The Tower Foundation has awarded Daemen University $100,000 over the next two years to support the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Clinic. In partnership with Oshei Children’s Hospital Robert Warner Rehabilitation Center, the grant will help to expand the offering of the clinic, designed to provide parents of pediatric patients diagnosed with autism/related disorders with short-term, but practical skills to implement in the home, school, and community to better support their child’s behavioral needs
“Under the leadership of Dr. Nicole DeRosa, the Director of the Center for Applied Behavior Analysis, Daemen University’s Accessible ABA Clinic will help children and caregivers in the Buffalo area gain access to critically needed behavioral services,” said Dr. Vicki Knapp, associate professor and chair of the department of behavioral science. “The Clinic will also serve as an exciting opportunity for teaching and training undergraduate and graduate students in ABA and Behavioral Science.”
Run as a pilot program for the spring 2022 semester, the Clinic opened in January 2022 and provided in-kind services to 7 patients each receiving a combination of 4-6 in-person and/or tele-health sessions. The success of this pilot showed the interest and need in continuing this program.
Liz Wright, interim dean for the college of health, human science, and business, expressed gratitude for the funding. “We are so appreciative to the Tower Foundation for providing funding to develop a sustainable clinical program that allows applied behavior analysis (ABA) services to be offered to children with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families in Western New York (WNY),” Wright said.
In order to ensure sustainability, the piloted clinical program will be moved to a Daemen University clinical space within the next year.