For 37 years, Binghamton University has offered students hands-on experience in the psychology field working with autistic children through the Institute of Child Development.
The ICD has been an outlet for more than 3,000 students to get involved and learn about autism, according to professor Raymond G. Romanczyk, executive director of the ICD.
Romanczyk coordinates the academic curriculum for undergraduates and graduates who take part in the program and fundraises for the ICD.
“It is a huge organization, the largest on campus,” Romanczyk said. “On a broad level, the ICD provides services to families, undergraduates, graduates, medical students, researchers and public policy.”
Psychology majors specializing in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) are required to take four courses that involve working with children between the ages of 5 months and 12 years of age in the Children’s Unit for Treatment and Evaluation (CUTE) program at the ICD. Non-majors are permitted to take the first lab course, PSYC 355: “Laboratory in Child Behavior.”
Interested students must go through an interview process to be accepted into the course.
According to Romancyzk, the University provides excellent training for the students who work at the ICD.
“The program is unbelievable. We go through a lot of training to work with the children,” he said.
Chelsea McGovern, a junior double-majoring in English and psychology and a tutor in the program, said that the ICD’s training regimen was crucial to the program’s success.
“The training upon entering the ICD is intensive. The ICD does a wonderful job in ensuring the safety of their children and the competency of their students, by putting them through rigorous training, testing through both written and performance exams,” McGovern said.
Other students who have participated in the program have had rewarding experiences as well.
“It is a great experience to be able to help the children learn and grow,” said Alexandra Fernandez, a sophomore majoring in psychology.
Nicholas Agostino, a junior majoring in psychology, had only positive things to say about the ICD.
“It’s amazing and I’m happy that I got into it,” Agostino said.
Josh Goldsmith, a senior majoring in psychology, has carried his interest in working with children to other opportunities outside of the CUTE program.
“I love it, I got really involved in special education, since working with ICD. I worked at a summer camp with special needs. It’s so nice to do something so rewarding and so much fun,” Goldsmith said. “The children are amazing, the experiences are something you can’t explain.”