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Erin Barton

Associate Professor, Department of Special Education

Erin Barton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education. Her primary line of inquiry focuses on identifying evidence-based behavioral interventions that teachers and parents can implement in authentic and inclusive settings. Dr. Barton has conducted several studies examining effective practices for increasing play skills in young children and is currently refining the intervention package and examining implementation features. She also examines best practices for using performance-based feedback to increase early childhood professionals’ use of recommended practices. She teaches courses in single case research design, assessment, social and behavioral interventions, and working with children with multiple and severe disabilities. Dr. Barton also serves on multiple editorial boards and is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Early Intervention and the Editor-in-Chief of Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. She is a past president of the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children. Dr. Barton is a faculty member in the Early Childhood Special Education and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) programs.

Most recently, Dr. Barton has worked with doctoral and masters students on recent projects examining the following topics:

  1. Testing and comparing instructional practices for increasing play complexity in young children with disabilities.
  2. Increasing peer imitation in young children with disabilities.
  3. Using email and text messaging to deliver performance-based feedback to early childhood professionals with a range of backgrounds and experiences.
  4. Developing new technologies that support parents’ and teachers’ use of function-based interventions.
  5. Developing and testing interventions that support improvements in social and behavioral outcomes for young children with and at-risk for disabilities.

Grant funding is available for students interested in pursuing a master's degree in early childhood with an emphasis in behavior analysis.