Dr. Neely is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She earned her Master’s in Education (emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism) and Doctorate (emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism) at Texas A&M University. Her work centers on progressing the treatment of children with autism with the science of applied behavior analysis (ABA). ABA therapy focuses on modifying the environment to teach skills, treat maladaptive behavior, and improve pro-social behaviors. In pursuit of this goal, she teaches within the University of Texas at San Antonio’s ABA program, conducting meaningful and impactful ABA research, and serving the community through her expertise as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst – Doctoral Level (BCBA-D).
Associate Professor in Educational Psychology ​
Director of the Child and Adolescent Policy Research Institute
UTSA Director of San Antonio Behavior Analysis ​Research Consortium
leslie.neely@utsa.edu 
UTSA Downtown Campus
Durango Building 4.336
Dr. Neely's Google Scholar Page

Dr. Neely's Research Focuses 

​Assessment and Treatment of Problem Behavior for Individuals with Autism and Developmental Disabilities
Her primary clincial expertise is in the assessment and treatment of problem behavior using the science of applied behavior analysis (ABA). Problem behavior is a top priority for individuals with autim and developmental disabilities. Problem behavior often interferes with social, educational, and communication opportunities, and leaves individuals isolated from their friends and families. Her research advances ABA technologies to treat problem behavior with consideration of environmental variables that may be maintaining the behavior (e.g., assessment, setting, cultural factors, and linguistic diversity).

Read more about problem behavior on the SAABA Clinic page
​Pre-emptive treatment for infants and toddlers at-risk for autism
Dr. Neely recently extended her work in the treatment of problem behavior to focus on a pre-emptive intervention for infants and toddlers at-risk for ASD. Recent advances in early detection via screeners (e.g., Autism Observation Scale for Infants; Bryson, Zwaigenbaum, McDermott, Rombough, & Brian, 2008) and medical evaluations (e.g., electroencephalogram; Bosl et al., 2018) facilitates a remarkable opportunity to attempt to change the trajectory of at-risk infants’ development by intervening early – even before an official diagnosis can be made. This project is ongoing but the team has presented multiple conference presentations regarding the preliminary results. Dr. Neely's major contributions to this work is in designing and implementing the part of the intervention focused on treating emerging problem behavior. 

Read more about pre-emptive treatment on the Project PLAAY page. 
​Telehealth and Innovative Technologies for Treatment of Autism
A significant portion of Dr. Neely's research has focused on the use of telehealth as a novel method of delivering high quality applied behavior analytic (ABA) assessments/treatments and facilitating parent-led interventions. In a series of studies, she investigated the use of an asynchronous telehealth training package consisting of online modules plus video-based feedback on the preparation of novice clinicians, parents, and educators in the use of ABA teaching strategies (Neely et al., 2018; Neely, Rispoli, Gerow, & Hong, 2016; Neely et al., 2017; Neely et al., 2016). In her completed studies, she found that not only were the clinicians, parents, and educators able to improve their implementation of the ABA procedures, but advances were noted for child’s target behavior. Recently, Dr. Neely completed an externally funded project that investigated the use of synchronous telehealth to prepare 550 Texas caregivers of children with autism in ABA strategies. She also just concluded a meta-analysis investigating the impact of telehealth ABA on subject outcomes.

Read more about innovative technologies on the Telehealth and Technologies Lab page 
​Quantitative Synthesis of ABA Assessments and Treatments for Autism and Developmental Disabilities
Dr. Neely has extensive training in the evaluation of single-case literature from renowned experts in single-case research methodology (e.g., Richard Parker, and Jay Ganz). She was selected for the competitive Advanced Single Case Research Training Institute sponsored by the Institute of Educational Sciences where she received advanced training from notable methodologists including Tom Kratochwill and Rob Horner. As such, she is fluent in advanced single case evaluation techniques and has employed these skills to synthesize and analyze the literature base on many topics relevant to ABA assessment and treatment.
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