About Us
Kaci N. Smith, M.Ed,
BCBA
I have over
7 years of real world experience working with children who have
special needs. I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (Certification;
BCBA site)
with a Master's degree in Early Childhood Special Education from
the University of Texas at Austin.
Experience
Owner &
Consultant, KNS Autism Consulting & Behavior Therapy
Senior Lead
Teacher, Private School Program
Behavior
Therapist, Autism Consulting
Early
Intervention Specialist, Early Childhood Intervention (MHMR)
Education
Master of
Education, Early Childhood Special Education
University of
Texas at Austin
Graduate
Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis
University of
North Texas
Bachelor of
Science, Child Development and Family Relationships
University of
Texas at Austin
Certifications
Board Certified
Behavior Analyst (BCBA)
Personal History
I began working with children professionally 10 years ago
while I was an undergraduate student at the University of Texas
at Austin. I was pursuing a career in medic ine when that career
path changed to a more developmental/educational approach to
working with children. I volunteered at Children's Hospital of
Austin and Brackenridge Hospital in the Specialty Care Center,
in the purple and green units on patient floors dealing with a myriad of symptoms, and my favorite, the Neonatal Intensive Care
Unit (where I later interned in graduate school). Through my volunteer work and coursework, I became
interested in Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) and
children
with special needs. After I graduated with a B.S. in Child
Development and Family Relationships from the University of
Texas at Austin, I started my graduate program in Early
Childhood Special Education. In graduate school, I became
fascinated with Autism Spectrum Disorders and
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
I was a research assistant for Dr. Melissa Olive and her project
on Functional Communication Training.
Towards the end
of my graduate program, I became an Early Intervention
Specialist (EIS) for an Austin area ECI program. As an EIS, I
worked with children with special needs aged birth to 3 and
their families in the natural environment such as the home,
Mother's Day Out or day care. I was part of a multi-disciplinary
team of speech therapists, occupational therapists, physical
therapists and social workers. While working as an EIS, I was
introduced to Skinner's Analysis of Verbal
Behavior and the teaching techniques of Dr. Vincent Carbone, Dr.
Mark Sundberg, and Dr. Jim Partington. I
was excited about verbal behavior and the opportunities it
provided children with ASD. After ECI, I worked as a lead teacher for kindergarten
students and preschool students at a private program for
children with autism in Austin.
While teaching, I took classes from the University of North
Texas and received a graduate certificate in Applied Behavior
Analysis in December 2004. I became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst
in June 2005.
I now continue to work with children with special needs in my
own private consulting practice - Explore Autism Consulting and
Behavior Therapy. For more information on my consulting
practice, please see the Services
section.
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