The Regis College graduate students and supervisors from the Applied Behavior Analysis program have landed in Reykjavik, Iceland! Upon the first few hours, the student's were fortunate enough to meet the founders and directors of the local schools in which they would be providing ABA services to. Here are some comments from the student's regarding their first experiences in a new country;
"The breathtaking landscapes of snow covered high peaks, valley ranges that extend miles, waterfalls forging rainbows and fields filled with vibrant purple Alaskan lupine welcomed our arrival as we landed in Reykjavik, Iceland. An incredible view as we made our way to our Orientation with Atli, the director of a local school for children with disabilities. The orientation provided was an eye opening insight to understand the need for additional service providers in this country where there are only 8 total BCBA’s. The second half of orientation we were greeted by the directors of the schools we are doing consultations in. The school teachers were very excited and open to suggestions to better service the children in need. We are VERY excited to continue this journey in a different country and learn about Iceland culture!"
"We arrived at the school and were given a brief tour of the facilities before heading to the conference room to learn more about Iceland’s education system and about the special needs services available. I was blown away by the directors description of the emphasis the government places on early education and how accessible day care is to working parents across the country. The point was raised that skills learned in the early years of life during preschool and daycare are extremely difficult or impossible to teach later on in life and access to quality education and social interaction correlate to factors that influence quality of life such as job retention."
"The orientation with Atli educated me about current service levels within Iceland and the need for an expansion of Applied Behavior Analysis across the country. I am extremely excited to begin my journey with the local preschool and learn more about the Icelandic culture paired with my knowledge of behavior."
All of the students and supervisors are looking forward to this opportunity to work alongside local schools to provide quality behavior analytic services to young children in Iceland!