Dr. Riffel's new book!

Positive Behavior Support at the Tertiary Level: Red Zone Strategies

This book describes a research-based model for creating intervention plans to modify extremely challenging behavior. Included are success stories and tools, including analysis forms, charts, and templates.

Laura A. Riffel, Ph.D. is a behavior specialist who has trained thousands of teachers, parents, counselors, psychologists, administrators, and bus drivers how to make data based decisions as a way to change behavior.  Her trainings are filled with humor and make data collection easy to understand  and use in the classroom.

She also serves as the webmaster for the National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports sponsored by the Office of Special Education Programs.  Laura is the director of Behavior Doctor Seminars, a company dedicated to sharing the science behind changing behavior. 

In the early 1970’s, she began her career as a volunteer at the School for the Blind which led to her interest in special education. She received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Kansas State University with a minor in special education. Her Master’s Degrees were in: 1) special education with an area of concentration on learning disabilities and intellectual disabilities; 2) special education consulting; and               3) personal counseling. Her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas is in Cognitive and Multiple Disabilities and  Family and Policy with a minor in research.

With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Riffel has had the opportunity to teach the following students:

• Inclusive classrooms in Kindergarten, First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth grades.
• Resource and self-contained classrooms in learning disabilities, emotional behavior disorders, mild intellectual disabilities, moderate intellectual disabilities, severe and profound intellectual disabilities     and medically fragile students. (Elementary and Middle School levels)
• Students who were deaf using Signing Exact English (SEE II) in an inclusive setting where all students    and teachers were taught to use sign language as they spoke.
• District tutor for adjudicated youth; teach middle and high school grades at detention facilities.

Most recently, Dr. Riffel has enjoyed teaching at the college level at the University of Central Oklahoma, Georgia State University and the University of Kansas. She has taught Applied Behavior Analysis, Families   and Disabilities, and Managing Classroom Behavior.

Dr. Riffel has also served as a district trainer for Technology, Developmentally Appropriate Science and    Health (DASH), Hands on Math, Teacher Effectiveness-Student Achievement (TESA), McRel’s Effective   Teaching Model, and Madeline Hunter’s Model.

Laura Riffel and her husband, Tom, lived with Jay Turnbull as his housemate and friend for many years. Jay was 41 years old and had autism, intellectual disabilities, bi-polar condition, and obsessive  compulsive disorder. He taught them the value of life for individuals with disabilities.   Jay passed away from a massive heart attack on January 7, 2009.  He will be missed by the entire Riffel family.

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