Past Students

Name

Where they are now?

Deirdre Kavanagh

Class of 2013

I am currently in my first year of PhD Psychology in NUI Maynooth. My research is in the area of RFT and perspective-taking in mental health .I also work part-time as an ABA tutor on home programs with young children with ASD. 

Catriona Connolly

Class of 2012

I currently work as Clinical Director in ABACAS Special School for Children with Autism and Complex Needs in Drogheda. As the name suggests, all our students have a primary diagnosis of ASD but many of them also have an intellectual disability. The age range is 3-17 and I am responsible for designing the behaviour support plans for any student that needs them. Some of the issues facing the students can be addressed through teaching a new skill and I will work closely with the teachers and SNA staff to design programmes that meet that need. Our school is currently 'top heavy' in that the majority of our students are teenagers. Puberty can be a tricky time for our students and we need to plan carefully how best to set our students up for a successful transition to adult services as well as be creative in how we can support students who may have potentially dangerous challenging behaviours. I gained my BCBA certification in February 2014.

Thérése Brady

Class of 2012

I currently work as Director of Education/Senior Behavior Analyst for Saplings Special School in Carlow. Following the completion of my Masters I become a BCBA in 2013. Prior to taking up my current role I previously worked in Achieve ABA and Early Intervention ABA school for children with Autism in Dublin. I really enjoyed my time on the MSc  in ABA  and found it critical to my clinical practice.

Jennifer Hayes

Class of 2011

Following the completion of my Masters I pursued further studies in the area of Behaviour Analysis. I am currently a PhD candidate completing my

PhD in Applied Behaviour Analysis at NUI, Galway. My PhD is looking at Assessing and training affirmation and disconfirmation of relations as a generalized relational repertoire in typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorder. I also have experience as a  Private Consultant for home tuition for children with ASD and Speech and Language Disorders, and am a certified BCBA since November 2014.

Arlene Mannion

I completed the MSc in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) from National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway) in 2011.  Following the MSc, I went on to study for a PhD.  I am currently a PhD candidate in ABA in NUI Galway.  I received a Hardiman Research Scholarship to fund my PhD.  My research focuses on co-occurring disorders in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  Specifically, I am investigating sleep problems and gastrointestinal symptoms in individuals with ASD.

Kathryn O’ Mahony

Class of 2010

I completed my Masters  in Applied Behaviour Analysis from N.U.I Galway in 2010. In 2011 I qualified to become a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst. As of 2015, I am currently employed as the Educational Director/Senior Behaviour Analyst in a Special Needs School for Children with Autism and Complex needs. This school caters for pupils aged 4 - 18 and is based in Dublin.

Claire Connolly

Class of 2009

Following my graduation from the MSc in ABA I worked with Ability West within residential services until 2011. In June 2011 I moved to Sydney where I worked as an independent Junior Therapist under the supervisionof programme supervisors at the Lizard Children Centre. Subsequently, I worked as Junior Therapist for 2 years for Momentum Learning Services. I worked as a team leader for school aged children with ASD providing school shadowing and 1:1 therapy.  In July 2014 I was promoted to and am currently employed as a Behavioral Consultant with Momentum Learning Services in Alexandria, Sydney. My primary roles at present are programming and supervising programmes. I hope to sit the BCBA exam in 2016.

Hazel O Carroll

Class of 2009

Prior to embarking on the MSc in ABA I had worked since 2003 as an ABA tutor on home programs under the London Early Autism project  and as a key worker in Rehab Care residential services. Following the completion of the MSC I began supervising Home programs in Limerick, Clare, Kerry, Tipperary and Cork. I completed a Postgraduate diploma in Education in University College Cork in 2011 and have taught at Post primary level in addition to consulting in home programs. I gained my BCBA certification in 2014

I also carried out work with parent support groups (Kerry Autism Action, Galway Autism Partnership) to provide educational workshops to Parents and Educators who are supporting Children and adolescents with ASD and Developmental Disability. I work with a diverse group of clients, in ages ranging from 2 to 18. I am currently in the process of registering my own company The Mid-West Behaviour Support and Advocacy Service and am excited about developing this project in 2015

Joanne Collier

Class of 2008

I am a behaviour therapist with the Muiriosa Foundation, who provides a specialist Behavioural Psychology service to children and families attending the HSE school age disability teams across the Midlands region.  As behaviour therapist on the HSE School Age Disability Team, my role is to  provide consultation and short term intervention to families of children who require behavioural support. The service is designed to meet the complex support needs of children with significant intellectual disability and/or autism who are presenting with behaviours that are described as challenging. My role also includes carrying out functional behavioural assessments, skills teaching, designing or adapting learning environments and advising on optimal support configurations for these children.

This specialist service is available to all children with diagnosed disabilities who are currently attending the school age disability teams. The types of issues that can be referred to the behavioural psychology service include behaviours that are described as challenging and that place significant strain on families such as: intractable sleeping difficulties, property destruction, toileting problems, self injurious behaviours (including pica), aggressive behaviours (hitting, kicking etc.) and other behaviours that are associated with disability and that interfere with a child’s integration in ordinary community settings (e.g. removing clothes, flopping to the ground etc.).

Sarah Devlin

Class of 2008

I currently work as a Specialist Teacher in the Middletown Centre for Autism. Since completing my Master in Applied Behaviour Anlaysis I have gone on to become a BCBA having gained extensive  experience working with children and young people with autism. I previously worked as coordinator of a National Community Outreach Programme for children with autism and complex needs in Ireland.  Whilst in this role, I gained significant experience in liaising with multi-disciplinary teams, assessment and the development of learning and behaviour support plans as well as training parents and teachers in autism specific interventions. I have also provided consultation services and training for parents and professionals throughout Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Elaine Mellott

Class of 2008

I completed my masters in ABA in 2008 and obtained my BCBA in 2010.  My current role is as ABA Clinical Program Manager for The Complete Advantage (TCA) in Perth, Western Australia.   TCA is the private division of Therapy Focus, WA’s largest disability service provider.  Our ABA program provides centre-based, home, school and outreach ABA therapy services for children with a diagnosis of Autism or other developmental disabilities.  As Clinical Program Manager, I am responsible for providing clinical direction and oversight for all aspects of ABA therapy including program development, staff and parent training and expansion of new ABA services.

Prior to working in this role I was employed a Case Manager for the LEARN foundation for Autism and as a Behaviour Specialist for the Disability Service Commission in Melbourne and Western Care Association in Co Mayo.