More about William Henkel, PhD / BCBA
I have been working with individuals with severe behavior problems since 1984. Having completed the coursework for my Master’s degree in Psychology that winter, a friend encouraged me to apply for a job working at a behaviorally-based group home serving children with Autism. I had studied about Autism and volunteered in a preschool that served developmentally disabled children but I was not prepared for the profound effect this new job would have on me.
Some people who are attracted to this field are “naturals” when it comes to working with special needs kids – that in no way described me. In the beginning I struggled, was frequently frustrated, and often felt like a failure. The reason I kept failing was because I assumed I knew better and didn’t run the behavior plans as written. It was about this time I began to receive my first intensive on-the-job instruction in the theories and practice of Applied Behavior Analysis. As I came to better understand the behavior interventions and skills training plans individually developed for these children I became more and more committed to doing things the behavioral way. Before long I was getting the same good results as my colleagues and soon after was asked to start writing the behavior plans. That first year I went from a skeptic to a dyed-in-the-wool behaviorist, and I’ve never looked back.
Since then, my career has revolved around continuing to improve my ability to develop and implement behavioral strategies for all kinds of learners in order to improve classroom performance. I have worked as a Behavior Analyst for a handful of agencies throughout Northern California, serving individuals with autism and autism spectrum disorders, emotional disturbances, learning disabilities, and other developmental impairments in public and non-public schools, adult programs, and in their family’s home. Along the way I earned my PhD in Developmental Psychology and my certification as a nationally recognized Board Certified Behavior Analyst. I provide families with children individualized intervention and parent training, work with public school students with a variety of disabilities, and develop innovative social skills and social thinking services. Founding Emerald Behavior & Education Specialists has allowed me the freedom to provide the highest quality of behavior and education consulting services of my career.
More about April Kelly
I started working with students with special needs during my last year of high school.
I had asked my counselor at school if I could be assigned as a teacher’s assistant in a special education class on campus. I remember my counselor being surprised, saying, “we haven’t had that request before.” During that last year of high school I worked in two special education classes. One class served students with severe communicative and behavioral difficulties; most were non-verbal, and some were deaf/blind and non-verbal. The second class served students with emotional and learning difficulties. I found challenges in both classes, but challenges I ended up enjoying, because the progress I witnessed and experienced with the students was amazing. I felt a connection with the students and an ability to communicate and intuitively know what they needed to be successful. This experience led me on my lifelong career path in Special Education.
I went onto work in special day classes for students with moderate/severe disabilities,
and full inclusion situations where I helped to integrate students with disabilities into mainstream classroom settings. I also provided respite-care services in the homes of families with special needs children. I continued to further my education and graduated from Sonoma State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology in 2004. From there, I received my Education Specialist credential for moderate/severe disabilities in 2005.
For the next nine years I worked as a special education teacher for a non-public school serving early elementary students with moderate/severe behavioral challenges. This setting provided me with extensive experience working with those on the Autism spectrum and others with developmental impairments. I am experienced with helping students meet their academic, social and behavioral goals. I work collaboratively with other professionals to help each student live up to their potential. This year has been exciting for me to help found Emerald Behavior & Education Specialists and work with families and schools to help students access curriculum and be a part of their neighborhood school and community.