Since the beginning of the
school year, I have had the pleasure to work with Dr. Christine Barthold on The
Functional Behavior Assessment project. This research project aims at
identifying and addressing the different barriers and problem behaviors that individuals
with intellectual and developmental disabilities face during employment in the
community.
On a weekly basis, I am
responsible for a few different tasks. I observe the interviews with the
participants and collect treatment integrity data. I also am in charge of
organizing, uploading, and inputting all the data collected from the interviews
into SPSS and blackboard. Recently, I have also started setting up the app that
will be used for the data collection portion during the observations. For this
upcoming semester we will begin the actual data collection with direct
observations of the Mason LIFE students at their different internships and
places of employment.
This opportunity has allowed
me to learn so much more about special education and applied behavior analysis
therapy. This week I learned more about ABC (antecedent- behavior- consequence)
observation, which is a tool, used to further collect information about the
events occurring within the environment of the participants.
As a psychology and
integrative studies major, the knowledge I am gaining from this position is
extremely beneficial. My long-term goal is to become an Occupational Therapist
and this research has helped me gain valuable experiences like working directly
with students with I/DD and introducing me to ABA therapy that directly
complements my future career plans. I look forward to upcoming semester and
continuing on this project!
