Jennifer Symon

Charter College of Education
Department of Special Education & Counseling
Email
jsymon@exchange.calstatela.edu

INTRODUCTION

Jennifer B. Symon, Ph.D. BCBA-D is a Professor in the Division of Special Education at California State University, Los Angeles. She is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Dr. Symon coordinates the Autism programs at CSULA including the university autism certificate and the Master of Arts degree in Special Education with an emphasis in Autism. Dr. Symon's background includes work in homes, schools, and communities with individuals with mild to severe disabilities. She has primarily worked with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), their families, and other key support providers. Dr. Symon served as the Principal Investigator for two federally funded grants to provide specialized training in autism to teachers, early childhood interventionists, behavior specialists, school psychologists, counselors and general educators. Additionally, she has worked collaboratively on other projects to develop and evaluate a service delivery system to expand the quality and quantity of services available to families.
 

 


TEACHING INTERESTS

Autism, Functional Communication Training, Positive Behavior Support in the classroom and School-wide Positive Behavior Support. Early Intervention, Cognitive and Linguistic Development, Consultation and Collaboration, and Paraprofessional training.

 


RESEARCH INTERESTS

Dr. Symon's research interests include positive behavior interventions for children with ASD, family support, consultation in classrooms, and development and evaluation of service delivery models. Improving social, communication, and behavioral functioning for individuals with ASD. She has published several research articles evaluating the positive effects that resulted from training parents and service providers living in geographically distant locations.

Representative Professional Activities
 

Date
Publications
2015

Alnemary, F.M., Wallace, M., Symon, J.B.G., & Barry, L.M. (2015). Using videoconferencing to provide staff training on functional behavioral assessment, Behavioral Interventions, wileyonlinelibrary.com DOI 10.1002/bin. 1403

2014

Moore, B., Parker-Strafaci, S., Best, S., Ling, S., Myck-Wayne, J., Symon, J. B. G., & Dean, M. (2014). Disability-specific challenges and strategies in inclusive preschool programs. In A. Richardson-Gibbs & M.D. Klein, Making preschool inclusion work: Strategies for supporting children, teachers, and programs. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing Co.

(153-191).

2010

Whalen, C., Moss, D., Ilan, A.B., Vaupel, M., Fielding, P., MacDonald, K., Cernich, S., and Symon, J. (2010). Efficacy of TeachTown: Basics computer-assisted intervention for the Intensive Comprehensive Autism Program in Los Angeles Unified School District. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, Online First - http://aut.sagepub.com/pap.dtl.

2008

Harper, C. Symon, J.B.G., & Frea, W.D., (2008). Recess is time-in: Using peers to improve social skills of children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

2008

Liber, D., Frea, W.D., & Symon, J.B.G. (2008). Using time-delay to improve play andsocial skills for children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(2), 312-323.

2008

Symon, J. B.G., & Boettcher, M. A., (2008). Autism: Family Support and Participation. In J. K. Luselli, D. C. Russo, & W. P. Christian (Eds.) Effective Practices for Children with Autism: Educational and Behavior Support Interventions that Work. Oxford University Press.

2006

 

Openden, D., Symon, J.B., Koegel, L.K., & Koegel, R. L. (2006). Developing a Student Respite Provider System for Children with Autism. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions
2005Symon, J.B., Koegel, R.L., & Singer, G.H.S. (2005). Parent Perspectives of Parent Education Programs. In Koegel, R.L., & Koegel, L. K. (Eds.) Pivotal Response Treatments for Autism: Communication, Social and Academic Development (pp. 93-115). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes
2005Symon, J.B. (2005) Expanding interventions for children with autism: Parents as trainers. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 7(3), 159-173.
2001Koegel, R. L., Symon, J. B., & Koegel, L. K., (2001). Parent education for families of children with autism living in geographically distant areas. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 4 (2), 88-103.
2001Symon, J. B., (2001). Parent education for autism: Issues in providing services at a distance. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 3 (3), 160-174.

 

 


EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

PhD Educational Psychology 2002
University of California, Santa Barbara

MA Special Education Disabilities and Risk Studies 2000
University of California, Santa Barbara

MA Child Study 1995
Tufts University. Medford, MA

BA Psychology 1992
University of California, Santa Barbara

Return to the top.