CEHHS Presents New Autism Training Opportunites

 

Participants during the Autism Information and
Recruiting event

DEARBORN, MI - On September 22, 2016, the University of Michigan-Dearborn College of Education, Health, and Human Services (CEHHS) hosted an information and recruiting event to present the new CEHHS programs on Autism Opportunities. More than 30 participants learned about the basics of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and its evidence-based applications to autism and other areas. Participants also learned about new Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) training course and Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) courses.

Registered Behavior Technicians (RBT) are credentialed paraprofessionals who practice under the close, ongoing supervision of a Board Certified Behavior Analysis (BCBA) or Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA). 

Dr. David Hill explains the basics of Applied Behavior
Analysis

The RBT delivers behavioral interventions in a one-on-one or small group setting from a detailed plan with the goals including:

• Improved education
• Improved health outcomes
• Improved behavior challenges
• Improved social behavior

There are many possibilities, including international, for RBT employment upon earning the credential.  Some opportunity fields are:

• Private family homes
• Residential group homes
• Private and state facilities providing behavioral and mental health services
• Non-profit agencies, health, and human services providers
• Private clinics
• Hospitals
• Behavioral in-patient crisis centers
• Schools as paraprofessional in special or general education settings
• Law enforcement agencies

The College of Education, Health, and Human Services has a new 40-hour program teaching the RBT Task List of skills necessary to sit for the national examination and become an RBT. Courses start on October 14, 2016. Please check the Registered Behavior Technician page for additional details.

Paul Bielich from the Curriculum Knowledge Center
offered literature about Autism

UM-Dearborn partners with five Michigan universities to improve the health of children with disabilities

The University of Michigan-Dearborn is one of six Michigan universities partnered on a $2.2 million, five-year grant from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration for the project “Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Other Related Disabilities (LEND) Maternal Child Health (MCH) Training Program,” or MI-LEND. The purpose of MI-LEND is to improve the health of infants, children, and adolescents with disabilities in Michigan by training individuals from diverse disciplines to assume leadership roles in their respective fields and work across disciplines.

MI-LEND is a consortium of six universities including University of Michigan-Dearborn, University of Michigan, Wayne State University, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University and Central Michigan University; all six universities will contribute faculty and trainees. The Developmental Disabilities Institute (DDI) at Wayne State leads the consortium with Sharon Milberger, Ph.D., director of DDI, serving as the MI-LEND program director. Jane Turner, M.D., pediatrician and professor at Michigan State University, is co-director.

 

Dean Janine Janosky

The lead at University of Michigan-Dearborn is Janine Janosky, PhD, Dean of the College of Education, Health, and Human Services. “We at the College of Education, Health, and Human Services  at UM-Deaborn are excited to collaborate with our 5 Michigan state universities in this consortium.”, said Dean Janosky. “Through the consortium, we are working together to expand graduate-level training for working in the fields of neurodevelopment disabilities and autism.  The graduates of our programs will positively impact the children they are serving as well as work to improve the systems of care for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and autism."

MI-LEND leaders will work in collaboration with members of Michigan’s Title V program, including Children’s Special Health Care Services, the governor’s Autism Council, the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and other key statewide disability/advocacy organizations.

MI-LEND will address the complex needs of those with autism and other disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, by increasing the number of graduate, doctoral and postdoctoral students prepared to address their needs. In addition, it will increase the number of providers available to diagnose and treat infants, children, and adolescents with disabilities. An important component of MI-LEND is participation of family members and individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities in developing the curriculum and working with trainees to ensure a family-centered approach to care at all levels.

“Expanding the educational opportunities related to the treatment of autism and other developmental disabilities for over 181,800 medical and professional students and physicians will help improve the quality of care for these individuals and increase their ability to have self-determined independent lives,” said Lt. Gov. Brian Calley. “I am proud to see Michigan’s universities working together on advancements in this area.”

To learn more about the MI-LEND program, contact dean Janine Janosky at jjanosky@umich.edu

ACTS Kicks Off at UM-Dearborn CEHHS

DEARBORN, MI - The College of Education, Health, and Human Services is pleased to announce the inaugural talk of the Autism Communication and Training Series (ACTS), "Applied Behavior Analysis: First Steps for Caregivers and Practitioners".

This session will be held on July 13, 2016. Come and learn more about the basics of ABA and get information about the new Registered Behavior Technician training program.  There will also be on-site registrations for future training sections.

What: Inaugural talk of Autism Communication and Training Series

Who: UM-Dearborn, College of Education, Health, and Human Services

Where: Fairlane Center North, Quad E.  19000 Hubbard Drive, Dearborn, MI

When: July 13, 2016 / 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

The informational session is free, and refreshments will be provided.

REGISTER NOW

For more information, visit the Registered Behavior Technician page to learn more about the training program and future training dates.

UMD Collaborates with Beaumont Health on Autism Center

By Courtney Morrison

1 in 68 American children have been
identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one-in-68 American children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Statistics like this one and the growing need for specialized care is what prompted the University of Michigan-Dearborn to utilize its already-existing partnership with Beaumont Health to create the new autism center.

Two professors of the College of Education, Health, and Human Services (CEHHS) are

Professor David Hill

closely involved in the development of this center which is expected to be open in the Fall of 2016.

 Professor David Hill, Phd in Special Education, plays an important role in the educational aspects of the new center. He explains that there are two sides to the center.

“The first one is the medical side,” Hill said. “They [medical personnel] diagnose and treat disorders. The second side is the educational side. We in education do not diagnosis children with autism. Medical personnel are the only ones allowed to diagnose.”

Professor LaShorage Shaffer, Phd in Special Education, is currently

Professor LaShorage Shaffer

serving as a Special Education Consultant to the Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC) where the new center will be located. She explains that, “The center will start with three classrooms. Each classroom will hold approximately thirty children and each child will have one RBT (registered behavior technician) assigned to them”.

The cost to families utilizing the center’s programs will be relatively low. Any medical aspects will be billed towards the appropriate medical insurances. Once patients become eligible for K-12 schooling, they can move into the classroom depending on need, for free.

Read the full article at The Michigan Journal

Center for Autism: CEHHS and Beaumont initiative awarded $750,000

The College of Education and Health and Human Services (CEHHS) was awarded $750,000 by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to assist in starting the Center for Autism, a University of Michigan-Dearborn and Beaumont Health System partnership.

CEHHS Dean Janine Janosky said that nearly 18,000 students were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in 2011 and there is an estimated of 50,000 Michigan residents with ASD. Educators with experience on this special need are in demand.

“If you look at the prevalence and incidence for diagnosis of the autism spectrum disorder in Michigan, you see there is an increase in both. You also see there is a gap between the number of individuals prepared to work in that profession and the individuals being diagnosed,” she said. “So the college is here to work to fill that gap.”

The goal is to train at least 225 registered behavior technicians. In addition, the center will educate 25 board certified assistant behavior analysts (BCaBA) through a certificate program.

The center—which will be housed in the building shared by UM-Dearborn’s Early Childhood Education Center and Beaumont’s Center for Exceptional Families (CEF)—is expected to open in Fall 2016.

View full article in The Reporter.