Caymanian therapist joins The Wellness Centre

(CNS): The Wellness Centre has its first Caymanian ABA therapist in the form of Samantha Sampang-McCoy, a past John Gray High School student who graduated in 2012 from the University of Toronto,  Canada with a Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology and Health Studies. Samantha recently joined the Autism Services Team and will be delivering ABA Therapy to children with autism spectrum disorders in clinical, home and school settings. Samantha started as a volunteer intern at The Wellness Centre, before deciding to pursue a specialism in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA), under the direct supervision of Sloane Pharr, Board Certified Behavioural Analyst and supervisor of The Wellness Centre’s ABA services team.

Ms. Pharr commented, “We are thrilled to have finally trained our first Caymanian ABA therapist. This is exactly what our island needs. The availability of quality therapists to meet the needs of special children such as those diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders and be able to demonstrate and hone their therapeutic and evaluation skills on island.”

She continued, “It shouldn’t be up to employers or families to continue to bring therapists in from oversees when there are suitable, energetic, intelligent people here on island. Sam is the perfect example. She started as an intern, volunteering her time in exchange for experience and training opportunities and now she has successfully progressed from observing direct client work, to participating in our ABA training for Parents and Caregivers, to undergoing intensive instruction in Behavioural theory and the principles of ABA, to finally meeting criterion on applying her knowledge in supervised direct therapy”.

Shannon Seymour, Director of The Wellness Centre, said, “We are so proud to welcome Samantha to our growing team. She started as a volunteer intern eager to learn and demonstrate her knowledge. She has worked diligently and demonstrated exceptional professionalism; it has been very exciting to watch her growth. I would like to thank Sloane Pharr, our ABA Programme supervisor for all of her efforts in training Samantha and to our entire ABA team of therapists who welcomed Samantha and assisted in developing her skills. I encourage any interested Caymanians with a related university degree and previous experience in childcare and or working with special needs children to contact us to inquire about training opportunities.”

Samantha plans to pursue a Master’s degree in Applied Behaviour Analysis specializing in autism spectrum disorders in September, but will continue to work with The Wellness Centre during her study breaks.