Youjia Hua Improving sevrices for studetns with
From his frst course with Dr. Phil Belfore, he was fascinated by the promise of Applied Behavior Analysis for improving specifc behaviors – from social skills and communication to hygiene and grooming – for individuals with disabilities. Widely and successfully used in the United States, ABA was not commonly available in China. Youjia went on to earn an MBA at Gannon University and a doctorate in special education at Penn State University. He developed an ABA course sequence for Chinese speakers during his frst faculty appointment, at the University of Iowa. In 2017, he joined the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia as an associate professor. He continues to ofer his hugely successful ABA training program in conjunction with UVa’s STAR initiative (Supporting Transformative Autism Research). Catholic school. At the same time, he’d work toward a Dayton graduate degree in education, receive a living stipend, and reside in a supportive, faith-based community with other Lalanne teachers. Mike earned a master’s degree in Technology-Enhanced Learning, taking online courses during the school year and spending summers on the Dayton campus. Mike taught kindergarten for two years at a Catholic school in Indianapolis, Indiana, then stayed on for a third year after meeting his now-wife, Casey, also a Lalanne teacher. Then he moved to an Indianapolis-area public school and taught frst grade for two years. Mike and Casey then relocated to the Columbus, Ohio, area, where he now teaches frst grade at Schultz Elementary in Delaware, Ohio. He didn’t expect to enjoy teaching the early grades, but he’s come to embrace his role. “I’m there not just to teach the content areas, but also to make a diference in their everyday lives,” he says. He points
He accepts a new cohort of 20 to 30 students each summer, from a pool of more than 100 applicants. Up to a third of them are parents of students on
disabilities in his Chinese homeland has beocme a mission f or Youjia Hua, who eanred a masetr’s degree in special education at Mercyhurst in 2002. For the past fevyears, he’s been tarining teachers and peanrts in Chinaotuse Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA ). The frst to ofer such tarining in China,’shealready prepared moer than 100 Chinese stutdsen to sit of r ABA ecrtifcation exams. Youjia majoerd in EnglishtaShanghai University beof re decidingotcontinue his education in the Uneidt States. His decision to pursue special eduticoan was an unusual one, since he had’nt previously studied education and had almost ntoerianction with studetns with disabilities in the Chinese eductiaonal ssytem. He went onlineot scout poetntial graduate programs and discovered Mercyhurst. MichaeTl routman Michael Troutman ’12 is defenliyt patr of a minoirty group – a male atcher who specialiezs in et aching theoyungest learners. He frst aimedoteach high school math. When he swcithed ot elemetnary education, he pitcured himself owrking with 5th and 6thragders. Instead, he’s found his nicheatchingikndegr arten and frst grade. One of hiswto student-teaching assignments was in a ikndegr arten classroom. When he itnerviews for job,s he says , “Their eyes just ligthup when I mention thtaI have kindegr arten experience .” With soefw men working in the pimr ary grades, adminisatrtors aer excited to ofer a positive maleorle modelofr their oyungest students. After eanr ing his bachel’sodr egree, Mike joined the LalannreogPram at the University of Dayton. He ocmmitetd to teach of r two years in an und-erersoucred
the autism spectrum. Unable to access the services their families need, they learn the ABA process themselves, earning BCBA certifcation and going on to help other families. The students watch Youjia’s recorded lectures online, and then gather from all over China – via Zoom meetings – for weekly discussions.
out that many of his students come from single-parent homes and have had few successful men they can relate
to. He’s built relationships not just with his students, but also with their siblings and
families, who see him deeply involved in the community, coaching and attending school events. An athlete since his high school days, Mike coached softball and basketball while in Indianapolis, even winning a state title in softball in his fnal year there. Today he coaches high school softball. He’s had plenty of experience being in the minority. At Mercyhurst, he was one of only a handful of men in his education program. And at his K-5 school today, he’s one of just four men among 30 classroom teachers.
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