Below are just some of the few stories that have come from our scholarships.

Hello Dr. Salek,
My name is Lauren Phillips and I was a graduate volunteer at the Severe Behavior Disorders Research Clinic (SBDRC) this year – I have written a story on my spanish speaking clients below who received Susie Bean’s grant funding.

A family contacted the Severe Behavior Disorders Research Clinic (SBDRC) when their son’s elopement (running away) became too challenging and dangerous to mange on their own; specifically, they reported that their son frequently ran away from home to gain access to foods and activities that he enjoyed. There had been numerous incidences when their child stole the house keys, unlocked the doors, and ran in to neighbors garages to eat/drink their snack food and sodas or when he had run to the neighborhood pool to go swimming by himself. Additionally, this child often jumped out of moving vehicles when he saw his favorite convenience store so he could go eat snacks there. For a child who does not understand traffic or safety rules, these behaviors were highly dangerous and even potentially life threatening. The family did not know what to do, and they could not afford to pay for behavioral services – so we helped them apply for the Susie Bean Gives grant. The first grant paid for the assessment of this boy’s behavior, which let us determine that he was running away to get access to food and activities that he liked. We were also able to use the remaining money to start a behavioral treatment where we taught him to wait and earn tokens in order to get access to snacks and drinks he wanted. This treatment also taught him the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods, so he knew that he could have access to healthy snacks like fruit and water whenever he wanted, but that he would have to wait to earn unhealthy foods. We then applied for a second grant to continue increasing the amount of time he was required to wait before earning snacks, and taught his parents and siblings how to implement our treatment package. This client can now wait up to 20 minutes (he started at waiting only 40 seconds) for his favorite items, and his parents report that he has made great improvements with asking when he wants something, instead of running away to get it by himself. While this family may need additional supports in the future for other components of their child’s life; for now, they can feel at ease that they no longer have to worry about a very challenging and dangerous behavior – elopement.

Best,
Lauren Phillips
M.A. Behavior Analysis Candidate 2016 | University of Houston – Clear Lake
B.S. Psychology 2013 | Drake University

Good morning, Layla,

Dorothy just came by with your note and your check. I must say – I was rather blown away! While a more formal thank you is forthcoming, on behalf of University of Houston-Clear Lake and the Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities I wanted to personally thank you and your colleagues with Susie Bean Gives for your generous $4,000 contribution.

Dorothy and I were very pleasantly surprised by the unsolicited “extra” that you included with your contribution for educational materials. The support that we have received from Susie Bean Gives has made a tremendous impact on the families that we serve, and we are extremely grateful.

Thanks again for your generosity!!

Regards,
Carol Bornstein
Office of Advancement
University of Houston-Clear Lake