3 units

Building on foundational knowledge of the concepts and principles of applied behavior analysis, this course teaches how to design individualized behavior change protocols to address challenging behavior and skill acquisition needs.

This course examines the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) using a developmental approach that emphasizes how clinical presentation changes with age. Students will review a range of evidence-based therapeutic interventions including intensive early interventions, social skills building, and interventions for older adults. Diversity factors, barriers and challenges to accessing and implementing treatment, and the role of advocacy will also be incorporated. This course prepares students to work with diverse populations. The course addresses a variety of topics including gender, trauma, cross-cultural supervision, application of the behavior analyst certification board (BACB) Ethics code when working with diverse populations, education on various cultures, beliefs, expectations, how they best or least interact with other cultures/ethnicities, ASD and culture, bias, LGBTQIA+, working with low socioeconomic status (SES) populations, use of translators, and the neurodiversity movement. Prerequisites: PSY 613, 615; & 634 (or may be taken concurrently with PSY 634).