Professional Development

Correcting the Course: Lessons from the Past, Action for the Present, Systems for
the Future

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Training Description

For too long, educators have been provided with strategies to support behavior that are not effective. This training will focus on interventions that are effective evidence-based practices that reduce the need for restraint, suspensions and other aversive procedures (for both students and professionals!) Practical strategies will be shared, with opportunities to work together using a tool designed to support positive functional replacement skill development that can make classrooms better for educators and students alike.

Training Objectives

Participants will be able to:
• Identify at least three commonly used interventions for individuals with ASD that lack empirical support and explain why they do not meet the standards of evidence-based practice.
• Design and implement data collection systems in Microsoft Excel to monitor behavior and evaluate intervention efficacy
• Apply Quick Room (Gavoni et al., 2025) protocols as part of a systemic, proactive response strategy to reduce problem behavior and teach functionally equivalent replacement skills.

Target Audience

Teachers, behavior-focused professionals, MTSS team members

About the Presenter

Andrew Houvouras, co-author of Quick Responses for Reducing Misbehavior and Suspensions and author of The Lives of the Silent, is a practitioner, researcher, and storyteller who believes in the importance of a science of behavior, collaboration, and humanism. The Director of Experiential Training at the Florida Institute of Technology's School of Behavior Analysis, Andrew has almost 40 years of experience working with individuals in the autism spectrum and 28 years as a behavior analyst. A past president of the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis, his areas of expertise include applications of applied behavior analysis to unusual and severe behavior, autism spectrum disorders, and the assessment of challenging behavior. The proud father of sons, Preston and Kooper, he is a surfer, paddler, coach, cyclist, and enjoys walking the beaches of Cocoa Beach with his French Bulldog, Poppy.

Contact

Terri Daly
Terri.daly@ucf.edu
407-492-3434