Meet Naomi Ziegler, a first year graduate clinician at the Husky ABA Clinic!

Naomi Ziegler is a first-year graduate student in the SCSU Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) graduate program, she began in Fall 2019. Prior to beginning the ABA graduate program, Naomi received her bachelor’s degree in Community Psychology from SCSU and her associate’s degree in General Education with an emphasis in Biblical Studies from Rosedale Bible College in Ohio.

Naomi has worked with the clinic since its beginning, first by assisting with parent workshops in Fall 2019 and then as a graduate clinician beginning January 2020. At the clinic, Naomi is responsible for supervising the undergraduate clinicians with her co-graduate clinician Averiel Wright. Naomi and Averiel oversee the undergraduate clinicians with the guidance and support of the SCSU ABA faculty, including Dr. Ben Witts, Dr. Kim Schulze, Dr. Michele Traub, and Dr. Odessa Luna. As a supervisor to the undergraduate clinicians, Naomi is responsible for conducting behavioral assessments, which are then used to make treatment decisions and to develop and implement behavior change programs. Naomi is also responsible for training, directing, and giving feedback to undergraduate clinicians.

Naomi came to be involved in ABA after she took undergraduate ABA courses at SCSU. Naomi says, “I found it [ABA] fascinating and could really see how much of an impact it could have on people’s lives. I then decided to do my community psychology internship at Behavioral Dimensions, an organization that provides in-home behavioral services to children diagnosed with ASD. I loved this work and it fits with my desire to help others live up to their full potential.”

Naomi is still deciding on what she would like to do after graduating from the master’s program but is interested in potentially pursuing working with children and staff at summer camps. She expects that her prior experience at the Husky ABA Clinic and with Behavioral Dimensions has better prepared her for training others, working with children, developing and implementing plans and programs, and supervising staff. “I am growing in confidence and am learning so much from this experience. I believe that this experience will benefit any things I might go into in the future,” Naomi said of her experience at the Husky ABA clinic.

Since January 2020, Naomi has had the opportunity to work with a client and supervise others working with that client every week. In just a few short months, Naomi says that one of her proudest and most outstanding moments working at the clinic has been to see her client increase her skill set. Her client has made great strides in following instructions, making eye contact, and playing with others – skills that can be essential for clients to adaptively navigate their environments and be independent.

When Naomi isn’t in the Husky ABA Clinic or working on her graduate studies, she is busy taking advantage of every opportunity for adventure available to her. Naomi lived in Haiti from ages one to two and again from ages 16 to 18 and learned to speak Haitian Creole. She has spent the last four summers as a Boundary Waters Canoe guide, which can be found in northern Minnesota. Naomi has also spent two and a half months hiking on the Appalachian Trail. 700 of the 800 miles Naomi hiked on the Appalachian Trail were hiked barefoot.