During Autism Acceptance Month, we’re spotlighting behavior intervention developer Joy J., who knows forging connections with family can be instrumental in supporting student success. 

<p>During Autism Acceptance Month, we’d like to show our appreciation for Joy J., a behavior intervention developer who recognizes the importance of building trusting relationships with families of her students.</p><p>One of Joy’s goals was to help a student who was not attending school. Joy worked to build and nurture a positive connection with the student and his mother, and together, they were able to improve his attendance. Here’s how Joy describes the experience and outcome:</p><ul><li>“I was recently asked to provide BIC [behavior intervention] services to a student who had attended no more than a couple days of school in the 2020-2021 school year. The IEP team had hoped that by bringing me on, they could see some improvements in the student’s attendance.</li><li><br></li><li>In starting services, I advised the school staff to speak with Mom in a collaborative manner, as previous correspondence with Mom had mainly been to provide critical feedback about the student’s inappropriate behaviors. The school RSP and I called Mom every week and provided updates, but also made sure to take the time to check in on additional supports that we could provide for her and her son.</li><li><br></li><li>Mom has been very receptive to our calls and we are now seeing the student attend roughly 50% of his classes in a week on average. Though the student’s attendance is far from perfect, this has been a huge success across the board as the student is now attending some classes, teachers see progress, and parents feel supported. An added bonus is that teachers are now collecting data consistently and sending me email updates when they see the student in class as well, having seen the benefits of our interactions with Mom!”</li></ul><p>This is just one example of the wonderful work our professionals are doing to improve the lives of young people with autism and those with behavioral issues. We’re proud to work with Joy and honored that she has chosen Cross Country Education. Thanks Joy!</p><h2>Spreading Awareness and Acceptance of Autism</h2><p>In 1970, <a href="https://www.autism-society.org/get-involved/national-autism-awareness-month/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Autism Society of America</a> began efforts to spread awareness about autism. In 1972, they launched the first annual National Autistic Children’s week, which evolved into Autism Acceptance Month, now recognized each April.</p><h2>Behavior Analysis and Intervention for Autism</h2><p>During Autism Acceptance Month, in addition to spotlighting one of our behavior intervention developers, Joy J., we’d like to point out the positive impact of behavior analysis and intervention for students with autism. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) has yielded the most promising results of any research area to date in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders (<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1750946711000778?via=ihub" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Matson et al</a>.).</p><p>To learn how you can help students succeed, visit our <a href="https://www.crosscountryeducation.com/job-search" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">career opportunities</a> today.</p><p><br></p>

Spotlighting Behavior Intervention Developer Joy J.