My story…
…I fell in love with behaviour analysis in 1996, when I began working as a tutor for a child with autism, in London. Almost immediately I became interested in interventions that could both define and establish generalised learning: the ability to demonstrate novel responses within a given skill without each individual response having been previously reinforced. I was given the opportunity to explore this question when I worked as the Lead Clinician for the first UK-based EIBI outcome study (Remington et al., 2007) at the University of Southampton.
It is during this time that I was able to advance my theoretical understanding of complex verbal behaviour and developed the Early Behavioural Intervention Curriculum (EBIC) an intervention framework derived from functional analyses of language, which subsequently formed the principal focus for my Doctoral thesis (2011).
My clinical and research interests are advanced applications of contemporary analyses of verbal behaviour (Horne & Lowe, 1996; Michael, Palmer, & Sundberg, 2011) as a basis for teaching generalised verbal repertoires, and, thereby, as a means of minimising the need to teach specific individual verbal responses. Currently, I divide my time between the US, where I provide large scale training at a number of conferences, the UK, where I live and consult on ABA programmes and Italy, my home country, where I teach behaviour analysis to postgraduate students at the University of Salerno and support professionals in developing effective interventions.
My story…
…I fell in love with behaviour analysis in 1996, when I began working as a tutor for a child with autism, in London. Almost immediately I became interested in interventions that could both define and establish generalised learning: the ability to demonstrate novel responses within a given skill without each individual response having been previously reinforced. I was given the opportunity to explore this question when I worked as the Lead Clinician for the first UK-based EIBI outcome study (Remington et al., 2007) at the University of Southampton.
It is during this time that I was able to advance my theoretical understanding of complex verbal behaviour and developed the Early Behavioural Intervention Curriculum (EBIC) an intervention framework derived from functional analyses of language, which subsequently formed the principal focus for my Doctoral thesis (2011).
My clinical and research interests are advanced applications of contemporary analyses of verbal behaviour (Horne & Lowe, 1996; Michael, Palmer, & Sundberg, 2011) as a basis for teaching generalised verbal repertoires, and, thereby, as a means of minimising the need to teach specific individual verbal responses. Currently, I divide my time between the US, where I provide large scale training at a number of conferences, the UK, where I live and consult on ABA programmes and Italy, my home country, where I teach behaviour analysis to postgraduate students at the University of Salerno and support professionals in developing effective interventions.
Career
Education
Publications
2018 – present
Guest Lecturer
penn state, pa – usa
Master’s programme in Applied Behaviour Analysis.
Module: advanced verbal behaviour.
2018 – present
Guest Lecturer
queen’s college, belfast – uk
Master’s programme in Applied Behaviour Analysis.
Module: advanced verbal behaviour.
2014 – present
Professor
university of salerno – it
Master’s course in Applied Behaviour Analyses.
Three classes per year.
2011 – present
Director e Consultant
aba clinic ltd., southampton – uk
Autism diagnostic assessment, comprehensive evaluations, ABA Programmes supervision, BCBA mentoring, Professional dissemination and training.
2004 – present
ABA Consultant
private practice
After the conclusion of the research project at the University of Southampton, I’ve been providing ABA consulting and training, mainly to Local Educational Authorities in England, my home country since 1993.
Since 2000 I’ve been working in Italy, where I collaborate with different families. My specialization areas are: teaching communication and language to individuals with autism and management of behavioral problem issues.
Since 2007 I have been teaching in master courses approved by BACB, aimed to certification of future BCBA behavior analysts and I had the honor of supervising several Italian BCBAs.
2005
Associate Lecturer
winchester university college – uk
Second year psychology course in child development.
2001 – 2004
Senior Supervisor
aba – university of southampton – uk
Development of the SCAmP intervention model, curriculum design, supervision and training of the clinical supervisors, direction and implementation of ABA programmes for twenty-one children with autism, and management of all project interactions with 11 south of England LEAs.
2000 – 2001
Senior Supervisor
aba, peach – uk
PEACH was (and still is) the biggest ABA services provider in the UK. During my assignment, I was responsible for about 20 children with autism aged between 2 and 12 years.
1999 – 2000
ABA Senior Supervisor
young autism project (yap) – uk
Internship at the Young Autism Project, the English section of the UCLA Multi-site Project by Prof. Lovaas. Internal certification for quality control as a Level 2 Therapist.
Supervision: Dr. Svein Eikeseth, Ph.D .; Ms. Diane Hayward.
1996 – 1999
ABA Tutor/Senior Tutor
individuals (families)
Tutor and senior tutor for 6 children with autism.
Supervisor: CARD (Center for Autism and Related Disorders).
2018 – present
Guest Lecturer
penn state, pa – usa
see description
Master’s programme in Applied Behaviour Analysis. Module: advanced verbal behaviour.
2018 – present
Guest Lecturer
queen’s college, belfast – uk
see description
Master’s programme in Applied Behaviour Analysis. Module: advanced verbal behaviour.
2014 – present
Professor
university of salerno – it
see description
Master’s Course in Applied Behaviour Analyses. Three classes per year.
2011 – present
Director and Consultant
aba clinic ltd., southampton – uk
see description
Autism diagnostic assessment, comprehensive evaluations, ABA Programmes supervision, BCBA mentoring, Professional dissemination and training.
2004 – present
ABA Consultant
private practice
see description
After the conclusion of the research project at the University of Southampton, I’ve been providing ABA consulting and training, mainly to Local Educational Authorities in England, my home country since 1993. Since 2000 I’ve been working in Italy, where I collaborate with different families. My specialization areas are: teaching communication and language to individuals with autism and management of behavioral problem issues. Since 2007 I have been teaching in master courses approved by BACB, aimed to certification of future BCBA behavior analysts and I had the honor of supervising several Italian BCBAs.
2005
Associate Lecturer
winchester university college – UK
see description
Second year psychology course in child development.
2001 -2004
Senior Supervisor
aba, university of southampton – uk
see description
Development of the SCAmP intervention model, curriculum design, supervision and training of the clinical supervisors, direction and implementation of ABA programmes for twenty-one children with autism, and management of all project interactions with 11 south of England LEAs.
2000 – 2001
Senior Supervisor
aba, peach – uk
see description
PEACH was (and still is) the biggest ABA services provider in the UK. During my assignment, I was responsible for about 20 children with autism aged between 2 and 12 years.
1999 – 2000
Senior Supervisor
young autism project (yap) – uk
see description
Internship at the Young Autism Project, the English section of the UCLA Multi-site Project by Prof. Lovaas. Internal certification for quality control as a Level 2 Therapist. Supervision: Dr. Svein Eikeseth, Ph.D .; Ms. Diane Hayward.
1996 – 1999
ABA Tutor/Senior Tutor
individuals (families)
see description
Tutor and senior tutor for 6 children with autism. Supervisor: CARD (Center for Autism and Related Disorders).
2012
Behavior Analyst Certification Board
bacb – doctoral level
2011
Chartered Psychologist Status
british psychological society
2011
Team teach certified tutor
team teach
2011
PhD psychology doctorate
university of southampton – uk
2008
ADOS clinical and research certification
university of cambridge – uk
2003
Behavior Analyst Certification Board
bacb
1999
BSc Psychology (1st class honours)
goldsmith college, university of london – uk
2012
Behavior Analyst Certification Board
bacb – doctoral level
2011
Chartered Psychologist Status
british psychological society
2011
Team teach certified tutor
team teach
2011
PhD psychology doctorate
university of southampton – uk
2008
ADOS clinical and research certification
university of cambridge – uk
2003
Behavior Analyst Certification Board
bacb
1999
BSc Psychology (1st class honours)
goldsmith college, university of london – uk
Publications:
Bandini, V., Mercatelli, M., Nobile P., degli Espinosa, F. (2012)
Case report: Riduzione di grave stato di denutrizione e comportamenti problema in un bambino con autismo con severa selettività alimentare.
Autismo Oggi, 22, 21-26.
Charman, T., Howlin, P., Aldred, C., Baird, G., degli Espinosa, F., Diggle, T., Kovshoff, H., Law, J., Le Couteur, A., MacNiven, J., Magiati, I., Martin, N., McConachie, H., Peacock, S., Pickles, A., Randle, V., Slonims, V., Wolke, D. (2001)
Research into early intervention for children with autism and related disorders: methodological and design issues.
Report on a workshop funded by the Wellcome Trust, Institute of Child Health, London, UK, November 2001. Autism, 7, 217-225.
degli Espinosa, F. (2012)
L’analisi del comportamento applicata nella Linea Guida 21: il trattamento dei disturbi dello spettro autistico nei bambini e negli adolescenti.
Psicologia Clinica dello Sviluppo, 3, 600–638.
Hastings, R. P., Kovshoff, H., Brown, T., Ward, N.J., degli Espinosa, F., Remington, B. (2005)
Coping strategies in Mothers and Fathers of pre-school and school age children with Autism.
Autism, 9, 377-391.
Hastings, R. P., Kovshoff, H., Ward, N.J., degli Espinosa, F., Brown, T., Remington, B. (2005)
Systems analysis of stress and positive perceptions in Mothers and Fathers of pre-school children with Autism.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35, 635-644.
Mari, M., Clò, E., & degli Espinosa, F. (2015)
Analisi del Comportamento Applicata e Disturbi dello Spettro Autistico: riflessioni e linee di indirizzo per la presa in carico e la supervisione di interventi di stampo comportamentale.
Autismo e disturbi dello sviluppo, 13, 201-212.
Remington, B., Hastings, R. P., Kovshoff, H., degli Espinosa, F., Jahr, E., Brown, T., Alsford, P., Lemaic, M., & Ward, N. J. (2007)
A field effectiveness study of Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention: Outcomes for children with autism and their parents after two years.
American Journal on Mental Retardation, 112, 418-438.