Dr. Sophia D’Agostino is an Assistant Professor of Special Education. She earned her PhD in Human Development and Family Studies from Michigan State University in 2019. Prior to entering graduate school, she was an early childhood special education teacher, coach, and consultant. Her research interests focus on naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention implementation within inclusive preschool settings. She is passionate about early childhood pre-service and in-service teacher training and coaching to enhance meaningful inclusion of children with disabilities. Teaching Interests Dr. Sophia D'Agostino primarily teaches courses within the early childhood special education (birth to five) undergraduate course sequence. Research Interests Dr. Sophia D'Agostino's scholarship aims to improve meaningful inclusion for young children (birth to five years) with disabilities through socially valid practices. Early childhood inclusive education is the inclusion of children with disabilities into high-quality early childhood education programs (e.g., public, or private preschool, community-based childcare, Head Start). Two primary strands of Dr. D'Agostino's research are (a) understanding and improving teacher preparation and training to increase the quality of services that children with disabilities receive within inclusive settings and (b) dissemination and use of naturalistic developmental and behavioral interventions (NDBI). NDBIs are evidence-based interventions informed by both developmental psychology and applied behavior analysis guided by an understanding of child development and implemented in the child’s natural environment. Dr. D'Agostino's intervention research focuses on the use of telehealth or training and coaching at a distance using technology. Further, social validity is central to Dr. D'Agostino's research. The use of NDBIs and telehealth for training + coaching emphasize social validity, which is integral to implementation fidelity, generalization, and maintenance of practices within early childhood inclusive education programs.

Dr. Ana Dueñas is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D) and assistant professor at Lehigh University and soon to be assistant professor at San Diego State University who earned a doctorate in special education from Michigan State University and earned a master’s in autism and transition to adulthood from San Diego State University. Dr. Dueñas has published her work in the Exceptional Children, Autism, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Behavior Analysis Research and Practice, Journal of Special Education Technology, Education and Treatment of Children and Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals. Her primary research interests are in identifying and validating social communication interventions delivered by natural change agents to individuals on the autism spectrum and related developmental disorders. She is also interested in the application of technology to broaden accessibility to services for underserved individuals on the autism spectrum and their families.