Biography
Experience. Dr. Berenice de la Cruz, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA has worked with people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities since 2001 in school, home, clinic, and community settings as a teacher, therapist, supervisor, director, and professor. Dr. de la Cruz has extensive experience providing didactic and hands-on training to caregivers, students, and professionals servicing people with disabilities. She has been an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of the Applied Behavior Analysis Program at A&M-SA since 2020. Prior to joining A&M-SA, Dr. de la Cruz was an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University’s ABA program and the CEO and owner of an ABA company. She regularly presents in English and Spanish at local, state, and national/international conferences. Dr. Berenice de la Cruz is the inaugural Coordinator for the new Applied Behavior Analysis Program at the College of Education and Human Development.
San Antonio. Dr. de la Cruz has been an active member of the San Antonio community since 2010, along with her husband their two children. Dr. de la Cruz served as the Chief Operating Officer at Autism Community Network, a local nonprofit that serves families of children with ASD. She was part of the leadership team since the inception of Autism Lifeline Links (ALL), a coalition of nonprofits aimed at connecting families to services in the community. Dr. de la Cruz has been an Executive Council member for the Texas Association for Behavior Analysis (TxABA) since 2021 and is now the President-Elect of TxABA. She is the liaison for TxABAs Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity for Everyone (EDIE) and the chair of TxABAs Promoting ABA Ad Hoc Committee. In addition, she is the Past-Treasurer of the TxABA Public Policy Group (PPG). Through the legislative work with TxABA PPG, ALL, and other agencies, licensure was granted by the state of Texas to behavior analysts in 2017. Furthermore, on July 15, 2019, ABA was added as a Medicaid benefit for persons under age 20 with a diagnosis of ASD. Dr. de la Cruz continues to work with TxABA PPG and other groups to ensure that the ABA Medicaid benefit is implemented in a way that is accessible to all families. Dr. de la Cruz has been a board member of the Autism Society of Texas since 2022 and is currently the Secretary. She is a founding member of the Mexican Association for ABA Practitioners (Organización Mexicana de Practicantes de Análisis Conductual Aplicado; OMPAC) and serves on OMPACs ethics committee.
Dr. de la Cruzs research and practice focus primarily on advocacy, ethics, and evaluating the application of ABA when used by parents, teachers, and other professionals to support individuals with developmental disabilities in the home, school, and community.
Ph.D. August 2009
The University of Texas at Austin (UT)
Major: Special Education
Specialization: Autism and Developmental Disabilities
Dissertation: Use of a self-monitoring treatment package to support teachers in developing and implementing self-monitoring interventions for children with developmental disabilities
Dissertation Committee: Herbert J. Rieth, Ph.D. (Co-Supervisor), Jeff Sigafoos, Ph.D. (Co-Supervisor), David P. Wacker, Ph.D., Karrie A. Shogren, Ph.D, & Mark F. O’Reilly, Ph.D.
M.A. July 2004
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)
Major: Clinical Psychology
Thesis: An investigation of the 5-methoxytryptamine and valproic acid rat models of autism
Thesis Advisor: Donald E. Moss, Ph.D.
B.S. May 2002
UTEP
Cum Laude, University Honors Degree, & Departmental Honors
Major: Psychology
Minor: Statistics
Thesis: Symbolic and realistic threats: The cognitive processes that underlie them
Thesis Advisor: Michael A. Zárate, Ph.D.
2024-Present Member, Carnegie Community Engagement Consultant Engagement Program
2023-Present Co-chair, COEHD Curriculum Committee
2023-Present Member, University Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
2023-Present Member, COEHD Strategic Planning Committee
2023-Present Coordinator, BCaBA Verified Course Sequence, Association for Behavior Analysis International
2023-Present Member, IARD BCBA Search Committee
2022-Present Coordinator, BCBA Verified Course Sequence, Association for Behavior Analysis International
2022-Present Chair, Graduate Admissions Committee for the ABA Program
2022-Present Member, Institute for Autism and Related Disorders Steering Committee
2022-Present Member, COEHD Curriculum Committee
2020-Present Founding Program Coordinator, ABA Program
2023 Name Reader, University COEHD Commencement Ceremony
2023-2024 Chair, Spring 2024 Adjunct Search Committee for the ABA Program
2022-2023 Member, President Commission on Equity and Inclusive Excellence
2023 Chair, Fall 2023 Adjunct Search Committee for the ABA Program
2023 Chair, Summer 2023 Adjunct Search Committee for the ABA Program
2023 Outside Representative, Professional Track Search Committee for the Counseling Program
2022-2023 Member, Planning Committee for A&M Chancellor Diversity Summit
2022-2023 Member, Presidential Search Advisory Committee for Texas A&M University-San Antonio
2021-2023 Member, Autism Lifeline Links Adult Public Policy and Advocacy
Committee
2021-2023 Member, COEHD Policies and Procedures Taskforce
2021-2022 Chair, BCBA Search Committee for the ABA Program School Contracts
2021-2023 Member, University Carnegie Community Engagement Classification Committee
2021-2023 Chair, University Carnegie Community Engagement Classification Measuring and Tracking Community Engagement Subcommittee
2021-2022 Name Reader, COEHD Graduate Hooding Ceremony and University COEHD Commencement Ceremony
2022 Member, A&M-SA Inclusive Excellence Certification Taskforce
2022 Member, Autism Mobile Assessment Bus and Learning Environment (AMABLE) Evaluation Team
2022 Member, COEHD Dean’s Advisory Council
2021 Name Reader & Mace-Bearer, COEHD Graduate Hooding Ceremony
2021 Member, Autism Director Search Committee for Autism Lifeline Links
2021 Member, Associate/Full Tenure Chair Search Committee for the Department of CHK
2024-Present President-Elect, TxABA
2024-Present Past-Treasurer, TxABA Public Policy Group Officers
2023-Present Secretary, Autism Society of Texas Board of Directors
2023 Guest Reviewer, Infant Behavior and Development
2022-Present Guest Editor, Behavior Analysis in Practice Special Issue on Public Policy Advocacy
2022-Present Director, Autism Society of Texas Board of Directors
2022-Present Past-Chair, Alamo City Behavior Analysts, Texas Association for Behavior Analysis (TxABA) Special Interest Group
2021-Present Liaison, TxABA Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity for Everyone Committee
2021-Present Executive Council Member, TxABA
2021-Present Member, ABA Workgroup Steering Committee, Association of University Centers on Disabilities
2021-Present Founding Member, (Organización Mexicana de Practicantes de Análisis Conductual Aplicado (OMPAC; Mexican Association for ABA Practitioners)
2021-Present Member, OMPAC Ethics Committee
2020-Present Guest Reviewer, Behavior Analysis in Practice
2019-Present Member, TxABA Public Policy Group Medicaid Taskforce
2019-Present Member, TxABA Public Policy Group Public Education Taskforce
2019-Present Member, Autism Lifeline Links Public Policy and Advocacy Committee
2009-Present Guest Reviewer, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
2013-Present Member, Alamo City Behavior Analysts Leadership Team
2023-2024 Member, TxABA Conference Poster Committee
2019-2024 Treasurer, TxABA Public Policy Group Officers
2021-2023 Chair, Promoting ABA AdHoc Committeee, TxABA
2022-2023 Chair, Alamo City Behavior Analysts, TxABA Special Interest Group
2021-2022 President, Alamo City Behavior Analysts
2021-2022 Member, OMPAC Education Committee
2020-2021 Guest Speaker, ABA LatAM
2019 Guest Reviewer, Developmental Neurorehabilitation
2016-2019 Co-chair, Autism Lifeline Links Public Policy Committee
2016-2019 Member, Autism Lifeline Links Leadership Team
2016-2019 Chair, Autism Lifeline Links Professional Development & Capacity Building Committee
2016-2019 Advisory Board Member, TxABA Public Policy Group
2015-2017 Member, Accessibly Steering Group, The DoSeum Children’s Museum
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Kunze, M., & de la Cruz, B. (2023). Research Article: A Longitudinal Study of Behavioral Consultation in Inclusive Preschool Classrooms. Head Start Dialog: The Research-to-Practice Journal for the Early Childhood Field, 26(1), 35-46.
Kunze, M., & de la Cruz, B. (2023). Research to Practice Summary: Behavioral Consultation in Inclusive Preschool Classrooms. Head Start Dialog: The Research-to-Practice Journal for the Early Childhood Field, 26(1), 57-63.
de la Cruz, B., Cannella, H., Son, S.-H., Edrisinha, C., Sigafoos, J., & Robinson, D. (2007). Author Productivity and Publication Trends in Autism-Specific Journals from 1997 to 2004. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 21(4), 245-250.
Olive, M. L., de la Cruz, B., Davis, T. N., Chan, J. M., Lang, R. B., & Dickson, S. M. (2007). The Effects of Enhanced Milieu Teaching and a Voice Output Communication Aid on the Communication of Three Children with Autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 37(8), 1505-1513.
Sigafoos, J., O’Reilly, M. F., Cannella, H., Edrisinha, C., de la Cruz, B., Upadhyaya, M., Lancioni, G. E., Hundley, A., Andrews, A., Garver, C.,& Young, D. (2007). Evaluation of a video prompting and fading procedure for teaching dish-washing skills to adults with developmental disabilities. Journal of Behavioral Education, 16, 93-109.
Cannella, H., Sigafoos, J., O’Reilly, M., de la Cruz, B., Edrisinha, C., & Lancioni, G. E. (2006). Comparing video prompting to video modeling for teaching daily living skills to six adults with developmental disabilities. Education and Training in Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, 41(4).
Zárate, M., Garcia, B., Garza, A. Hitlan, R. T. (2004). Cultural threat and perceived realistic group conflict as dual predictors of prejudice. Journal of Experimental and Social Psychology, 40(1), 99-105.
Book/Book Chapters
Sigafoos, J., O’Reilly, M. F., & de la Cruz, B. (2006). How to Use Video Modeling and Video Prompting for Teaching Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Blume, A. W., & Garcia, B. (2005). Relapse prevention among diverse populations. In G. A. Marlatt & D. M. Donovan (Eds.), Relapse Prevention: Maintenance Strategies in the Treatment of Addictive Behaviors, (2nd Ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Blume, A. W., Morera, O. F., & Garcia, B. (2005). Assessment of addictive behaviors in ethnic-minority populations. In D. M. Donovan & G. A. Marlatt (Eds.), Assessment of Addictive Behaviors (2nd Ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Department of Counseling, Health and Kinesiology
Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of Applied Behavior Analysis
Classroom Hall 214Q
210.784.2407
bdelacruz@tamusa.edu
View CV
Subject | Number | Section | Description | Term | Syllabi |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ABA | 5307 | 600 | Autism Spectrum Disorder | Spring 2024 | Syllabus |
ABA | 5320 | 600 | Practicum 2 in ABA | Spring 2024 | Syllabus |