Autism spectrum services specialist wins regional "Of the Month" award

Autism spectrum services specialist Kourtney Bakalyar is making a difference in the lives of students with autism attending Western Michigan University.

She started in September, and over the one semester of the program to date, “we’ve been able to help students complete more credits that they have,” she said. “It’s been helping us retain students.”

For her work with a particular student—one about whom residence hall staff had special concerns—she was nominated for the January “Of the Month” award given by the National Residence Hall Honorary, and ultimately was one of 14 regional winners out of 468 nominees in the Great Lakes Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls.

Bakalyar explained that she visited with the residence hall staff twice, came up with a plan for how best to work with the student and practiced it with them.

In their nomination, staff members pointed out that both of the meetings she had attended were at 8:30 p.m. They made comments such as “she has inspired us to reach beyond our boundaries,” “she has taught us new and respectful ways to reach our residents in need,” “she is genuinely concerned about students’ well-being and takes time to address those concerns” and “she helped us understand more about something we didn’t know about and we’ll be able to use those skills in other situations as well.”

Bakalyar has a background in special education, and took some classes offered through the department of psychology. As a classroom special education teacher, she liked the principles of applied behavior analysis and applying them in her classroom. She is currently “all but dissertation” in a special education program with emphasis in higher education and individuals with autism.

“When this job was posted, it was a perfect match of my skills and background,” she said. “I really like working with individuals with autism. It’s a great opportunity to build the program.”

She has been able to expand upon what was previously offered through the disability services department.

“Services are on campus,” she said. “We’re offering one on one coaching for college students with autism, working with their professors, residence hall staff and parents. We give support to students who need extra support.”

And the supports are definitely needed.

“There’s a trend of more students with autism making it to college, but there are barriers in place to them being successful,” she said. “That’s where we’re able to help them out.”