Sidney W. and Janet R. Bijou Fellowship Recipients
2007: Sarah Bloom, the University of Florida
Sarah Bloom received an A.A. degree from Simon’s Rock College of Bard and a B.A. degree in Social Theory with minors in Anthropology, Dance, and Political Theory from the University of Washington. After a brief career as a ballet dancer, she was a teacher at the Sussex Consortium of the Delaware Autism Program, where she began to learn about applications of behavior analysis with academic performance and problem behavior in the classroom. Sarah was a recipient of a Lower Delaware Autism Foundation Award. She began her graduate studies in behavior analysis at the University of Florida (UF) in 2003 under the supervision of Dr. Brian Iwata.
Taking advantage of the integrated program in theoretical, basic, and applied behavior analysis at UF, Sarah has developed a strong foundation in both conceptual and methodological aspects of behavior analysis. She also has taken a series of neuroscience courses offered by the psychology department. Sarah’s clinical and research sites have included school, day-treatment, and residential programs. She is currently the site coordinator for the laboratory at the Sidney Lanier Anchor Center, a public school that serves children with special needs.
Sarah’s research projects at UF have included the assessment of preference for, and reinforcing efficacy of, olfactory stimuli in individuals with Prader-Willi Syndrome and the development of a trial-based functional analysis methodology that can be used by classroom teachers to identify the environmental variables that maintain problem behavior. Sarah is currently working on projects that involve the assessment and treatment of chronic rumination and vomiting, and the development of an employee health and wellness program. The latter project is currently underway at the Recovery Centers of King County in Seattle, WA. Sarah is beginning a project focused on the cross-function emergence of verbal behavior in children without mand repertoires.
Following the completion of her Ph.D. program at UF, Sarah hopes to continue to pursue her research interests in an academic environment, to train future generations of behavior analysts, and to raise the public profile of behavior analysis.
Other 2007 Recipients:
Melania Bachmeyer, University of Iowa
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