News 2011: Dr. Heward will speak on March 30 at UMass Dartmouth about improving education of students with Autism Spectrum disorders

News 2011: Dr. Heward will speak on March 30 at UMass Dartmouth about improving education of students with Autism Spectrum disorders
Dr. Heward will speak on March 30 at UMass Dartmouth about improving education of students with Autism Spectrum disorders

UMD, the Evergreen Center and Beacon present Applied Behavior Analysis speaker series on March 30.Guest speaker is Dr. Heward, Professor Emeritus in the College of Education and Human Ecology at Ohio State University

UMass Dartmouth, in partnership with The Evergreen Center and Beacon ABA Services will hold their second annual Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Speaker Series featuring keynote speaker and noted Professor Dr. William Heward on March 30 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Woodland Commons, UMass Dartmouth. 

The purpose of this annual ABA event is to bring awareness to the fight against Autism and to introduce UMass Dartmouth's ABA Master's and ABA Certification programs. The event is open to the public and is expected to attract over 150 people from educational facilities throughout New England providing services to children and adults with autism. 

Dr. Heward, Professor Emeritus in the College of Education and Human Ecology at Ohio State University, will speak about "Using Science to Improve the Education of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders".   
Dr. Heward has had an international impact on improving the education and treatment of people with disabilities. He has accomplished this not only through his writing, but through his university teaching and advising, consulting to schools and other educational programs, his extensive research program in the field, and numerous presentations at professional meetings for researchers and practitioners. 

"The Applied Behavior Analysis Master of Arts program and the Post Masters Certificate programs are a unique collaboration of the Evergreen Center and Beacon ABA Services with the UMass Dartmouth Psychology Department and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education," said Dr. Barry Haimson, Chancellor Professor/Chair Psychology Department at UMass Dartmouth. "Both the Evergreen Center and Beacon ABA Services offer our student's fieldwork sites providing services to autistic and developmentally disabled individuals. They also supervise other students at Fieldwork sites without Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA).  Graduates of both programs will be qualified to sit for the BCBA examination and will fill a critical and expanding need for professionals trained to deliver empirically supported treatments in a variety of settings." 

According to Dr. Robert Littleton, Executive Director, Founder of the Evergreen Center and President, Founder of Beacon ABA Services, "In recent years our society has become more skilled at identifying and treating individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. These efforts have resulted in dynamic increases in the numbers of children and adults requiring services which have severely taxed available professional resources. As leaders in this field, the Evergreen Center and Beacon ABA Services have been pleased to provide adjunct faculty and fieldwork supervisors to help expand the Applied Behavior Analysis programs at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. It is truly inspiring to see our state university respond to society's needs so efficiently and with such quality". 

The collaboration among the Evergreen Center, Beacon ABA Services, UMass Dartmouth Professional & Continuing Education and UMass Dartmouth Psychology Department seeks to provide high quality, convenient educational services for behavior analyst practitioners interested in earning a master's degree in Psychology concentrating in Applied Behavior Analysis. This program provides career professional development opportunities to employees of these organizations, as well as to other non-affiliated professionals. 
   
For more information please contact Christine Carreiro at UMass Dartmouth's Division of Professional and Continuing Education at 508.999.9062 or go to umassd.edu/pce/rsvp/welcome.cfm to register for the event.