Ellie Kazemi, Ph.D.
Contact
- Office Location: ST 306
Office Phone: (818) 677-7224
E-mail: ellie.kazemi@csun.edu - Research Activities: http://www.csun.edu/~klab
BCBA program:http://www.csun.edu/~bcba
Education
- Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles
M.A. University of California, Los Angeles
B.A. California State University, Northridge
Specialty Areas: Children & Adolescents with: Learning Disabilities & Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Developmental Disabilities (i.e., Autism, & Mental Retardation) Behavioral Disorders, Anxiety, & Depression.
Courses Taught
- Psy 321/L Experimental Psychology
- Psy 350 Principles of Learning and Behavior
- Psy 629 Behavior Modification
Selected Publications and Presentations
Kazemi, E., & Hodapp, R.M. (2006). Transition from adolescence to young adulthood: The special case of Prader-Willi Syndrome. In M.G. Butler, P.K.D. Lee, & B.Y.M. Whitman (Eds.), Management of Prader-Willi syndrome (3rd edition). New York: Springer-Verlag.
Hodapp, R.M., Kazemi, E., Rosner, B. A., & Dykens, E.M., (2006). Behavioral and emotional problems in adolescents with Mental Retardation. In D.A.Wolfe & E.J. Mash (Eds.), Behavioral and Emotional Disorders in Adolescents New York, NY : Guilford.
Kazemi, E., & Weiner, B. (submitted). Reported parental disciplinary tactics to enhance academic and behavioral performance: An attributional approach.
Greitemeyer, T., & Kazemi, E. (Revise-resubmit). Asymmetrical consequences of behavioural change through reward and punishment.
Ly, T., & Kazemi, E. (in preparation). Parents' attributions of children with Mental Retardation: A review within achievement contexts
Research Interests
Dr. Kazemi received her Ph.D. from UCLA and is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and the Academic Director of the BCBA Program at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She teaches courses on Applied Behavior Analysis, Learning and Behavior, and Research Methodology to undergraduate and undergraduate students. Dr. Kazemi has worked with individuals with disabilities and/or their parents in the past 13 years in various settings. Her experience includes working at Area Board 10, the UCLA Behavior Genetics Clinic, and the Lili Claire Family Resource Center. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has worked extensively with children and adolescents with behavioral and emotional problems, genetic disorders, autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and those with learning disabilities. She serves as a consultant with community behavioral agencies focusing on outcome based programming, staff training, and professional ethics. Her research interests involve 1) knowledge and needs of ABA staff; 2) cross-cultural differences in parents’ perceptions of autism and behavior analysis, 3) effective methods in teaching applied behavior analysis to staff and/or students, 4) parental disciplinary tactics; and 5) factors contributing to co-occurrence of emotional and/or behavioral problems in adolescents with disabilities. Dr. Kazemi continues to publish and present her research with her students at conferences.
I am generally interested in students with learning problems, particularly those with disabilities, and their parents. My main interests lie in the motivation of students with disabilities and the many factors associated with internalized mood disorders (i.e., depression and anxiety) and externalizing disorders (i.e., conduct and behavioral problems) that can impede learning, social attainment, academic achievement, and independent growth.
Currently, I am involved with several projects:
I work at the Parent-Child Interaction Program at the Psychology Clinic in Monterey Hall with Dr. Dee L. Shepherd-Look. The program offers parent training to parents of children & adolescents with developmental disabilities (i.e., autism, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy). The program focuses on the principles of applied behavior analysis. We will be conducting research on the efficacy of the parent training, certain techniques in working with children with autism, sibling relationships, parent-child interaction, and more.
I also work with Dr. Jeffrey Wood at UCLA on a research project focusing on anxiety and depressive symptomatology in students with learning disabilities and the effects of such mood disorders on reading, writing, and math achievement.
Additionally, I am working on extending our findings in Greitemeyer, Weiner, and Kazemi, (submitted) and Kazemi and Weiner (submitted) by looking at parents' attributions and disciplinary actions in particular situations.