DDDC Research
The Division of Research and Training is responsible for the development, implementation, and evaluation of research carried out at the DDDC.
Undergraduate and graduate students in the division participate in ongoing research. Students are trained in experimental design, data collection and analysis, and the research, which compares various educational interventions and behavior management techniques, used with students with autism. Other topics of particular interest include: prediction of staff burnout, perceptions of behavioral techniques by the lay public, and generalization of skills. All research is conducted within the guidelines of Institutional Review Board of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at Rutgers University and includes fully informed parental consent.
Undergraduate Research Course
Undergraduate students enrolled in the research course spend 10 hours a week involved in ongoing projects at the DDDC. They work under the direct supervision of a graduate research coordinator and the Assistant Director of Research. As part of the research practicum, students design a research study on a topic of interest to them. In this way, students are exposed to the comprehensive experience of planning, conducting, and interpreting the results of a research project.
Graduate Research
Graduate students in the Rutgers Clinical Ph.D. Program in Psychology receive intensive, individualized research experience as part of their doctoral training. They are expected to develop and execute their own research, as well as facilitate research and training at the school. Graduate students from the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology are also invited to participate in the research program. Research is conducted under the supervision of Sandra Harris and other research faculty at the DDDC.
Collaboration With Other Agencies/Universities:
The Division of Research and Training collaborates with other agencies, with other Rutgers University faculty and with the faculty of other universities in research and dissemination efforts. Faculty serve on multi-center grants and regularly present at regional, national and international conferences.
Fieldwork Course
Each year the DDDC trains from 80 to 100 undergraduate students from the fieldwork course, teaching them techniques and educational strategies used with students with autism that are derived from ABA.
Practicum
Each year several graduate students in psychology receive advanced training in these areas and others, including behavioral consultation to staff and leading sibling support groups. As behavioral consultants, graduate students learn and practice functional assessment and functional analysis in coordination with the staff at the DDDC, while being supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
Professional Affiliations
The Research and Training Division maintains affiliations with the Autism and Related Developmental Disorders Special Interest Groups of two national organizations, the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy (AABT) and the Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA). The Division publishes a quarterly newsletter for both organizations that is distributed to professionals in the field.
Agency Training Support (staff)
The Division of Research and Training offers training services to new and returning staff at the center. A variety of training programs are offered throughout the year on a variety of topics relevant to autism and ABA.
ABA Courses
The faculty of the Research and Training Division offers a sequence of 5 courses in ABA. These courses are graduate level courses covering the theoretical foundation of ABA and clinical applications of ABA. The courses have been approved by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board as fulfilling the educational requirements for exam eligibility. Students who take this course sequence are eligible (education requirement) to take the national exam to become a certified behavior analyst.
