% in 2016)
Enrollment to date:
Fall 2013: 19
Fall 2014: 20
Spring 2015
10 scholarship students to complete coursework
All students in their last semester– in good standing
Mean number of supervision hours completed: 780 out of 1500
At least 3 will be ready to take the exam in December 2015
Fall 2015: 16
Total in 2015 = 26
Projected for 2016 = 40

6. University Panel
Convene a University-wide panel to align MSUs
efforts in ASD with Michigan’s Autism Plan
Status: MDHHS grant workgroup meeting monthly to
discuss the grant objectives within the State Plan
framework
Meeting with larger RAIND group quarterly to incorporate
other initiatives at MSU

7. Next Steps for 2015
Ensure the ELI is a very high quality program
that serves diverse families
Submit survey reports to MDHHS, University,
and Behavior Analysis Certification Board
Sustain high quality applicants for ABA
program; continue refining coursework and
fieldwork experiences
Document alignment of initiatives at MSU and
Michigan’s Autism Plan for RAIND members