• District Behavior Specialist
     
    Jennifer Demski, M.A., BCBA
    (856) 751-8446
     
    HawksUMBC
                                      
     
    Hi, my name is Mrs. Demski and I am the Voorhees School District's Behavior Specialist.  This is my fourth year working for the district.  I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.  I earned my bachelor's degree in psychology at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia.  I earned my master's degree in Psychology with a concentration in applied behavior analysis from University of Maryland Baltimore County.  I am a member of the Association for Behavior Analysis.
     
    As the Voorhees Township Public School District's Behavior Specialist, I consult with each of the elementary schools and the middle school.  I work with a variety of staff members to establish proactive strategies to implement within the classroom as well as in other school environments.  Providing high rates of reinforcement, effective communication systems, and a predictable routine are some of the strategies that are used to establish an environment conducive to learning and appropriate behavior.  In addition, to providing proactive recommendations, I also conduct functional behavior assesments for those children who are displaying challenging behaviors.  Some of the steps included in a functional behavior assessment may include teacher/parent interviews, record review, direct observation of the student in a variety of settings, and an analysis of antecedent, behavior, consequence data.  A hypothesis of the function of the behavior is established based on the assessment.  Proactive and reactive strategies are developed based on the maintaining function/s of the target behaviors.  Appropriate replacement behaviors are identified as well.   
     
    Definition of Applied Behavior Analysis  
              "The design implementation and evaluation of systematic environmental modifications for the purpose of producing socially significant improvements in and understanding of human behavior based on the principles of behavior identified through the experimental analysis of behavior.  It includes the identification of functional relationships between behavior and environments.  It uses direct observation and measurement of behavior and environment.  Contextual factors, establishing operations, antecedent stimuli, positive reinforcers, and other consequences are based on identified functional relationships with the environment, in order to produce practical behavior change." *
    *per state regulations of Florida
     
    Best Practices Research
     
    http://www.madsec.org/docs/atf.htm:  Study out of Maine regarding research supported interventions for children with autism.
     
    http://seab.envmed.rochester.edu/jaba/ : Link to the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis which publishes research about applications of the experimental analysis of behavior to problems of social importance.
     
     
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