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Clinical Development

Clinician in Training (CiT) Program – Grooming future BCBAs:

We believe that academic coursework for becoming a Behavior Analyst (BCBA), while necessary, is not sufficient by itself.  The path to becoming a great BCBA requires systematically bridging the gap between academia and practical hands-on experience. Our Clinician in Training (CiT) program, originally launched in 2014, is designed to provide essential training and mentorship components towards grooming great future BCBAs.

This program includes:

  • Supervision
  • Mentorship & feedback both from Clinical Training team
  • Ability to overlap/shadow experienced BCBAs and clinical leaders
If you are interested in learning more, fill out our form here

Clinical Training Team:

We believe we are never done building, improving, and learning. This belief forms the mission of the Clinical Training Team. This team comprises in-house, senior clinicians and BCBA-D’s who are focused on driving outcomes, research, learning and development. They serve as our “seal team” that supports and mentors the rest of the organization where needed. Our Clinical Training team’s work is tied to our core value to “never sit still and continuously raise the bar.”

Meet our Clinical Training & Quality Team members below and learn about each of their focus areas:

 

Simone Palmer
Vice President of Clinical Training

Simone Palmer, BCBA-D

Simone Palmer is the Vice President of Clinical Training at Bierman. She holds a PhD in Behavior Analysis. Simone is experienced in managing behavior targeted for reduction and is involved in creating Behavior Support Plans. Alongside her other roles, she also acts as an Adjunct Professor at Simmons University.

Bierman Team
Director of Clinical Leadership Training

Ashley Ahlers, BCBA

Ashley Ahlers is the Director of Clinical Leadership Training at Bierman. She has been employed at Bierman for over 7 years and knows a wealth of information about goal development and treatment plans. She also acts as a specialist in feeding and collaboration.

Bierman Team
Director of Supervision

Kelly Leblanc, BCBA

Kelly Leblanc is the Bierman’s Director of Supervision at Bierman. She graduated with a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2013, where she minored in Education and specialized in Developmental Disabilities and Human Services. Prior to joining the Bierman ABA team in Boston, she worked a year long internship in an ABA centered school. She received her Masters Degree in Behavior Analysis from Simmons College.

Fumi Horner
VP of Quality, Outcomes, and Research

Fumi Horner, BCBA-D

Fumi Horner is the VP of Quality, Outcomes, and Research at Bierman. She has spent her entire career working in the field of ABA, starting as a therapist for children with autism. She continued working in the field while earning her PhD from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in 2016. She has taught semester courses for Masters’ and PhD students as an adjunct faculty in addition to her clinical experience as a BCBA-D. Fumi oversees as the Chair of Bierman’s IRB.

Director of BA Development

Nicole Partridge, BCBA

Nicole has been with Bierman since 2014 and has worked across two states as well as many locations and roles. Nicole has had experience across school, home and center-based ABA settings and brings a breadth of knowledge. Nicole has a passion for training new clinicians and cannot wait to meet everyone across all Bierman locations.

Here’s what our clinical team is currently working on:

  • Onboarding and Training for BCBA’s. Revamping the entire process and competency based trainings
  • Advanced professional development opportunities for current employees- internal CEU’s
  • External CEU development
  • Revamping the caregiver webinars
  • Conducting centralized trainings for all clinical areas
  • Institutional Review Board
  • Consult with centers to assist- behavior assessments and behavior support plans.
  • Programming and instructional designs existing and new centers
  • Feeding support.

Ongoing Clinical Development  

The Clinical Development Team drives training systems and continuous improvement in all aspects of our clinical approach.

We are committed to creating progress and possibilities for children with autism. The foundation of this commitment is our ongoing staff training. We’ve created our own interactive curriculum to ensure mastery of ABA best practices and teaching methods across our entire staff.

Technology Driven Online Training Systems

With a demand for services on the rise, many insurance companies are now requiring direct intervention be delivered by a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) credentialed by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). The BACB requires a 40-hour training course as part of a requirement for RBT training. While many companies purchase a pre-made video course to teach employees, Bierman ABA Autism Center created nearly 50 hours of original content for our RBT course. Our course covers all behavior analysis related topics covered by the BACB RBT checklist, covers additional concepts to deepen understanding of ABA, and teaches the concept in a way that ensures mastery of the concepts similar to that of a graduate level course.

Our RBT content is delivered via an online training platform that allows us to create original content, evolve and add to content, and provide a personalized learning process.

Skill Development System

Our Skill Development System (SDS) is an objective, data driven training system that teaches all clinical training components. Content for training is first delivered via our online training platform, skills are then practiced within fluency-based instruction where the SDS utilizes in situ feedback tools to ensure consistency of demonstration, as well as concept mastery across several learners.

The SDS differs from ordinary check box or scale-based evaluation systems, as the data driven measures not only ensure consistency across all staff, but are constructed to constantly raise the bar on clinical skill development and performance.

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