College of Education
L. Juane Heflin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and Special Education
Phone: 404-413-8333
Email: jheflin@gsu.edu
Department of Educational Psychology & Special Education
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3979
Atlanta, GA 30302-3979
Education
Ph.D. from University of North Texas, 1991 (Major: Special Education, Minor: Early Childhood)
M.Ed. from North Texas State University (Major: Emotional Disturbances/Behavioral Disorders/Autism)
B.S.Ed. from Abilene Christian University (Major: Elementary Education/Generic Special Education, Minor: Early Childhood Handicapped)
Major Areas of Interest
After I earned my Master’s Degree, I taught for several years in a self-contained class for children with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders (E/BD) and Autism (AU) in the Ft. Worth Independent School District in Texas. During that time, I was honored by being named “Outstanding Young Educator” for the district, an honor that was heightened as it had not, until then, been given to a special educator. I returned to the University after being offered the opportunity to earn my doctorate with financial support from a Federal Grant designed to train leaders in the field of special education. My dissertation compared the behavioral characteristics of young children who had been prenatally exposed to illicit drugs to other children in special education who had not been prenatally exposed. My findings supported that exposure to illicit substances did not manifest in behaviors that differentiated the children from other children in special education who had not been prenatally exposed.
After teaching for two years in an undergraduate personnel preparation program at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogodoches, Texas, I returned to working daily with children and directed an inclusive child care center in Austin, Texas. I joined the faculty at GSU in 1995 and am a contributing member to both the Behavior and Learning Disabilities (Mild) Program and the Multiple/Severe Disabilities Program (Autism). In addition to my university duties, I work with school districts to enhance educational programming for students with autism and for those with behavioral challenges.
My current research interests are in effective programming for students who fall under the Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) umbrella by having a disability on the continuum of Autism Spectrum Disorders. For those students as well as students with B/LD, I am also interested in the impact that functional behavioral assessments have on the development of positive behavior support plans. Related to that interest, I am serving as the coordinator for the Georgia State Improvement Grant (SIG) to develop and implement school-wide discipline programs.
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