The first time Tyler-Curtis Elliott heard about the Center for Autism and Behavioral Education Research (CABER), he was working at a summer camp for people with developmental disabilities. His younger brother was living with cerebral palsy and autism, which gave the 15-year-old Elliott an early understanding of the challenges many families face.
He remembers one camper in particular whom the camp almost had to turn away because of destructive behavior—until CABER stepped in to train counselors and staff in how to manage such outbursts.
CABER is a research and service unit in the University of Georgia’s Mary Frances Early College of Education, blending service, teaching, and research to support individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities across the lifespan.
“We had some people from CABER come out and do trainings on behavior support and I just distinctly remember, as a 15-year-old implementing the most basic behavior analytic principles with these campers, seeing such a stark difference,” Elliott said, now in the third year of his doctoral program in special education. “I thought it was the coolest thing in the world that we’re able to actually implement a science that improves behavior.”
From early intervention and school partnerships to adult behavioral consultation, CABER provides evidence-based care while training graduate students through immersive, hands-on experiences.
Where science meets service
Elliott and fellow doctoral student Alexandra Mercado Baez sit quietly in a crowded classroom. The oddly melodic sounds of tiny roars echo off the walls like a high-pitched orchestra, emanating from the mouths of a dozen small bodies stalking slowly throughout the room. One of them ambles beside a tower of blocks, lets out a playful screech, and—like Godzilla in a sprawling metropolis—knocks the structure down with a swift swipe from its outstretched arm.
Mercado Baez cheers happily. A small child, standing now where moments ago there had been a fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex, beams.
It’s not an uncommon scene inside a CABER classroom, where researchers aren’t afraid to get creative with their approaches. On this day, Elliott and Mercado Baez were overseeing a game for preschoolers in which the students pretend to be dinosaurs with the goal of boosting step counts and physical activity.
“The kids loved it,” Mercado Baez said. “The teachers also enjoyed building more rapport with them and creating a better relationship.”
By weaving play into intervention, CABER students showed how behavioral science can improve children’s outcomes while strengthening student-teacher relationships.
It’s a great example of CABER’s dual mission. Research and service are deliberately intertwined through the scientist-practitioner model.
In the work, CABER researchers approach their practice from a conceptual standpoint rooted in applied behavior analysis (ABA)—the science of human behavior and how it changes based on the environment.
Practitioners observe the environment, identify what triggers challenging behaviors, and then apply evidence-based strategies to help both students and teachers succeed. Unlike group psychology research, ABA often uses single-case research design, studying one individual at a time to see the immediate, measurable effects of an intervention.
“We’re providing that service, we’re teaching new behavior analysts to provide that service, and we’re able to take a look at the situation and ask scientific questions about what’s going on and why,” said Kevin Ayres, co-director and founder of CABER. “It all combines organically—I don’t even know that we could separate it, necessarily.”
Co-Director Joel Ringdahl estimates the center publishes about 30 research papers each year, most with graduate students credited as co-authors. Research itself is embedded in every client interaction, even if they aren’t enrolled in a specific study.
“The approach we take with our clients is based in science and research design,” he said. “The research is informing what we do for service provision.”
Recently, the University of Georgia, along with the University of Iowa, was awarded a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how different communication methods (speech, gestures, devices, etc.) affect the long-term success of functional communication training (FCT). This intervention tries to replace challenging behaviors with appropriate communication.
Commonly used by ABA practitioners, FCT is considered one of the most effective behavioral intervention practices. A practitioner first identifies the common triggers for challenging behaviors, such as attention seeking, task avoidance, or sensory input. They then offer alternative, less destructive communication responses, such as vocal statements or special devices, which a teacher or caregiver reinforces consistently over time.
The NIH-funded project will examine cases involving FTC for both children and adults to determine which approaches were most effective long term. Researchers will look at the communication method, whether it involves key phrases or using a device such as an iPad, and who implemented the intervention, such as a teacher or a caregiver.
The goal is simple but powerful: Make sure the skills people learn don’t fade over time, no matter who is teaching them or where they are.
They also collaborate across disciplines. For example, Ayres is working with Mary Frances Early College of Education Professor Matt Schmidt to develop wearable sensors that can measure self-injury and aggression.
A lifetime of support
CABER supports individuals with developmental disabilities at every stage of life. Toddlers receive early intervention to build communication and social skills, while school-aged children benefit from specialized classrooms, consultation in local districts, and evidence-based strategies that help them transition back to their peers.
“One of our big jobs is making sure that we are really elevating the student’s needs and focusing on how they can be successful in that environment,” said Kevin Ayres, CABER founder and co-director.
Many CABER researchers, including Ayres, are former special education teachers. They know what a classroom is capable of when a teacher is given the necessary resources and support.
Ayres, Elliott, and assistant clinical professor Georgette Morgan are working on a new project called the “Read-Aloud Study,” which focuses on how read-aloud instruction is designed and implemented for students with moderate to severe intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Read-aloud is an instructional practice where teachers, parents, and caregivers read texts aloud to children. It can demonstrate how a child processes information auditorily.
Researchers are using a combination of existing and some of their own current studies to create tools to assess how read-aloud is being implemented in a classroom. One function is a self-assessment tool that teachers or practitioners can use to evaluate their own instruction. Another is an observational tool for administrators or supervisors to determine whether research-based strategies are being used in the classroom during read-aloud instruction—and where gaps may exist.
The tools are being tested as part of CABER’s programming to measure their feasibility, efficacy, and impact to give teachers clear, actionable feedback on instruction and allow administrators to better support them with targeted training.
When necessary, CABER provides direct educational services to students whose schools cannot yet meet their needs. Currently, three students attend school at the center, where they learn both academic standards and the skills needed to reintegrate into traditional classrooms.
“The biggest successes are when we’re able to teach a kid the skills they need to be successful in the school, back with their peers and their teachers,” Ayres said.
CABER works with counties across North Georgia, including Madison, Jackson, Walton, and DeKalb, offering teacher training and direct consultation.
CABER faculty and therapists have recently been approved by the state to provide behavioral consultation for adults who primarily reside in group homes and/or receive services through supported community placement.
This service is focused on reducing severe behaviors and building independence among adults, making it easier for them to communicate their needs. Researchers also work with these adult clients on daily living skills, like cooking and getting dressed.
“Often people assume that applied behavior analysis is only for young children, and it’s not,” Ayres said. “The same principles are utilized for adults as well: reinforcement, stimulus control, and communication.”
Practitioners are also required to stay up to date on the latest research to remain certified, ensuring interventions are effective and evidence-based.
Where students become scholars
Both the master’s and doctoral programs in the Department of Communication Sciences and Special Education, where CABER resides, are equal parts rigorous and rewarding.
Students arrive a week before classes begin and spend three to four days a week at the center, often from 7:30 a.m. until the last client leaves. Master’s students are trained to become ABA practitioners, while Ph.D. students focus more on research and academia.
Ayres described the experience as “full-on immersion,” where students train under ABA practitioners, faculty, and doctoral peers. Unlike many programs where students must seek out practicum hours separately, the degrees combine coursework, research, practicum, and supervision into one intensive program.
Students work directly with clients of all ages, practicing evidence-based strategies for communication, social skills, daily living, and severe behavior challenges.
“I love working in the classrooms and seeing these students gain the skills they need to be successful in schools,” Mercado Baez said. “It’s also rewarding to help not only the students, but also the teachers.”
Every graduate student conducts thesis-driven research, often embedded in clinical work.
“When you have an environment that produces that much publishable research, the students are literally on the cutting edge of what’s happening in the field,” Co-director Joel Ringdahl said.
“The approach we take with our clients is based in science and research design,” he said. “The research is informing what we do for service provision.”
– Joel Ringdahl, professor in the Mary Frances Early College of Education and co-director of the Center for Autism and Behavioral Education Research
The center fosters a collaborative environment for its students, who often work with different faculty labs during their time there.
“A lot of universities have distinct separate labs. We don’t do that,” Elliott said. “The opportunity for collaboration is great because we are one center that’s doing research together.”
Students are held to high standards but also supported by peers and faculty. According to Mercado Baez, doctoral students form a “Ph.D. student culture” where they lean on one another and share ideas. The demanding workload pays off: Students graduate with multiple publications, extensive practicum experience, and strong professional networks.
“We put them through the ringer for two years and then they enter the workforce to a large network of alumni who are very well sought after in the industry—because they know these guys are trained really well,” Ayres said.
Research with lasting impact
From toddlers learning to communicate, to children returning to their classrooms, to adults gaining independence, CABER’s impact is felt far beyond the university’s boundaries. And although autism is in the name, the center serves a wide range of individuals.
This fall, CABER will be opening a new, 1,000-square-foot early-intervention space designed to expand services and integrate new observational technology. Each room includes cameras for live data collection by graduate students, freeing practitioners to focus entirely on therapy.
With new space, expanding partnerships, and a steady stream of innovative research, CABER continues to grow as a hub where science and service come together to help people thrive at every stage of life.
“Autism is in our name, but it doesn’t limit who we work with,” Ringdahl said. “The focus is really on helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities—we don’t turn anyone away who needs support.”
