Summary
MaryAnn Demchak, Ph.D., BCBA-D is a Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies in the College of Education & Human Development. Dr. Demchak specializes in assessment of problem behavior, behavior management, severe/multiple disabilities, moderate to profound intellectual disability and application of applied behavior analysis within special education practices and research. Dr. Demchak has about 60 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and other publications as well as over 150 international and national presentations. She regularly teaches multiple courses in the area of severe disabilities: Methods of Teaching Students with Intellectual Disability; Medical Aspects of Disabilities; Augmentative/Alternative Communication; Behavior Management in Severe Disabilities; and Assessment of Students with Severe Disabilities. She has also taught a variety of special topics courses such as Single Case Research Design, emerging literacy for students with severe disabilities, communication for students with severe disabilities, characteristics of intellectual disability, and various courses in the area of deafblindness, Dr. Demchak has obtained nearly $5 million in external funding for a variety of personnel preparation and outreach activities. She has previously served as Program Coordinator for Special Education, Graduate Director of Special Education, Chair of the Department of Educational Specialties, and Associate Dean for the College of Education & Human Development. Currently, she serves as the Project Director for the Nevada Dual Sensory Impairment Project, which provides technical assistance to families and service providers of children, birth-22 years of age, who have impairments in both vision and hearing. To complete the work of the Nevada Dual Sensory Impairment Project, Dr. Demchak travels extensively throughout urban and rural areas of Nevada to provide child-specific consultations. Examples of recent research, which includes her doctoral students as co-researchers and co-authors, includes teaching multiplication to students with intellectual disability, data collection and data-based decision-making by teachers of students with severe disabilities, and use of visual supports for increasing independence of students with intellectual disability.
Education
- Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University
- M.P.A., The Pennsylvania State University
- M.S., Shippensburg State College
- B.S., Clarion State College