MAPCL would like to introduce 5 new Behaviour Consultants to Laurel Behaviour Support Service Team: Sherry Tanaka, Preetinder Narang, Nadine Trottier, Divya Lamba and Joshua Fouts

Sherry Tanaka
Sherry was born in Hakodate City, Hokkaido, Japan and has been a resident in BC since 1990.  Sherry began her post secondary education at the University of Toronto and obtained her Bachelors in Linguistics, then continued to the University of British Columbia to achieve her Masters and PhD in Interdisciplinary studies.  Currently Sherry is pursuing her BCBA certification through her graduate work from the University of Massachusetts.  Sherry is currently on the ACT BC RASP list and can serve families with children under the age of 6. 

Sherry is one of the founding members of the largest web-based Japanese community support organization in BC, called Peer Net.  It provides information on health, crisis prevention, and information to the Japanese speaking community in BC. 
Sherry has extensive experience working with children with Autism, as she has an 11 yr old son with High functioning Autism.  She developed a classroom at home equipped with computers, desks, chairs, books, games and other resources to teach other children with learning disabilities. Sherry has extensive experience as an ABA behaviour interventionist, respite worker, tutor, translator, and workshop facilitator. As Sherry is one of the only Japanese speaking consultants in BC, Sherry enjoys serving families who otherwise would not benefit from Behaviour Consulting.

Preetinder Narang
Preetinder is an M.A. student in Special Education with concentration in autism and other developmental disabilities at UBC. For the past 5 years she has been providing behavioural support for children with special needs, and through her graduate studies Preetinder is working towards a BCBA (Board Certified Behaviour Analyst) credential.

She really enjoys her role as research assistant for the Autism Trajectories Project at UBC, and her research interests involve early intervention with non-English speaking families.

In her free time Preetinder studies Indian classical dance and singing, and also teaches and competes in the Punjabi folk dance called Bhangra. Being part of a competitive dance team for 8 years has given her the opportunity to travel extensively across North America.

See Preetinder perform at the MAPCL picnic September 8th 2009.

Nadine Trottier
Nadine is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Special Education (Autism and Developmental Disabilities Concentration) at the University of British Columbia.

Nadine has vast experience providing intensive intervention to children with autism spectrum disorders of all ages and abilities. She was a Program Supervisor at ABA Learning Centre and oversaw program implementation and provided parent training. In addition, Nadine also worked as a Behaviour Interventionist at Behaviour Institute in Ontario. During this employment Nadine was a member of a multi-disciplinary team who provided intensive intervention following applied behaviour analytic teaching techniques.

While working at Laurel Behaviour Support Services Nadine will also be working towards obtaining her BCBA certification.  Nadine is currently on the ACT BC RASP list and can serve children with autism under the age of 6.

Divya Lamba
Divya joined us after she obtained her Masters in Applied Disability Studies with a focus in Applied Behaviour Analysis at Brock University in Saint Catherine’s, Ontario.  She previously worked at Shining Through Centre for Children with Autism as a therapist providing direct support and developed behaviour plans in order to meet the children’s specific developmental milestones.  Divya also worked at the world renowned Kennedy Krieger Institute, at John Hopkins Medical Clinic, in Maryland, USA as a clinical assistant in the Neurobehavioural and Pediatric Feeding Disorder unit.  There, she conducted functional analysis, and implemented individualized behavioural interventions for children with feeding disorders.  

Prior to this Divya worked as an Early Childhood Autism Therapist, at the Dole Human Developmental Center at the University of Kansas. She provided direct support to children in a center-based program to develop verbal imitation, recognition of colors, shapes, objects in pictures and other academic curriculum. While at this center, there was a significant emphasis on data collection, which measured the child’s improvement over the course of the year.

Divya has been involved in many research projects ranging from literature reviews on Methods to teach Abstract and complex concepts to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, sleep disturbance in pediatric movement disorders, training for individuals in agencies supporting persons with intellectual disabilities, application of Applied Behaviour Principles to increase pre-school parent – teacher interaction on daily morning greetings.

Divya’s expertise in the field with individuals with autism, and other developmental disabilities with an emphasis on feeding issues is an asset to the Laurel team.

Josh Fouts
Josh came to Vancouver from Hawaii to pursue his career as a Behaviour Consultant. He attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington where he obtained his Bachelors degree in Special Education and a Masters in Education.  Josh then continued to achieve a Doctorate of Philosophy in Education at the University of Hawaii. Josh is currently working towards his BCBA certification and will sit for the exam this fall.  He is on the ACT BC RASP list and can serve children with autism under the age of 6.

Before becoming a Behaviour Consultant Josh was a residential care worker, and a research assistant for the Center on Disability Studies, a special education classroom teacher of a K-3 resource room.  Josh was teaching and conducting research, in an early intervention inclusion preschool (The Domino Project) for children with autism.  The Domino Project is based in Verbal Behavior (VB) and other research-based approaches that provide education to children with autism.  Through VB he was able to help each child reach important developmental milestones in the areas of speaker and listener capabilities. Work experience with Domino provided Josh with the balanced approach to conduct functional assessments, develop positive behavioral supports, and consulting with families who have children with autism.

As a research assistant he conducted and synthesized literature related to: 1) best practices associated with post-secondary education for students with disabilities, 2) services for young people with serious emotional or behavioral challenges, and 3) increasing the quantity and quality of special education teachers and service providers through professional development.  As a special education classroom teacher he was responsible for creating and implementing lesson plans appropriate to the needs of each child’s individualized program.  One particular technique that he applied was differentiated instruction. The application of this technique enabled each student reach the required standards by tailoring or differentiating their learning experiences within the classroom.  As a care worker he assisted adults through their daily routines, facilitated their independent living skills, and helped them seek greater self-determination.

Josh believes that his work experience in the clinic, classroom, and home settings combined with his education and training in the Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction and M.Ed. in Special Education programs have given him the balanced approach to provide services to individuals and families with autism and other developmental disabilities. 

We would like to Welcome Sherry, Preetinder, Nadine, Divya and Josh to MAPCL.