Heather received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from The University of Connecticut. She went on to complete her Master’s Degree in Special Education, with a focus on Autism, from Cambridge College. She is a Board Certified and Licensed Behavior Analyst in the state of Connecticut, with over 15 years of experience working with individuals affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder.
In 2016, she received the Rachel D’Avino Outstanding Student Award granted by the Connecticut Association for Behavior Analysis. It was an award Heather was “truly honored” to receive as it memorializes the extraordinary educator, Rachel D’Avino, who was an ABA student at the time she gave everything, including her life, to save her students at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.
Heather additionally has over 10 years of experience working with teens and young adults in group homes and residential facilities with dual diagnoses of Autism and Intellectual Disabilities? as well as those with emotional and behavioral disturbances. Heather specializes in providing in-home and center-based individualized ABA treatments for individuals from birth to 21 years old.
Her passion in the field of ABA lies in staff development and parent education. She enjoys public speaking and disseminating information on autism awareness and acceptance, advocacy information for parents, and discussing ABA interventions and principles in everyday language. Heather often encourages parents and staff to offer thoughts and insight when developing programs and encourages everyone on the team to ask as many questions as they need to understand ABA strategies. She intends to answer all questions with an open, honest, and judgment-free response.