Who we are
President, Kimberley H. Smith, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Kim grew up in north Alabama and is currently in private practice as a Doctoral-Level Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D) in Opelika, AL. She has 13 years experience working with children that have a variety of diagnoses. Primarily her practice has focused on children (ages 2-18) exhibiting behaviors consistent with Autism Spectrum Disorders, other developmental disabilities, and other behaviors that interfere with children’s ability to learn. Her services working with these children have been carried out in their homes, schools, and community settings. She believes for behavior change to occur, it is critical to address them in the environment in which they occur.
Kim began her work with children with special needs in 1998 when she worked for families in Louisiana struggling to help their children overcome Autism. She was trained to assist with implementation of in-home ABA programs with several children diagnosed with Autism. After witnessing first hand the tremendous progress these children made, she became passionate about receiving further training and returning to Alabama to make ABA services more readily available to families and schools.
In 2001, Kim entered the Ph.D. program in Psychology (Experimental Analysis of Behavior) at Auburn University under Dr. Jim Johnston. During her time in graduate school she participated in advanced training in behavior analysis, autism research experience, and many more rewarding clinical experiences. After completion of her thesis in 2005, Kim had the opportunity to assist The Learning Tree, Inc in development of The Little Tree Preschool, an inclusive, ABA intervention program for children with autism spectrum disorders. In 2007 she held the position of Program Director at The Little Tree until 2010. Also in 2010, Kim completed her Ph.D. at Auburn University and began focusing on bringing her initial task of making ABA services more readily available in Alabama to fruition.
Since graduation, Kim has provided behavioral consultation services to families and schools across the state of Alabama. For more details about Kim’s experiences, please click on her curriculum vitae below
