We are founded by
globally recognized experts
The founders of Autism Partnership are current world-renowned authorities in the treatment of autism. Their quality standards and high expectations are aspirations of all fellow practitioners. Having contributed significantly to seminal works including books, research publications, and scientific conferences since the 1970s, they also provide consultations to school districts and families worldwide.
Dr. Ronald Leaf is a licensed psychologist who has over forty years of experience in the field of autism. Dr. Leaf began his career working with Professor Ivar Lovaas, while receiving his undergraduate degree at UCLA. Subsequently, he received his doctorate under the direction of Prof. Lovaas. During his years at UCLA, he served as Clinic Supervisor, Research Psychologist, Lecturer and Interim Director of the Young Autism Project. He was extensively involved in several research investigations, contributed to “The Me Book”, and is a co-author of “The Me Book” Videotapes, a series of instructional tapes for teaching autistic children.
Dr. Leaf has consulted to families, schools, day programs and residential facilities on a national and international basis. Dr. Leaf is also the Executive Director of Behavior Therapy and Learning Centre, a mental health agency that consults with parents, care-providers and school personnel. Dr. leaf is co-author of “A Work In Progress”, “Time for School”, “It Has to Be Said”, “Crafting Connections” and “A Work In Progress Companion Series”.
John McEachin is a licensed psychologist who has been providing behavioral intervention to children with autism as well as adolescents and adults with a wide range of developmental disabilities for more than forty years. He received his graduate training under Professor Ivar Lovaas at UCLA on the Young Autism Project. During his 11 years at UCLA, Dr. McEachin served in various roles including Clinic Supervisor, Research and Teaching Assistant, and Acting Director. His research has included the long-term follow-up study of young autistic children who received intensive behavioral treatment, which was published in 1993.
In 1994 he joined with Ron Leaf in forming Autism Partnership, which they co-direct. In 1999 they published A Work in Progress, a widely used behavioral treatment manual and curriculum for children with autism. Dr. McEachin has lectured throughout the world and co-authored numerous books and research articles. He consults regularly to families, agencies, and school districts, assisting in the development of treatment programs and providing training to parents, group home staff, and classroom personnel.
Mr. Toby Mountjoy is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and holds a Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis. With over 25 years of experience working with individuals with ASD, he has been extensively trained by Dr. Ronald Leaf, Dr. Mitchell Taubman and Dr. John McEachin. Besides overseeing the Autism Partnership operation in Hong Kong, Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Kuwait and Beijing, with over 500 staff, including psychologists, consultants and therapists, he has also provided consultations to school districts, agencies, and families worldwide. Mr. Mountjoy has also contributed chapters to publications such as “Sense & Nonsense” and “It’s Time for School”. In 2007, he founded the charitable Autism Partnership Foundation and AP School to offer more services for children with Autism.
Our team of consultants are comprised of doctorate and master degree holders, clinical psychologists and Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) with many years of experience in planning and implementing Intensive Behavioral Treatment.
BCBA stands for “Board Certified Behavior Analyst”. A board certified behavior analyst is certified through the Behavior Analyst Certification Board®. There are three distinctions for certified behavior analysts: BCaBA, BCBA, BCBA-D.
All certified behavior analysts have completed coursework specific to behavior analysis, completed required supervised field work experience, and passed a board exam. BCBAs are required to hold a minimum of a master’s degree in their field.
Wong Mai Shan holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Oregon. Upon graduation, she was in charge of designing and setting up a preschool program at a local kindergarten. Following that, she was a Supervisor at a childcare centre. Since 1989, she has been working with children who have special needs. During her time at Dover Court Preparatory school, she was appointed the Centre Co-coordinator and worked with a wide range of children with different disabilities.
Her work with children with special needs continued at Horizon Centre for Special Education, where she was involved in the integration process of her students. She has been working with children with autism in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis since 2001. She served as Autism Partnership’s school supervisor and oversaw the school program, Little Learners.
Mai Shan is presently the Clinical Director at AP Singapore, supervising case programs and overseeing training and development of staff. She is also a Behavior Consultant, providing services to families in Singapore and regionally.
Reshani Satharasinghe holds a Bachelor of Science in Animal Biology from the National University of Singapore and has a Masters in Applied Behavior Analysis from St. Cloud State University. She has provided behavior therapy for children on the autism spectrum since the inception of our Singapore office in 2004, under the direction of Associate Director, Mr. Toby Mountjoy. In 2005, she was seconded to our office in Seal Beach, California to complete a 15 months internship, under the supervision of our Directors, Drs. Ronald Leaf and John McEachin.
Since her return in January 2007, she ran the training programme for new staff. She also provided intensive parent training through our Supernanny/Res-Q programme. In 2008, she became a Case Supervisor, providing clinical support and case management. In 2010, she completed a 5-month attachment to our UK office and worked as the Regional Coordinator of Services in Leeds.
She returned to Singapore in August 2010 to provide local and international consultation, supervision and training to both clients, parents and staff in Singapore, as well as regionally. Reshani is currently Associate Director at AP Singapore and regularly conducts a series of training workshops, lectures and school consultations to both professionals and members of the public.
Reshani is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA).
Nurhayati M Ismail is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Psychology from University of Southern Queensland and a Masters of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Before joining Autism Partnership Singapore, she worked with both children and adults in a mental health facility, providing psycho-education and counselling as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
Since 2003, Yati has been working with children with autism using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in one-on-one as well as school settings. After completing her supervisory training in our Hong Kong office under the direction of Mr. Toby Mountjoy in 2006, she has conducted staff training, intensive parent education groups as well as various workshops for teachers and professionals, parent consultation and public talks. She also oversees the Little Learners school program and social skills group for children of various ages.
Presently, she is a Behavior Consultant at AP Singapore, providing clinical support and case management to children in Singapore and overseas. She also conducts training, lectures and workshops for parents, schools and professionals in Singapore and internationally.
Loh Liling (罗玉玲) is a Behavior Consultant at Autism Partnership Singapore. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from James Cook University, Australia.
Having worked at Autism Partnership Singapore since 2014, Liling has worked with many children of varied age groups, ranging from 2 to 16 years old in both one-to-one and classroom settings, with an average of 4 to 6 children per group. Her expertise in groups includes teaching children relevant skills required for school; to improve and have an understanding of appropriate social behaviors as well as to develop meaningful effects for one another. She is also a member of the Autism Partnership Singapore Jumpstart team.
Liling has also provided shadow-aide support for children in mainstream and international schools to assist and facilitate children to adapt to a school environment. She has conducted social groups, regularly bringing groups of children aged 10 and above on regular outings.
Liling also does parent and helper training to guide caregivers on managing their children in the everyday, natural setting.
Joy Chong 鍾佳颖 holds a Bachelor in Psychology with Honours from James Cook University, Australia. She joined Autism Partnership Singapore in 2014 and has extensive experience working with children of different age groups in one-to-one and social group settings in Singapore and internationally. She has also provided shadow-aide support for children in mainstream schools to help them adapt to the school environment. Additionally, her work includes training and working closely with parents, caregivers and teachers to support the children in their homes, schools and communities.
Joy has been part of Autism Partnership Singapore’s Accelerate Team since it commenced in 2017 and worked with families in Singapore and regionally. She has since been conducting highly intensive and customized ABA therapy programs in English and Mandarin designed to maximize the progress of our students.
Joy has presented talks to the our local community for both parents and professionals, sharing techniques and tips on how to help families living with individuals with ASD.
Presently, a Program Supervisor at Autism Partnership Singapore, Joy designs and oversees individualised programs for children across the spectrum.
Victoria is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with a Masters of Education in Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) from Endicott College and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of Washington.
Victoria has worked at Autism Partnership since 2015 and has experience working with children of varying age groups (ages 2-17) in one-on-one therapy sessions and in group settings. She has also been a school shadow-aide in various mainstream schools where she had to collaborate with both the school and the family to ensure a smooth transition for the child. Additionally, she has provided parent and helper training which guides caregivers in managing their child’s behavior in the community and at home.
As a Program Supervisor, Victoria manages and designs individualized education programs, supervises, leads and guides her teams as well as provides caregiver and staff training.
AP is devoted to training our staff to become a dedicated group of empathetic and compassionate clinicians who provide quality APM treatment. Our goal is to create positive, life-long changes for children with ASD and their families.
Our Therapists
Our therapists plays a key role in the success of our agency. They work with our families and children in one-on-one, group and school settings, and carry out program goals as identified by our Supervisors and Consultants.
All our therapists must go through a 140 hours pre-service didactic and practicum training before they can provide direct line therapy for our families. They will then receive intensive and ongoing training for about 200 hours every year thereafter.
AP is the only agency in Singapore that provides an extensive in-house APM training program. Newly onboarded AP therapists are mandated to complete a thorough 140-hour orientation and training program before they commence providing direct-line therapy to our clients. This comprehensive training is conducted by our team of experienced trainers. The training encompasses: instructional lectures, in-depth case studies, role-playing exercises and case observations. The pivotal part of our specialised training program is focused on hands-on practical sessions. These sessions are continuously overseen by our trainers to ensure our therapists develop a strong foundation to teach children with autism effectively using our APM™.
AP therapists receive over 400 hours of induction training and 1:1 supervision by our supervisors, consultants and directors in their first year on the job. Thereafter, staff continues to receive over 200 hours of supervision per year through weekly supervisions, regular clinic and team meetings specific to the child they are working with. Weekly supervisions allow us to monitor and evaluate the quality of our services, andtrack the progress of our students.
All therapists are required to attend training sessions to further their knowledge and enhance their skills. On-the-job training consists of didactic lectures, case studies, videos, evaluations as well as practical role play. Our directors, Dr. Ronald Leaf, Dr. John McEachin and Mr Toby Mountjoy also visit Singapore to provide direct training to staff.
AP therapists are formally evaluated through supervision and review meetings with our directors on an ongoing basis. Evaluations are based on the following areas: clinical judgment, teaching and programming skills, as well as leadership abilities.
AP holds the belief that with quality Autism Partnership Method (APM) treatment, individuals with autism should reach their fullest potential and achieve the greatest degree of independence and highest quality of life possible.
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