Karola Dillenburger

Karola Dillenburger PhD. is Professor of Behaviour Analysis and Education and Foundation Director of the Centre for Behaviour Analysis at the School of Social Science, Education and Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast. She is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis-International (ABAI) and the current President of the European Association for Behaviour Analysis (EABA) (2024-2026). She is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst-Doctoral (BCBA-D) and clinical Psychologist (HCPC).

Professor Dillenburger led the development of the MSc Applied Behaviour Analysis (MScABA) at QUB and was the Course Director of the MScAutism (2008-2025). She developed the Behaviour Technician course at QUB and was involved in the development of the multimedia resource at www.SimpleStepsAutism.com. Her research focuses on evidence-based early intervention for vulnerable children including those diagnosed with autism, behavioural parent training, and parenting children with disabilities across the lifespan, loss and trauma. She actively promotes national and international professional recognition of behaviour analysts across Europe. She successfully supervises many Doctoral Research Students.

Prior to being appointed to QUB over 30 years ago, Professor Dillenburger has worked extensively in child care, education, and therapeutic settings. She has published widely, including nine books, multimedia training resources and websites, and over 110 academic peer-reviewed papers. She frequently delivers national and international keynote addresses in USA, India, Europe, and Australia. She was awarded the Gold Medal from Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.

Presentation at the ABA International Conference 2025

Parent training for families affected by profound autism

Abstract:

Autistic families are much more likely to experience marginalisation, poverty, and exclusion than families not affected by autism. At the same time, applied behaviour analytic interventions are supported by large number of studies that provide evidence of effectiveness in the short- and the long-term. In some parts of the world (e.g., USA, Canada), these procedures are considered 'gold-standard' supports for autistic children, funded largely via health insurance system. Families affected by profound autism, particularly those living in other parts of the world are not able to access these interventions easily. Simple Steps is a freely available multimedia online resource that was developed by parents of autistic children in collaboration with an international team of Board Certified Behaviour Analysts. This presentation argues that Simple Steps provides the basis for parent training. Examples from Simple Steps will be shared to illustrate this point.