ABA students gain valuable experience in local internships

ABA students gain valuable experience in local internships

SHREVEPORT -- Some things are learned best by doing.

This rings true for the 11 LSUS applied behavior analysis students who completed summer internships at local clinics and schools.

"The value of hands-on experience with our outstanding local partners is truly immeasurable," said Dr. Margaret Gifford, an assistant professor of psychology who specializes in ABA. "As professors, we can teach all day long about our field and what it is like, but until students experience it for themselves, the connection just won't fully develop.

"These organizations give us so many opportunities for our students, and we are grateful for their partnerships."

ABA is a therapy based on the science of learning and behavior, using positive reinforcement to teach new skills and reduce challenging behaviors. The therapy is commonly used with individuals who are autistic or display other developmental disorders.

Rebekah Jones, a board certified assistant behavior analyst at Family Solutions Counseling Center, is an LSUS graduate student who also supervised LSUS undergraduates this summer.

"I write plans of care for clients, update programming, meet with my board certified behavior analyst, and much more," said Jones, who's been working in the field since 2022 and is close to finishing her master's degree in ABA. "One can become very knowledgeable with the terminology, but working directly with clients is a very different, more complex setting.

"Students should be seeing as many interventions as possible across clients, performing different assessments during evaluations, and learning how to interact with the parents of clients. I continued to learn new ways to intervene with challenging behaviors that can be applied in the client's home setting."

Interns typically start by observing behavioral assessments and meetings before conducting sessions under supervision. They logged 10 hours per week in their professional setting while completing outside assignments and activities.

Brandi Butler, a board certified behavior analyst at Louisiana Autism Center, said all four of the interns whom she supervised over the past two semesters were offered paid positions with the LAC.

"Not only has every intern I've worked with been helpful, they've all been super quick to learn," said Butler, who earned a psychology bachelor's degree from LSUS in 2023 with a concentration in ABA before going on to finish her master's. "Building good ABA clinicians is a goal of mine.

"Having interns not only gives them experience in the field, but it ensures they can get training that is clinically and academically beneficial because of their collaboration with (Gifford)."

In addition to Family Solutions and Louisiana Autism Center, LSUS students completed internships at The Goldman School, Pelican Pediatric Therapy, Little Works in Progress and Behavioral Specialists of Louisiana.

Internships are a requirement for practitioners who apply for board certification.

Preparing oneself to deliver quality care in sometimes highly charged settings can only be learned through experience.

"That's one of the hardest skills to learn," Jones said. "Not only is this job physically demanding, but it's also mentally demanding.

"Learning to separate negative emotions from behavior interventions is necessary so that you are not negatively impacting the intervention process. This is also important to ensure you provide trauma-informed care."

That requires "patience and compassion," Butler said, but watching a child's progress is a satisfying payoff.

"The ABA field definitely has good and bad days, but the progress my kiddos make and the behavior techniques that I'm getting to build up and train keep me in the field," Butler said. "Sometimes providing a compassionate and caring space for the kiddos we support can do more for them than the actual ABA ever could."

Butler had similar thoughts about LSUS's ABA programs.

"You couldn't ask for a more supportive set of professors and environment," Butler said. "As long as you apply yourself and do the best you can, you will be supported and uplifted.

"Although most ABA programs tend to be online, going somewhere like LSUS is beneficial because you build relationships with your clinical peers and your professors."

Gifford, who is a key cog in LSUS's new master's ABA program as well as the undergraduate concentration in ABA, said the science is gaining ground in the psychology world.

"Once you've seen the science of ABA work and help others, you really learn to trust the science and the process and remain calm while administering it," Gifford said. "Even in charged situations, you keep your client's wellbeing at the front of your mind so you can control your emotions and stick to the plan.

"We want and need evert individual who provides ABA services to become fluent in administering treatment plans and helping kids reach their full potential."