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Megan Kunze

Research Associate
SPED EI/ECSE Practicum Supervisor
Applied Behavior Analysis, College of Education, Psychology Department, Special Education

Biography

Dr. Megan Kunze is a Research Associate in the Center for Brain Injury Research and Training, Department of Psychology. Within the Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences, she lectures and supervises Early Intervention Practicum Graduate Students.

Dr. Kunze has been certified as a behavior analyst for 16 years and currently holds the highest certification level: BCBA-D. She has worked to support children, families, and specialists in early education for over 25 years. Dr. Kunze has been a director early intervention center, a therapeutic clinic and a self-contained school for children with autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities. She has been a consultant for preschools and Head Start Programs throughout southwest Texas providing training on various topics to include developmental differences, behavioral interventions, and strengthening classroom communities. Dr. Kunze has worked in military childcare as a center director, training and curriculum specialist, and preschool teacher supporting over-seas families in Europe. One of her favorite professional positions is that of an interdisciplinary diagnostic team-member, where she conducted assessments with young children demonstrating red-flags for autism as a Research Reliable Administrator of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 and Certified Administrator of the Screening Tool for Autism in Toddlers and Young Children.

Education

Ph.D., 2020, University of Oregon, Eugene OR
Major: Special Education
Advisor: Wendy Machalicek, Ph.D. BCBA-D

M.S., 2000, University of Texas, Austin, TX
Major: Special Education: Early Intervention
Advisor: Keith Turner, Ph.D.

B.A., 1995, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Major: Family and Human Sciences: Child Development

Research

Dr. Kunze's research concentration includes accessibility and impact of early diagnosis, professional preparation in Applied Behavior Analysis, and coaching of family-focused naturalistic interventions to best support young children with developmental delays. A significant focus of her research is on access to and adaptations of interventions to meet the individual, cultural, and linguistic needs of children with developmental differences and their families. Recent work has centered on developing and delivering coaching to caregivers of toddler-aged children at-risk for autism via telehealth. This study used a concurrent multiple baseline design across six mother-child dyads, where the caregivers were coached via telehealth to mediate early intervention to increase flexible child behaviors during play sessions.

Publications

McIntyre, L.L., Kunze, M., Barton, H., Luehring, M. (in press). History of Early Intervention, Book Chapter in APA Handbook.

Wei, Q., Machalicek, W., Crowe, B., & Kunze, M. (2020) Restricted and Repetitive Patterns of Behavior and Interests in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review of Behavioral Interventions. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities.

Rooks-Ellis, D. L., Howorth, S. K., Kunze, M., Boulette, S., & Sulinski, E. (2020). Effects of a parent training using telehealth: Equity and access to early intervention for rural families. Journal of Childhood, Education, & Society 1(2), 141-166. https://doi.org/10.37291/2717638X.202012

Erturk, B., Hansen, S., Machalicek, W., & Kunze, M. (2020). Parent-implemented early social communication skill intervention. Journal of Behavioral Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-020-09387-1

Kunze, M., Drew, C., Machalicek, W., Safer-Lichtenstein, J., Crowe, B. (2019) Language preference of a multilingual individual with disabilities using a speech-generating device. Behavior Analysis in Practice.

Honors and Awards

2018 David Zeaman Graduate Award, Gatlinburg Conference Travel Award

2020 College of Education Dissertation Funding Award, University of Oregon