Autism evaluations to begin at Pitt State

A new interdisciplinary autism evaluation project by the Psychology & Counseling Department at Pittsburg State University will help relieve waitlists at area agencies. At the same time, it will give university students valuable experience.

The project will be funded by a $40,000 grant award by the Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE), which will cover enough testing materials and resources for two children per month for 2 to 3 years. Initially, it will serve children ages 1 to 6 years old.

The results will not be a diagnosis, but rather an evaluation that can be used for educational services or for parents to provide to their child's pediatrician for a medical diagnosis.

The project, slated to begin in Spring 2025, will be directed by Assistant Professor Paige Boydston, director of the Behavior Analysis program at Pitt State.

Such a service is in high demand. There are more than 100 children on wait lists at the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center at Greenbush and the Leffen Center in Joplin.

"This area is starved for services," Boydston said. "It makes good sense that we would do more for the surrounding community while also training our students, who hopefully will stay local post-graduate degree."

The goal: To eventually secure ongoing funding to assess 50 children a year and conduct virtual and in-person parent training.

Boydston, who earned her master's at Pitt State and a doctorate from Southern Illinois University, also practices clinically at a local agency. Her research interests include intensive behavioral intervention and treatment of autism, and supervision in behavior analysis.

She supervises graduate interns during their applied experience, and for this grant will be assisted by Halle Panter, a senior in Psychology who will begin her graduate degree in January.

They hope to collaborate with other Pitt State programs to provide children an interdisciplinary evaluation process, including Therapeutic Recreation for motor skills assessments.

The evaluation process will require around 10 hours of staff time per child, including pre-screening set-up, screening, full evaluations, and post-screening analysis and reports, for each child tested. For families, it will require a 10- to 20-hour investment of time. It will be completely free.

"Getting additional services in this area is long overdue," Boydston said. "This helps our community, and it helps our students."

They also will make training videos for students that demonstrate assessments of children without autism and those with autism for comparison, how to interact with families, and how to navigate the assessment process.

Boydston hopes to be able to one day extend the evaluations to children ages 7 to 10 years old.

Serving those with autism

Pitt State has two options for those interested in a career that serves those with autism: One in the Psychology & Counseling Department, and one in the Teaching & Leadership Department.

Master's in Psychology / Emphasis in Behavior Analysis
Psychology & Counseling Department

Pursue advanced training in behavior analysis and influence positive behavior change. Focus on evaluating clients, designing goals, monitoring progress, and utilizing empirically validated treatments. Learn to proficiently develop behavior support programs and provide early intervention. Earn your degree while obtaining internship experiences and become eligible for certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. The program offers research and hands-on experiences and on-campus and distance-based options. Also open to those with an existing master's degree in a related field. Learn more

Graduate Certificate / Autism Spectrum Disorder
Teaching & Leadership Department

Become an outstanding professional educator who serves students on the autism spectrum and their families in careers such as teaching, school or family counseling, art or music therapy, and advocacy. The Autism Spectrum Disorder certificate specializes in assessing and teaching ASD individuals Early Childhood (Birth through 5) and School-Aged (K-12). It includes a combination of coursework, including sensory and motor issues, assessment, characteristics, curriculum development, and social and behavioral interventions. Learn more

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