• 50 years of Success! A look back on a department milestone celebration page 2
Research & Program Highlights page 10
• Staff Announcements page 12
Kennedy Krieger Behavioral Psychology Department News
Letter from the Editor
Welcome to the very first issue of Cumulative Record. It is with great excitement and pride that we introduce this newsletter, created to enhance communication and collaboration within the Department of Behavioral Psychology. After months of dedicated work, we are thrilled to bring our vision to life.
A cumulative record is a continuous graph or report that tracks the total accumulation of responses, behaviors, or data over time, with the line only increasing or staying level to show the accumulating total. It serves as a visual record of overall progress or trends and is used in fields like applied behavior analysis (ABA) to monitor behavior changes and inform treatment decisions, as well as in education to provide a holistic view of a student’s academic, personal, and health development. “Cumulative Record” is also the title of B.F. Skinner’s significantly influential book that is a compilation of his previously published articles on the science of behavior.
Our objective for this newsletter is to update members of the department about current programs and achievements, as well as our history of accomplishments, and growth over the past 50 years. Thus, Cumulative Record will record our ongoing progress, while celebrating where we came from.
In this issue, you will find a feature article recognizing our department’s 50th anniversary as well as staff kudos, upcoming events, and highlights on new staff additions to our department.
Our inaugural contributors have set a high standard for the work we hope to feature for years to come. We welcome any feedback or contributions for future issues from you. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly (melvinl@ kennedykrieger.org) if you have any updates or accomplishments you would like to be included.
Thank you for everything you do for the Department of Behavioral Psychology. We hope the features in this newsletter inspire you and connect you to all of the incredible things we have and continue to accomplish in this department.
Lindsay Melvin Editor-in-Chief
The Department of Behavioral Psychology Marks 50 Years of Success
The nation’s first applied behavior analysis-based hospital program at the Kennedy Krieger Institute celebrates a half-century of remarkable milestones.
The fledgling Behavioral Psychology Department began in 1975 with a new director, Michael F. Cataldo, one other faculty member, two staff members and three trainees. The annual budget was $280,000. And the secretary’s typewriter didn’t work.
Since then, there has been much to applaud. In May, the director joined hundreds of staff and alumni at the annual ABAI meeting in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the department’s exponential growth and impact over its first 50 years.
Behavioral Psychology has served some 200,000 families with its applied behavior analysis programs. It has also graduated more than 1,000 interns and fellows, obtained $140 million in grant funding, published over 900 research studies and scholarly papers, and generated more than $1.2 billion in revenue for the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
Last year, its annual revenue of over $70 million supported the work of 33 faculty members, 422 staff members, and 68 interns and fellows.
And roughly 10,000 families were helped.
Cataldo credits this success to the work of several generations of talented staff members
dedicated to improving the lives of children and adolescents with severe intellectual disabilities and behavior disorders.
“Over the years, our people have been our most powerful and valuable asset,” he says. “Members of the department have helped tens of thousands of families. Scientists and clinicians, working together, have produced knowledge that led to new treatment techniques in new and novel ways.
“We were also able to build an administrative infrastructure that frees up time for the clinical, training and research staff so that they can evolve and do what their unique skills and passions allow.”
Over the last half-century, the department has created and expanded services for providing research-based behavioral interventions. Those services include two inpatient programs: The Neurobehavioral Unit (NBU), a 16-bed program established in the 1980s, and the Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program, founded in 1987 in conjunction with gastroenterology. The department’s outpatient programs include clinics specializing in over a dozen prevalent problems and located
Department Growth At Glance
(above) The Behavioral Psychology Department celebrated its 50th Anniversary at the ABAI Conference in Washington, D.C., in May. From L to R: Steve Lindauer, Alicia Sullivan, Marilyn Cataldo, Michael Cataldo, Lindsay Melvin, Phyllis Ajayi, Martha Valencia, Heather Liberto, Angie Carrick.
at sites in Baltimore City, and Howard and Anne Arundel counties.
Additionally, the telehealth services created to offer treatment for active military families located anywhere in the world proved invaluable for providing care during the pandemic, Cataldo says.
“Our early work on telehealth enabled the Department to convert all of its outpatient services to telehealth in 10 days, followed by the entire Institute within three months.”
Such dedication to innovating and improving
Notable Alumni
Darcie Corbin
Senior Vice President UnitedHealth Group
Iser DeLeon, PhD, BCBA
Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Psychology University of Florida
104 publications, 7,350 citations
Jack Finney, PhD
Professor, Department of Psychology at Virginia Tech (retired)
78 publications 4372 citations
Wayne Fisher, PhD, BCBA-D
Director, Rutgers University Center for Autism Research, Education, and Services (RU-CARES) Core Faculty, Brain Health Institute Henry Rutgers Endowed Professor of Pediatrics, RWJMS Principal Investigator, New Jersey Autism Center of Excellence (NJACE)
263 publications, 20,851 citations
delivery systems is a hallmark of departmental progress.
“Starting with only inpatient programs, it has evolved to perhaps the largest outpatient service of Kennedy Krieger.”
“We engineered this growth by first moving outpatient services from the 707 hospital building to the Baltimore City hospital campus (now Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center), then to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, and then out into Anne Arundel and Howard counties.”
Patrick C. Friman, PhD, ABPP
Vice President of Outpatient Behavioral Health Services Boys Town, Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska School of Medicine
146 publications 4,611 citations
Sung Woo Kahng, PhD., BCBA-D, LBA
Chair, Department of Applied Psychology, Director of Academic Programs in Autism and ABA, Professor, Co-Director of Research, Rutgers Center for Adult Autism Services
114 publications 5,695 citations
David Kolko, PhD, ABPP
Professor of Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Clinical and Translational Science, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
307 Publications 16,678 Citations
Brian Iwata, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at University of Florida
280 publications 38,157 citations
He notes that much of the department’s legacy resides in the more than 1,000 interns and postdoctoral fellows it has trained.
“A great number have gone out into the world and continued to help people, thus multiplying our impact. Especially notable are many who achieved great things in their own right, becoming leaders of clinical programs, state agencies and academic departments. (see sidebar below)
“Important to the evolution of the department was the recruitment of Brian Iwata, who firmly anchored us in what is now known as applied behavior analysis. Also particularly noteworthy were the contributions of Wayne Fisher, Cathleen Piazza and Hank Roane, not only for their work here at Kennedy Krieger, but for their successes in replicating our severe behavior and feeding programs at four other institutions: Marcus Institute, University of Nebraska, Rutgers University, and SUNY Upstate Medical University.”
Linda LeBlanc, PhD, BCBA-D
President of LeBlanc Behavioral Consulting
153 publications 9,724 citations
Dorothea C. Lerman, PhD, BCBA-D, LBA
Professor of Behavior Analysis, University of Houston – Clear Lake
154 publications 11,424 citations
F. Charles (Bud) Mace, PhD, BCBA-D
Professor, of Psychology and Director of Research University of Southern Maine (Retired)
141 publications 8,559 citations
Professor, of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University
107 publications 14,355 citations
David M. Richman, PhD, BCBA-D
Professor, Special Education Texas Tech University
105 publications 4,399 citations
Henry Roane, PhD, BCBA-D
Director of the Family Behavior Analysis Clinic, Upstate Medical University, SUNY
123 publications 6,213 citations
David M. Wilder, PhD, BCBA-D Professor, On-Campus Program Chair, Head of School of Behavior Analysis, Florida Institute of Technology
203 publications 6,512 citations
Tim Wysocki, PhD
Principal Research Scientist and Co-Director, Center for Health Care Delivery Science, Nemours Children’s Health System
131 publications 8,612 citations
Cathleen Piazza, PhD
“Over the years, our people have been our most powerful and valuable asset,” he says. “Members of the department have helped tens of thousands of families. Scientists and clinicians, working together, have produced knowledge that led to new treatment techniques in new and novel ways.”
– Michael Cataldo
(continued)
A Half-Century of Providing New Insight
The Department of Behavioral Psychology has expanded knowledge through its study and treatment of behavior problems across the developmental spectrum, focusing on genetic disorders and the problems of aggression and self-injury.
This work has led to novel clinical interventions by investigating such basic processes as functional Analysis, non-contingent reinforcement, functional communication training, preference assessment, reinforcement schedule fitting, and renewal and resurgence.
Another research area has demonstrated how to successfully apply behavior analysis to such medical problems as fecal incontinence, spina bifida, pediatric pain, neuro muscular disorders, lead poisoning, control of injuries and seizures, and feeding disorders.
Over the years, the department has produced more than 1,000 publications, with high-impact papers changing practice and stimulating further research innovation. Articles have appeared in more than 54 journals including The Lancet, Pediatrics, the Journal of Intellectual Disability Research and the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
Federal, state, and private foundations have contributed $140 million towards individual research grants, often for multiple renewals, as well as backing program development and infrastructure needs.
Cataldo says that, at age 50, the department continues to evolve with exciting work such as involving parents in their children’s treatment through internet platforms that provide immediate access and reduce costs to families and society. “With the past 50 years as our baseline, imagine what the next 50 can be!” n
Treatment Intensity Improves Child Behavior Outcomes and
Although the number of hours of therapy is
High-Intensity Program 2-hour appointments per day 5 days per week 2 consecutive weeks
Moderate-Intensity Program 2-hour appointments per day 2 days per week 5 consecutive weeks
Treatment as Usual (TAU) 1-hour appointments per day 1 day per week 10 consecutive weeks
Edelstein notes that reducing attrition is a more effective use of health care resources in that more families achieve the desired outcomes.
Seeking a Solution
As he worked towards his PsyD in clinical psychology at Rutgers, Edelstein served as an intern and fellow in the KKI’s Neurobehavioral Outpatient Unit before leaving to become a clinician in traditional outpatient work. After a year, however, he returned to the Behavioral Psychology Department determined to find a way to support families who require an intermediate level of care and have exhausted other treatment options such as visiting an emergency room.
“Hospitals aren’t going to admit a 5-year-old who’s having a two-hour tantrum,” he says. “We see families who have bounced around and are really demoralized. Our prototypical family feels like, “I’ve tried everything.”
“That’s when I started kicking around how to offer high-intensity services for kids without autism or intellectual disabilities, how best to support these families’ needs.”
In 2021, with the support of Alicia Sullivan, now the department’s training director, Edelstein tested
the condensed-schedule model in a pilot program embedded in another outpatient clinic at KKI. Over the course of a year, he saw 12 children whose average age was 4-6, along with their parents. Half of the families had Medicaid insurance, and half had never had any prior treatment.
When the new approach proved successful, Edelstein was joined in 2023 by a postdoctoral fellow, Josh Mellott, who now serves as supervisor for the interns in the clinic. It is staffed by three licensed psychologists, one psychology associate, three postdoctoral fellows and three interns.
Edelstein belongs to a hard-to-place patients group that collaborates with outpatient programs in the state to support patients with complex behavior needs. The emergency departments at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Greater Baltimore Medical Center and Holy Cross Hospital in Montgomery County now refer families to the clinic.
The behavioral psychologist credits the program’s success to its data-driven approach and staff members’ eagerness to help families who have exhausted other treatment options. As a member of the department’s training faculty, he also supervises doctoral externs, doctoral interns and postdoctoral fellows.
The Tale of Two Treatments
Mike Cataldo, director of the Department of Behavioral Psychology, provides examples that illustrate the department’s progress and improved outcomes over the past 50 years:
“The department’s first patient to present with severe behavior was ‘Brian,’ a 5-yearold boy with severe intellectual disability, self-injurious behavior, and aggression,” Cataldo says. “At that time, we did not
“ You could call our program ‘behavioral parent training.’ We treat the why behind the child’s behavior. Our role is to have parents be on a parallel learning process with their child.”
– Matt Edelstein
“We’re getting people invested in this model,” he says. “All of the people we’re bringing on have been interns, and they want to stay and keep doing it.”
The innovative model that Edelstein has developed provides parents with another treatment option that greatly reduces the presenting problem as well as dropout rates. It also carries policy implications for reimbursement practices that often restrict appointment approvals to those that are spaced over weeks and months.
“My hope is that we’ve opened trainees’ eyes to the notion that you can do things differently if your
ideas make sense and if the data support them. If you’re flexible, and you think about the science, you can help people in ways that they might not get anywhere else.” n
REFERENCE: Edelstein ML, Becraft JL, Sullivan A. Feasibility and acceptability of a compressed caregiver training program to treat child behavior problems. Behavior Modification. 2022; 47(3): 152176 https://doi.org/10.1177/01454455221137329
Edelstein ML, Mellott JA. Preliminary investigation of the influence of treatment regimen on outcomes in behavioral parent training. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. 2025; 32(2): 166-180. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2023.09.003
have a specialized unit with a dedicated staff. Instead, Brian’s treatment team consisted of Joseph Dardano, PhD., a basic operant scientist who had transferred over to Kennedy Krieger from Johns Hopkins to work with patients, and me. After weeks of failing to make a dent in the rate of Brian’s self-injury, we asked for assistance from Richard Fox, PhD, an expert on self-injury and a faculty member at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Together we spent several hours each day for weeks trying to help Brian but had no success.
“Several years later, when we had more faculty and a special-
ized behavioral inpatient treatment unit with a full-time dedicated staff, we treated another 5-year-old boy who presented with the same behaviors as Brian. ‘Nick’ received treatment several times on our severe behavior inpatient unit and also received continuous intensive outpatient services that caused his self-injury and aggression to decline to a few times a year. When Nick became of age to leave home, we helped him secure residential services. He was able to enjoy years of family life followed by supervised semi-independent living with another resident of similar age and disability.
“Although Brian and Nick both had the expertise of basic and applied behavior specialists, only Nick benefitted from the system we built of specialized staff, protocols, and the ability to persist with extensive inpatient and outpatient services.
“Now, after years of building our faculty and infrastructure, we have the resources to help the most difficult cases of patients who have failed best treatments elsewhere. Our department ensures that children like Brian can have a chance at a better life.” n
Behavioral Psychology Grants
Sept
24 – Sept 25
1
A Research Collaboratory to Explore Best Practices for Expanding Access to Care Through Expansion and Support of Telehealth Care for Children and Families with Behavioral Health Needs
2 Using Technology to Enhance Behavioral Healthcare for Children, Teens, Families and Their Communities.
3 Goals of Care Among Caregivers of Youth with T1D Using the 3-Act Model
4 A Clinical Trial for Treatment-Resistant Subtypes of Self-Injury
Department of Defense (DOD)
5 Investigating Behavioral Phenotypes of Self-Injury in Stereotypic Movement Disorder
6 Optimizing Dimensions of Reinforcement to Enhance Behavioral Interventions
7 Single-Arm Pilot Trial for Mitigating Relapse of Severe Problem Behavior
8 Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program
9 Changing the Trajectory of Delinquency and Violence: Kennedy Krieger Institute's Early Intervention with At-Risk Populations
10 Contextual Behavioral Strategies to Help Parents Adhere to Behavior Plans for Children with Autism
Department of Defense (DOD)
Henry Jackson Foundation (HJF)
Henry Jackson Foundation (HJF)
Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF)
National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF)
National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
Organization for Autism Research (OAR)
N/A
N/A
Auburn University
Auburn University
Base Year: 09/25/202309/24/2024
NCE: 09/25/202409/24/2025
Base Year: 09/25/202409/24/2025
NCE: 09/25/202509/24/2026 J. Crockett $3,500,000
Y1: 09/01/202408/31/2025
Y2: 09/01/202508/31/2026" K.
Y10: 12/01/202311/30/2024
NCE: 12/01/202405/31/2025
Y1: 01/15/202401/14/2025
Y2: 01/15/202501/14/2026
Y1: 09/01/202408/31/2025
Y2: 09/01/202508/31/2026
Auburn University
Y1: 09/01/202408/31/2025
Y2: 09/01/202508/31/2026
N/A
N/A
Y4: 07/01/2024‐06/30/2025
Base Year: 10/01/202409/30/2025
NCE: 10/01/202503/31/2026
N/A
Base Year: 02/01/202201/31/2024
NCE: 02/01/202401/31/2025
Lindauer $94,092
C. Strohmeier $36,817
Total $9,086,344
Dimentstein $130,000
L. Hagopian $333,354
L. Hagopian $69,552
Hagopian $45,630
Hagopian $336,398
Lindauer $963,000
Research Highlight
The Department of Behavioral Psychology has expanded knowledge through its study and treatment of behavior problems across the developmental spectrum, focusing on genetic disorders and the problems of aggression and self-injury. It has produced more than 1,000 publications, with high-impact papers changing practice and stimulating further innovation. In each issue, Cumulative Record will highlight published research that represents the department’s exceptional work.
Becraft JL, Hardesty SL, Goldman KJ, Shawler LA, Edelstein ML, Orchowitz P. Caregiver involvement in applied behavior-analytic research: A scoping review and discussion. J Appl Behav Anal. 2024 Jan;57(1):55-70. doi: 10.1002/jaba.1035. Epub 2023 Nov 8. PMID: 37937407.
Caregiver involvement in applied behavior-analytic research: A scoping review and discussion
PMID: 37937407
DOI: 10.1002/jaba.1035
Abstract
We conducted a scoping review to characterize the role of caregiver involvement in behavior-analytic research. We reviewed eight behavioral-learning journals from 2011-2022 for works that included children or caregivers as participants and characterized caregiver involvement as passive (implications for caregivers, input, social validity) and active (implementation, caregiver behavior, training, caregiver-collected data). The review identified 228 studies, and almost all (96.1%; n = 219) involved caregivers in some capacity; 94.3% (n = 215) had passive involvement (26.8% had only passive involvement; n = 61), 69.3% (n = 158) had active involvement (1.8% had only active involvement; n = 4), and 3.9% (n = 9) had neither passive nor active involvement. Involvement generally increased over publication years. The most common types of involvement were implications for caregivers, implementation, and input; caregiver-collected data were rare. We propose considerations when engaging caregivers in research and suggest new avenues of inquiry related to caregivers’ treatment objectives and social validity, treatment implementers, and caregivercollected data.
LINK TO FULL ARTICLE: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jaba.1035
LINK TO ALL 2024 DEPARTMENT PUBLICATIONS:
Announcements
Announcements
WELCOME
Psychology department at Unit. Prior to Kennedy research assistant and Alex Martin. Shawn did a behavioral tasks with healthy high-functioning autism lobectomy. Later he safety and emergency
Shawn Milleville (NBU)
Shawn Milleville has joined the Behavioral Psychology department as the program manager for the Neurobehavioral Unit. Prior to Kennedy Krieger, he worked for more than 20 years at the National Institute of Mental Health.
Although his time at NIMH with the NBU. Working when this opportunity came and their dog Rosie. In been to 20 of the 30 MLB stadiums) and play video friends or go running.
Tracey Stinney (NBU)
As a research assistant and lab manager in the Section of Cognitive Neuropsychology under Dr. Alex Martin, his studies focused on learning and memory using MRI and behavioral tasks with healthy volunteers and clinical populations. Those groups included adolescents with highfunctioning autism and drug-resistant epilepsy patients before and after partial brain lobectomy. Later, Shawn transitioned to administration, overseeing the lab safety and emergency management program for all 40 NIMH intramural research labs. When the federal agency recently underwent a reduction in force, he welcomed the opportunity to work with the NBU. “Working for a healthcare organization with values I support is important to me,” he says. “I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else.”
Tracey Stinney, who will be providing administrative support in the Neurobehavioral Inpatient Unit, has a deeply personal connection to her new employer. When her niece was born as a micro-preemie weighing less than two pounds, she received lifechanging care through KKI’s feeding program.
raised her two daughters in Baltimore. She now in the same city that she has always called home. focus on patient-centered care, healthcare bachelor’s degree in huma n services, further need.
Her niece was born as a micro-preemie weighing KKI’s feeding program. That niece is now a thriving incredible staff at KKI. Inspired by that experience, she in her own family’s life. Today, she is proud to be helping other families navigate their own journeys.
Shawn lives in Odenton with his wife, two daughters (ages 13 and 10), and their dog, Rosie. The family enjoys traveling to major league baseball parks – Shawn has been to 20 of the 30 MLB stadiums. n
See all our new hires, visit:
A Baltimore native who also raised her two daughters in the city, Tracey has spent more than 30 years working in the medical field, serving as an aide with a strong focus on patient-centered care, healthcare operations and community service programs.
She recently earned a bachelor’s degree in human services, further deepening her commitment to supporting individuals and families in need.
Tracey says her niece, who is now a 35-year-old mother, is thriving. She attributes this outcome to the “incredible staff at KKI” and says she has always dreamed of joining the team that once made such a difference in her own family’s life. Now she hopes to “pay it forward by helping other families navigate their own journeys.” n
Congratulations to our Child & Family Therapy Clinic and our Consult Program on 35 years!
We are incredibly appreciative of the efforts and leadership from Gina Richman (CFT) and Keith Slifer (Consult).
The International Association of Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Conference
The International Association of Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing (IAPFS) is an international group of multidisciplinary clinicians who treat pediatric feeding disorders. One purpose of IAPFS is to join professionals interested in the feeding and swallowing disorders of children into a single organization that will promote dialogue across the multiple specialties. Several clinicians from KKI are members and participate in the conference. The 2026 IAPFS Conference, Reaching New Heights in Evidence Based Collaborative Care is being held live and in-person, Sept. 24-26, 2026, at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Denver, Colorado.
Call
for
Paper Submission Are Now Open:
TRAINING PROGRAM
Our training program consists of formal externship, doctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship training opportunities. The doctoral internship program has been continuously accredited since 1988 and our postdoctoral fellowship has held APPIC membership since 1990. Since the mid-1970’s cohorts have ranged from two to 80 trainees in our program at a given time. Our training alumni have found placements across the U.S. and globally. We are proud to share approximately 97% of our current supervisory team completed an internship and/or a fellowship here at Kennedy Krieger Institute.
This year, our program includes 22 postdoctoral fellows and 22 doctoral interns.
To learn more about our interns and fellows visit:
Lindsay Melvin (Administration) was recently appointed as president of the Red Shoe Crew, the young professionals’ board that supports the Ronald McDonald House.
Jaime Benson (BMC) and Ben Rodriguez (KKI Security) volunteered for a park cleanup with the Travis Manion Foundation at Fort Washington National Park. Jaime recently joined the Veterans Alliance at KKI, which Ben leads.
IN THE COMMUNITY KUDOS
On Thursday, Sept. 11, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at Patuxent to celebrate officially becoming a partner with the Central Maryland Chamber of Commerce. Leadership from the Central Maryland Chamber and some other external partners were in attendance. This partnership is thanks to Michelle Bubnik-Harrison’s (CFT) efforts. Great job, Michelle!
Left to right: Mike Cammarata (2025 Board Chair, Central Maryland Chamber of Commerce), Steve Lindauer (Director, Outpatient Behavior Psychology), Michelle Bubnik- Harrison (Psychologist), Dewan Clayborn (President, CEO Central Maryland Chamber of Commerce), Zubin David, Vice Chair of Central Maryland Chamber of Commerce)
