Board

Sarah Gentry started her career as a certified special education teacher. She received her bachelor’s degree in special education at Illinois State University, in Normal Illinois. She stayed in Normal, IL and taught special education for more than three years in the public school setting.  She taught kindergarten through second grade during the school year and spent four summers working with young adults in a summer camp setting. Sarah has first hand experience teaching very diverse groups of students, including Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, Downs Syndrome, Conduct Disorder, Fragile X, ADHD and Learning Disabilities.

Sarah then moved to Boston Mass., to join The May Institute, Inc., where she was lead classroom teacher in both a self-contained young adult autism classroom as well as an integrated preschool classroom. She also spent a year working within the Home Consultation Division, where she set-up and managed intensive home and school programs based on the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), as well as trained parents to implement these strategies with their children. While in Massachusetts, Sarah received her Master’s Degree in Special Education, where she focused her studies on ABA and communication strategies for students with disabilities.

After relocating to Phoenix Arizona, Sarah worked as a Research Diagnostician for a local, non-profit, Autism research facility.  She received extensive training and experience in the administration and scoring of many diagnostic and other assessment protocols, including the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale (ADOS), Autism Diagnostic Interview Revised (ADI-R), Stanford-Binet, Vineland and other parent/teacher-based rating scales.

Sarah became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) in January 2012. She has extensive knowledge and training in evidence-based treatments including Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT), Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS)  and Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs). Sarah spends the majority of her time consulting with teachers and parents. In the schools, Sarah assists teachers in overall classroom management and structure as well as creating individualized behavior plans. In the homes, Sarah sets up and manages individualized behavior programs based on the principals of ABA and works with parents and habilitators in the effective implementation of these positive behavior support programs.  Currently, she serves as the Vice President of Gentry Pediatric Behavioral Services and is on the Executive Board of The Gentry Foundation.