Featured Certificant
Sara White
Bellingham, Washington
I was in my fourth year at the University of British Columbia, still trying to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up, when I stumbled upon a video of Dr. Ivar Lovaas working with children with autism. I was doing a project for a senior level biopsychology class on opioids and autism, and was looking for a video clip to illustrate how children with autism behave. Instead what I found was an intriguing approach to autism intervention.
I had been planning to take two years off to work and travel before returning to school, and thought that it might be nice to actually use the degree that I had spent four years earning. So I set out to find children with autism who were receiving behavioral intervention. Although Vancouver is a major city, there were very few families undertaking intensive behavioral intervention at that time. I was fortunate to connect with a mother who was instrumental in promoting applied behavior analysis. Through her I was able to connect with families living all over the greater Vancouver area.
About six months into my year and a half of working, I decided that behavioral intervention for children with autism would be an interesting field in which to pursue a career. Though I had always planned on pursuing a doctoral degree, I wanted to be sure that autism intervention was what I wanted to do long term, so I began researching master’s degree programs in clinical psychology with specializations in ABA. I found a handful of schools that I thought would meet my needs, sent out my applications, and then promptly left for six months of traveling. While traveling, I called home periodically to check on the status of my applications. I received two offers and made several long distance phone calls from Bangkok, Thailand before deciding to attend the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.
During my time at the University of the Pacific, I was able not only to learn more about ABA as it applies to autism, but also to broaden my perspective to understand how the principles of behavior analysis are equally applicable to all individuals. While at the University of the Pacific, I began working at Valley Mountain Regional Center, providing behavioral consultation services to families of children with developmental disabilities. I was very fortunate to work with several incredible mentors at the University of the Pacific, including Dr. Kenneth Beauchamp, Dr. Roger Katz, and Dr. David Wilder. I also had some excellent mentors at Valley Mountain Regional Center, such as Dr. Howard Cohen and Sharlyn Nomellini. My master’s thesis research compared the effects of different methods of feedback on skill acquisition by children with autism.
While I was completing my second year at the University of the Pacific, a colleague and I started a business providing interim services to children with autism who were on waiting lists for full-time programs. We started out with just the two of us, supervised by behavior analysts. By the time I left two years later, we had five employees and approximately 30 clients. The business is still booming under the direction of my colleague Sally Grevemberg, BCBA.
After completing my master’s degree in 2000, I began looking for a doctoral program. Based on my experience at the University of the Pacific, I knew that I wanted to attend a doctoral program that had an on-site center-based program for children with developmental disabilities, which meant my pool of potential programs was relatively small. I was accepted to Binghamton University and began studying under Dr. Raymond Romanczyk in 2001.
I was very fortunate to spend four wonderful years under Dr. Romanczyk’s mentorship learning an immeasurable amount about behavior analysis, autism, and learning disabilities. I enjoyed my time at the Institute for Child Development at Binghamton University so much that I returned after completing my pre-doctoral internship at Geisinger Medical Center to complete a year of post-doctoral work.
The grand plan has always been to return to the west coast where I had grown up and where my husband had lived for several years. In preparation, I began providing consultation services to some clients on the west coast using a combination of videoconferencing and on-site consulting. In 2007, I gave up my position at the Institute for Child Development and we moved to Bellingham, Washington, which is located about 20 minutes south of the Canadian border. Many of the families that I worked with prior to going to graduate school were still living in the area, so I spread the word that I was returning, and in no time had a full client load in the greater Vancouver area. I also began to take on supervisees to allow me to both build the pool of qualified and competent behavior analysts in the Vancouver area and serve more clients.
I currently work in private practice and have six master’s-level supervisees and one bachelor’s-level supervisee. We serve approximately 50 clients. I also serve on the board of the Autism Society of British Columbia, where I am helping to design and oversee a sibling support website. Additionally, I serve as a member-at-large on the Board of Directors of the British Columbia Association for Behavior Analysis (BC-ABA), and was the co-chair of the committee that organized the first annual conference, which had approximately 20 presenters and 200 attendees. I am also involved in the BC-ABA supervision committee, which is attempting to develop guidelines for the provision of supervision in the province of British Columbia.
When I’m not working, I enjoy spending as much time as I can with my family, my husband, Mike, and my two young children, Hanna and Ania. I also try to find time to get out and enjoy all of the wonderful activities that the Pacific Northwest has to offer.