The document provides a history and overview of the Basic Practicum program at Western Michigan University for students to work with children with autism at WoodsEdge Learning Center. It describes how the program began in the 1970s providing services to students with disabilities based on applied behavior analysis. Over time, as research showed effectiveness of early intensive behavioral intervention for autism, WoodsEdge developed a discrete trial classroom in 1995 for children with autism. The practicum continues today, allowing WMU students to gain hands-on experience implementing ABA techniques with children under supervision. Students complete training and work with an assigned child for 2 hours daily, using 15-minute sessions to teach skills through discrete trial instruction.

1. Science in Autism Treatment: A Brief History
Applied behavior analysis and autism are an amazing couple. Over 30 years ago, a
clinical psychologist spent some time at the University of Washington, the source of most
of the early research on applied behavior analysis. Inspired and informed by his
Washington training, the clinician went to Los Angeles and put his own spin on behavior
analysis, as he started working with children whose behavioral repertoires had so many
deficits of functional behavior and so many excesses of dysfunctional behavior that they
were labeled autistic. He didn’t do anything new, except possibly disregard all of his
education in traditional clinical psychology. All he did was apply training procedures that
had been in use for many years in the basic behavior analysis research labs and
procedures whose effectiveness had been well documented in peer-reviewed scientific
publications.
Oh, yes, he did add one small twist to what had been done before, he had the outrageous
audacity to apply those training procedures for 40 hours per week for 2 years with each
child, rather than use the traditional clinical psychology talk-therapy approach of meeting
with the “patient” for a 50-minute hour once a week. He then published his results in a
peer-reviewed scientific journal. The results were that 50% of kids he worked with lost
all traces of their autistic behaviors and the remaining 50% were also greatly improved.
And thus Ivar Lovaas started the revolution in the “treatment of autism.”
But the revolution languished. Lovaas and the behavior analysts he trained as well as
other behavior analysts continued to do and publish high-quality research, extending and
refining his procedures. But only a small group of scientists known as behavior analysts
were aware of this amazing work, perhaps the most impressive work in the field of
behavior analysis.
Then, 30 years after Lovaas started his revolutionary but almost invisible research, a
woman with a Ph.D. in literary criticism, or some equally irrelevant topic, had a little girl
and then a little boy whose behavioral repertoires were so dysfunctional that they got the
autism label. Well, after a few heart-breaking years, this mother finally found Lovaas’
behavior-analysis approach and with much work and dedication on her part and the part
of the behavior technicians working with them, her children acquired typical behaviors.
And being a word woman, the Ph.D. in literary criticism then wrote what may be the
most important book in the field of behavior analysis, an autobiographical case study of
her two children; a non-technical case study for non-behaviorists. And being a word
woman, this Ph.D. in literary criticism knew how to put the words together so as to tell
her story with such warmth and such emotional impact that parents around the world are
now demanding that Lovaas’ behavior-analysis training procedures be rescued from the
obscurity of the previous 30 years and be used to help their own children achieve more
normal lives. The word woman is Catherine Maurice; and her book is Let Me Hear Your
Voice.
If there had been no Ivar Lovaas, there would be no demonstration of the real power of
applied behavior analysis to completely transform people’s lives. And, if there had been
no Catherine Maurice, no one would know about this power of applied behavior analysis

2. to completely transform people’s lives. Her book is an amazing collaboration between
science and art.
Lovaas and Maurice started the revolution, but the revolution is far from over.
Fortunately, some of the brightest, best trained, most hard-working researchers and
practitioners in the field of behavior analysis are dedicating their lives to continuing and
spreading this revolution. And many of these researchers and practitioners have joined
with parents of children labeled autistic to form the Association for Science in Autism
Treatment.
This association may be the next major component in the behavior-analysis/autism
revolution, providing a systematic way to educate professionals and the public so they
can demand behavior-analytic training programs for children labeled autistic, so that
there will be enough well-trained behavior analysts to implement these programs, and so
that quality-control standards will be implemented to maintain the integrity of these
programs.
You can get more info on autism at
1) The Association for Science in Autism Treatment at
http://www.asatonline.org
2) The Association of Applied Behavior Analysis International at
http://www.abainternational.org/

3. A History of the Basic Practicum (PSY 3570) Program for
University Students to Work with Children with Autism
In the early 1970’s, the Croyden Avenue School began providing services to students
with severe multiple mental and physical handicaps. These services were provided in
conjunction with the Behavioral Psychology Program at Western Michigan University.
Students were taught a variety of skills, which were methodically sequenced though task
analysis, written as individualized instructional procedures, and taught in a discrete trial
format.
By the 1980’s, Croyden was also providing services to students with autism, and a
preschool program was developed a few years later. As parents of children with autism
became aware of the success that Ivar Lovaas had achieved with autistic preschoolers
through early intensive behavioral intervention, many began to request this type of
intervention for their children. In May 1995, the Discrete Trial Classroom was developed
as a half-day program with five children diagnosed with autism and five practicum
students. Over the years, Croyden staff and WMU staff and students have continued the
development and expansion of the Discrete Trial Classroom, which is currently a half or
full day program with many children receiving behavior analytic services from practicum
students and staff.
The Croyden Avenue School and now WoodsEdge has been fortunate to have a unique
working relationship with WMU for so many years. Students and WMU professors have
participated at, or been affiliated with, the Croyden Avenue School from the beginning,
including such notables as Mark Sundberg, Jim Partington, Ray Miltenberger, Brian
Iwata, Nancy Neef, Wayne Fuqua, Neal Kent, Paul Mountjoy, and Jerry Shook.
The program still continues today and is now held at their new location at WoodsEdge
Learning Center.

4. General Class Description
Description of Setting
K resa Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service
Agency
WoodsEdge Learning Center
1501 E. Milham Ave. – Portage, MI 49002 – Phone 269.250.9400
WoodsEdge Learning Center provides instructional services for students from birth to
age 26 who are severely mentally or multiply impaired. A full range of educational
services is provided including academic instruction, motor development and aquatics,
self-care skills, job-related instruction, language development, community-based
instruction and support services. In addition, services are made available for parents to
learn effective behavior management skills.
While the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency (K/RESA) uses many of the
techniques and procedures outlined in this book, the K/RESA Board of Education and
Michigan State Law forbid the use of corporal punishment with any of the students we
serve. Therefore, K/RESA cannot support or condone the use of any aversive control
technique referenced in Teaching Developmentally Disabled Children: The Me Book (by
Ivar Lovaas) that produces or causes physical pain. In addition, we do not recommend or
condone the use of such techniques in any environment.
In order to meet individual student needs at WoodsEdge, the Preschool Village is made
up of three classrooms – the Early Childhood Developmentally Delayed (ECDD)
classroom, the Group Skills classroom, and Pre-kindergarten. The ECDD classroom is
available to provide one-to-one discrete trial instruction, to establish instructional control,
and to develop pre-learner skills necessary for success in future learning environments.
When children master pre-learner skills they can move onto group skills classrooms.
The focus of the ECDD classroom is to increase environmental awareness. This includes
using eye contact, demonstrating imitation skills, and following basic directions. The
students will also learn a method of communication, to better enable them to control their
emotions. Instruction takes place in individual booths designed to keep distractions to a
minimum. Western Michigan University (WMU) students are trained to implement
individualized teaching procedures. Positive reinforcement is used to increase positive
behaviors, and attempts are made to ignore behaviors that interfere with learning.
Course Prerequisites or Co-requisites for WoodsEdge Practicum (PSY 3570)
 Psychology 3600; Concepts and Principles of Behavior Analysis or Psychology 1000
Honors
 Psychology 3561; Preliminary Practicum
 Admittance into the WoodsEdge Practicum is contingent on satisfactory performance
in PSY 3600/1000H and the Preliminary Practicum.

5. Description of Tasks and WoodsEdge Practicum Basics
• In the basic practicum, undergraduate students (tutors) complete a series of training
sessions designed to introduce them to various aspects of the setting. These include
medical training, policies, procedures training, and PECS (picture exchange
communication system) training.
• Following these training sessions, each tutor will be assigned to a child at
WoodsEdge, with whom they will work for the entire semester (in most cases).
• Tutors will work with their child Monday-Friday for two hours a day. The two hours
of time spent at WoodsEdge each day is divided into 15-minute blocks. Tutors work
through eight, 15-minute sessions each day, implementing at least 3 behavioral
treatment procedures designed by ECDD classroom teachers Carmen Jonaitis and
Margaret Nichols, school psychologists Dr. Steve Ragotzy and Dr. Paul Knight, and
WMU doctoral and masters students. The majority of these behavioral interventions
are based on practices researched in applied behavior analysis and discrete trial
training (DTT).
• The tutors receive feedback before, during, and after DTT sessions from their
teaching assistant (TA) or supervisor.
• The TAs and supervisors are graduate psychology students from Western Michigan
University.

6. General Classroom Information
There is a lot of information to learn at the beginning of the semester, and we don’t
always remember to tell you everything. Be sure to ask, if you have any questions. It is
equally important to make suggestions. Although we’ve been doing this for a long time,
you will be the one with the closest day-to-day contact with your child, and may have
valuable insight that will help your child progress more quickly. So, please let us know!
Bussing: Your job will be to pick up and/or drop off the child from the bus. Never carry
your child under any circumstances.
Books & Bags: Children have their own home/school notebooks, which relay
information between parents and the classroom teacher and the classroom staff. Because
parents may write about sensitive topics (medications, etc.) the notebooks are
confidential.
Material Bins: The material bins contain instructional materials that will be used by
other practicum students after you leave the shift. Consequently, it is very important that
all materials are returned to the bins when the procedure is done. Please keep extra
materials out of the bins such as tissues or reinforcers. Please let your TA or supervisor
know if any of the items from the bin are missing.
Reinforcer Bins: Each child has a bin that contains their favorite reinforcers. This may
include various toys, books, etc. It is also very important that child’s reinforcers are not
placed in the material bins, or the instructional materials are not placed in the reinforcer
bins.
Icon Rings: Each child has a ring with laminated pictorial icons of activities that the
child is scheduled to do. When getting ready to do an activitiy, say, “See, it is time to go
to bathroom (music, speech, etc.)”, and bring the icon to the destination. After you reach
the destination, you can place the icon ring in your apron and bring it back to the booth.
Booths: Each child is also assigned a booth that they will work in every day. The booth
contains two chairs, an empty desk, a material bin, a box of tissues, and a waste basket.
Booths should be cleaned at the end of each shift.
Data Sheets: The data sheets in the procedure book should only be marked in pencil. The
classroom teacher, the classroom staff, and your TA or supervisor are the only ones who
can make phase changes (phase changes will be discussed further in later readings).
Groups: We have 3 groups (music, snack, and speech) that your child will participate in
while at school. During this time you should reinforce appropriate behavior such as good
eye contact, quiet hands, good in-seat behavior, etc. and prompt or model appropriate
responding. You should make sure your child is attending to the group, has quiet hands,
etc.

7. Playroom: The children are scheduled to be in the playroom at specific times for
procedures or structured play. Your child should not be in the playroom at any other time.
Structured play is an excellent time for you to establish yourself as a reinforcer and work
on appropriate play skills. You should interact with your child the entire time you are in
the playroom (See Extra Learning Opportunities section in Readings #2). This is not a
time to sit, relax, or socialize with your classmates. Toys should be put away before you
leave.
Children: Never leave your child alone, even for a minute. If you need to use the
restroom, etc., ask someone to watch your child for you.
Do not take your child’s behavior personally, and do not get angry with him/her.
Try to remember that he/she is a very young child and with a very serious
impairment. If you need a break because you feel like you are getting angry, don’t
hesitate to ask your TA to take over for a few minutes.
Other:
1. When your child gets injured (hits his/her head, pokes his eyes, scratches a scab, etc.)
or if your child looks sick, please inform your TA, supervisor, or the classroom staff,
even if the injury or sickness doesn’t seem serious.
2. When you do not have to take care of your child (e.g., your child is absent, late,
OT, etc.), ask your TA what you should do. It is not a time to take a rest and
socialize with other practicum students.
3. There is a WoodsEdge’s “no-scent” policy, and be aware that some products that claim
to be unscented are not. Often children are using medications or will have certain medical
conditions. Because of confidentiality issues, we cannot tell you about these conditions.
4. Wash your hands before you start working with your child and before you leave
WoodsEdge.
5. WoodsEdge Drills
• Fire Drills
o Immediately go outside no matter where you are (i.e. the booth, music,
speech, etc.).
o Follow the group that you are with and if you are not with the class, find
someone with a walkie-talkie and let them know that you are in Carmen’s
class.
o This is the only time that you are allowed to pick up your student and carry
them if they are tantruming.
• Lock Down Drills
o Stop whatever activity you are doing.
o Follow the classroom teachers, staff, or teaching assistants to an assigned area.
• Tornado Drills

8. o Classroom staff (Trista and Meghan) will assist you in finding the proper
shelter, probably in a bathroom.