The ABA Team

acornABA was founded by Sarah Walker, a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst based in Northamptonshire.

She is passionate about behaviour analysis and it’s application to educating children on the autism spectrum. She has worked in the field for the last 10 years and has a wealth of experience across different settings.  Like many behaviour analysts, Sarah embarked on her ABA career initially as an ABA Tutor on home-based programmes whilst studying for her undergraduate degree.  Later she went on to train as a behaviour analyst with a well-known ABA School in Surrey. 

After completing her Masters degree in ABA with Nicholls State University in Louisiana and having achieved board certified status, Sarah embarked on her next adventure! In September 2015, she was part of the team of like-minded ABA practitioners appointed by the parent founders to help open and run the UK's first state ABA free school where she took on the role of Assistant Head Behaviour Analyst.

Over her professional career she has had the privilege of working with respected behaviour analysts from the UK, Italy and the Unites States.  She has had opportunities to expand her knowledge of ABA in the United States where she spent one month working across home, public schools, and specialist ABA settings. Sarah has also presented research at two state conferences. 

In 2017, Sarah established acornABA and now provides ABA instruction and consultancy across the UK and provides ABA training for both parents and aspiring tutors.  As a board certified behaviour analyst and a UKBA(Cert),  she also provides supervision to BCaBA’s and RBTs, those seeking supervision hours towards their BCBA, UKBA(cert) accreditations. 

Download Sarah’s CV here. 

Andy has experience working across a variety of settings including mainstream schools, special education schools and family homes.  Andy completed his Masters degree in ABA at Bangor University in 2018 and conducted his dissertation in the well known curriculum, Handwriting without Tears. Andy is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst and an provide supervision to those obtaining supervision hours for the BCBA, BCaBA or RBT exams.  

As well as his extensive experience working with children with ASD, Andy has undertaken additional training in PECS, TagTeach and in the use of PECS with speech generating devices.  He is passionate about the use of Precision Teaching, and regularly trains his teams in using the Standard Celeration Chart. 

For more details on areas that Andy can cover, please contact us. 

Katya has been working with autistic children and their families since 1997, she initially received intensive training whilst on an internship with the Young Autism Project. Katya is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) and also registered with the UKSBA as a UK certified behaviour analyst. Whilst English is her first language, she is also fluent in Spanish, having lived and worked there for 8 years.

Katya’s particular passion as an ABA practitioner is to deliver high quality and compassionate parent and staff training and strongly believes that ABA should be delivered from a trauma-informed and inclusive perspective, ensuring an emphasis on the physical, psychological and emotional safety for learners, their families and practitioners. Katya is PECS level 1 and 2 trained and has extensive experience teaching learners in the use of Proloquo2go and can deliver team coaching to teach learners the use of these systems. She is also an Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACTr) practitioner, which she loves to utilise whilst coaching parents and team member. Teaching mindfulness and emotional regulation skills using ACT for learners is also an area of Katya’s expertise. Another passion of Katya’s is the use of precision teaching within ABA programmes, in addition she has extensive working experience of using a wide variety of ABA approaches, assessment and curriculum tools, ensuring highly individualised interventions that are tailored to the particular needs and interests of her clients

For more details on areas that Katya can cover, please contact us.

Sarah has been working in the field of ABA since 2009 and initially spent 6 years working in two ABA schools in London and the South East. During this time, she completed her Master's degree focussing on learning disabilities and ABA, and moved from a tutoring position to overseeing classes of pupils. This included writing teaching programmes, behaviour support plans and risk assessments. In 2015 Sarah moved up to Sheffield and since then has worked within an adult residential service, and across a variety of home programmes, both consulting and working directly with clients in homes and schools. Sarah's experience includes supervising and managing others within the field of ABA, carrying out training for parents and other professionals, and working as an active member within multidisciplinary teams. Sarah also spent several months in Turkey working as the Lead BCBA on a project supporting Syrian refugee families and teachers. 

Sarah has been a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) since 2012 and also holds the UKBA(cert) from the UK Society of Behaviour Analysts. She is excited about the compassionate and values-led direction that this certification is providing for ABA in the UK, and is enthusiastic about being part of a field that is increasingly well known for providing ethical and effective services. She is passionate about discovering unique motivations for each individual she works with, and using these to inspire the learning of new communication and essential life skills that improve an individual's quality of life. Outside of work Sarah can be found rock climbing, being outdoors with her young children and attempting house renovations. 

For more details on areas that Sarah can cover, please contact us.  

Stephanie began working in ABA as a tutor for home-based programmes in California, before moving to Cambridge in 2018. She has worked with children with a variety of disabilities, covering a wide range of programmes including functional communication, social and play skills, life skills, and academics. 

She has completed a Masters of Education in ABA from the University of Washington and also holds the Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) credential. 

She is enthusiastic, passionate about ABA, and is dedicated to supporting children with special needs and their families.

For more details on areas that Stephanie can cover, please contact us.

Akifa began her career in ABA as a ABA Tutor working on home programmes. Whilst working as a tutor she worked with various different consultants and learned a variety of skills which she has applied to her own practice.  In 2015 she joined a new ABA school where she worked as Lead Tutor with a wide range of ability levels.  Afkifa qualified as a BCaBA in 2018 and she now works alongside Sarah to run high quality programmes for children with autism.    

Akifa is a positive, bubbly and enthusiastic Supervisor, who brings passion and dedication to her role.  She is highly skilled, and has a huge array of experience with differing ages.  

For more details on areas that Akifa can cover, please contact us.  

Liliana loves teaching children with special needs and providing support for their families.  She has experience in ABA of over 8 years across Romania, Ireland and the UK.  She believes there is no greater reward than seeing a child progress and being a part of their journey to achieve their potential.  She has experience both in schools as well as family homes.  Liliana is a fun-loving person that can easily adapt and work within any ABA team! 

Liliana holds both the UKBA(Cert) and BCBA credentials.  

For more details on areas that Liliana can cover, please contact us.

Tom was introduced to ABA whilst studying for his undergraduate degree at the University of Northampton.  After graduating, he went on to become an ABA Tutor working on a variety of ABA home programmes with children of different ages and needs.  

After tutoring for a couple of years, he went on to complete a Master“s in ABA and intellectual disability from the Tizard Centre, University of Kent in 2019.  He has recently been working as a Supervisor on a variety of programmes in Midlands with learners of various abilities and ages. 

For more details on areas that Tom can cover, please contact us.

Jasmine was first inspired by ABA while completing her undergraduate degree and working in a residential care home for adults.  It was there that Jasmine became passionate about interventions to help others learn and become more independent.  Jasmine then gained experience working with a variety of qualified BCBA consultants in school settings, home-based programmes and within the community.  She has worked extensively with both adults and children and has worked as a lead tutor for multiple programmes. 

Jasmine is currently completing her MSc in Applied Behaviour Analysis and is always striving to gain more skills to become a more accomplished tutor and supervisor.  She is dedicated to empowering her learners to develop and express themselves, to achieve a better quality of life and understanding of their environment.  Jasmine“s colourful personality is always reflected in her sessions as she works hard to make them fun, engaging and imaginative.  Her enthusiasm translates throughout her work and communication with others, making her a very pro-active and positive member to the team. 

For more details on areas that Jasmine can cover, please contact us.

Abi entered the field of ABA after completing her undergraduate degree in Psychology in 2016, working on a variety of ABA home and school programmes, this experience provided her with the opportunity to work with and learn from numerous BCBA consultants. In 2018, Abi enrolled in a teacher training programme completing a PGDE in Leadership in Learning and gaining qualified teacher status (QTS), this experience provided her with a good knowledge of the national curriculum and the opportunity to collaborate with a variety of stakeholders involved in education. Following this, Abi went on to complete a Masters in ABA from Bangor University whilst working as a tutor and supervisor on a variety of ABA programmes in the West Midlands. She is currently accruing her supervision hours to sit for the BCBA exam and is always looking for opportunities to further develop her knowledge and skills. 

For more details on areas that Abi can cover, please contact us.