In an effort to provide support to parents, caretakers and educators, the University of the Virgin Islands-Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (VIUCEDD), Disability Rights Center of the Virgin Islands (DRCVI) and Inter-Island Parent Coalition for Change (IIPCC) sponsor a free workshop entitled “Positive Behavioral Support” with guest speaker Dr. Candace Baker.
Baker received a B.S. in Special Education for Emotional Disturbance and Learning Disabilities in 1972 when autism was included with emotional disturbance. At the time, Southern Illinois University-C had an elementary lab school for students with autism, and Dr. Baker received supervised training in the lab school. She went on to obtain an M.S. in Educational Psychology in preparation for school psychology. She attended SIU-C where faculty were engaged in research for applied behavior analysis and enrolled in coursework offered in the Rehabilitation Institute for what was then called behavior modification.
Dr. Baker worked as a special education teacher for two years and as a school psychologist for over 15 years where she served many P-12 students identified as having autism and/or other developmental disabilities. She returned to the Rehabilitation Institute at SIU-C for a doctorate in research and administration. After completing her Ph.D., Dr. Baker continued her work as an educational consultant before entering higher education for teacher preparation.
Her area of interest is individualized positive behavior supports, and she has made many state and national presentations. She published an article in the Journal of Positive Behavior Supports and served as a reviewer for the journal. Dr. Baker served on the Committee for Standards of Practice for the Association for Positive Behavior support and helped develop the standards for individualized positive behavior supports. Most recently, she received federal funding to develop a Master’s Degree in Autism Interventions at Texas A&M International University. The university also opened the Autism Interventions Center to serve area families for which Dr. Baker serves as the director.
The St. Thomas workshop will be held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Dec. 10 at Sugar Estate Complex Head Start Conference Room. The St. Croix workshop is scheduled for 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Dec. 12 at UVI- Great Hall. Register by calling on St. Thomas: 776-9200 ext. 2334 or on St. Croix: 692-4266.
