A Year of Growth

by Christopher Reichert

A year of GROWTH

Telehealth services and camps for children with autism, the creation of an inclusive math ecosystem for school-age children, and crisis response and bereavement services for children are just three of the Bank of America - Child and Adolescent Policy Research Institute’s (BA-CAPRI) projects that have not only survived the COVID-19 pandemic but have continued to thrive.

Supported by a Bank of America endowment, the COEHD-affiliated institute, is led by Leslie Neely, Ph.D., and administers grants focused on research and services for children elementary aged and younger. Over the past year, affiliated research faculty received funding for six proposals totaling over $2.5 million.

ABA TEACHER, directed by Neely and Hannah MacNaul, Ph.D., provides education and supervision opportunities for teachers looking to become behavior analysts. This project aims to serve the 850 children in Texas with or at-risk for autism by providing behavior analysis services via telehealth, outpatient therapeutics, and in-class support. Notably, the project offered a summer research program “Camp Durango,” which aimed to address pandemic-related losses by embedding social-communication and adaptive skills training into the context of fun summer camp activities for over 160 children with autism. For more information, visit https://www.abautsa.com/.

The Community Math Project (CMP), directed by Emily Bonner, Ph.D., and Crystal Kalinec-Craig, Ph.D., aims to form an inclusive math ecosystem that provides evidence-based academic support through community centers in low-income neighborhoods. The CMP pairs prospective teachers with parents of elementary-aged children to develop content support for students at home, while also providing summer tutoring and support to students themselves. The CMP is a collaboration between UTSA, Northwest Vista College, and San Antonio community centers.

Another innovative project supported by BA-CAPRI is the Sutherland Springs Crisis Response led by Derek Robertson, Ph.D., which was prompted by the massacre that took place at the first Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, TX, on Nov. 5, 2017. Major accomplishments of this program include: UTSA’s partnership with the Child Bereavement Center to open Paloma Place, a new counseling center in Floresville, TX; crisis training and consultation for young children in over 40 schools in the affected area; and over 2,000 counseling hours to more than 335 victims and survivors.

Becky Huang Ph.D. and her colleagues from North Carolina State University run the Bi-Lingual Reading Comprehension Project, which focuses on developing new techniques for English learners in grades 3-5 who struggle with reading comprehension. The researchers will spend the next four years working with over 450 children to help them strengthen their language and literacy skills while building new knowledge of interesting topics in disciplines such as science, social studies, and literature. The instruction developed in this project can add to the instructional repertoires of ESL educators and literacy specialists who work with elementary students in developing their reading comprehension in English as a second language.

The CS4SA-HS Project just completed its Summer Institute with its first cohort of 12 middle and high school teachers in the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD). This project prepares in-service teachers to integrate computer science into their classrooms to increase Latinx participation in CS and other STEM areas. The Summer Institute focused on building a foundation of computer science knowledge and culturally responsive pedagogy for teachers to create and advocate for more CS opportunities in their schools. The project will follow the teachers over the next academic year to investigate how the program increases Latinx participation in computer science at the secondary level. This project’s principal investigator is Timothy Yuen, Ph.D., with co-investigators María Arreguín, Ed.D., Amanda Fernandez, Ph.D., Crystal Kalinec-Craig, Ph.D., and Priya Prasad, Ph.D., and senior investigator, Emily Bonner, Ph.D.

Finally, there is the Parent-Led Autism Treatment for At-risk Young Infants and Toddlers Project, or Project PLAAY. This project aims to identify infants and toddlers at-risk for a future diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and create a radical, innovative parentassisted treatment program. Over 100 families have participated in the project and received diagnostic, child intervention, and caregiver training services. Project PLAAY is conducted in collaboration with The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, Harvard University, and The Autism Treatment Center as a community effort to improve the quality and access of services for families in the San Antonio area. For more information, visit http://www.projectplaay.org/.