Who are we? We are a team of behavior analysts interested in collaborating with caregivers, school personnel, and other stakeholders on increasing prosocial skills in children with challenging behavior. We work with children with a variety of diagnoses and ability levels. Our areas of expertise include severe challenging behavior (e.g., aggression, property destruction, elopement, self-injury), intellectual and developmental disabilities (e.g., autism), ADD/ADHD, and caregiver training.
Approach to treatment. Our approach to intervention
typically begins with functional assessment of challenging behavior and a
research-based assessment of adaptive skills. We then implement a
function-based treatment to address challenging behavior and design
instructional programs to promote skill acquisition.
Statement on inclusion and diversity. We are committed to
finding ways to advocate for the individuals we serve, and we do not
discriminate against clients or families. Part of this commitment involves
understanding the diverse backgrounds and cultures of the families we work
with. We strive to maintain an open dialogue with you in order to incorporate
your family values and traditions into the goals we will set within therapy.
Jessica Sellers, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA
Jessica received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Vanderbilt University. She began her career as a special education teacher before helping to create and lead the Behavior Support Team of Metro Nashville Public Schools. She seeks to provide thoughtful, positive intervention strategies that are appropriate for a child’s developmental level, and to work with parents as partners, empowering families to understand problem behavior and teach their children positive replacement behaviors. Jessica’s extensive school-based expertise also includes providing consultative collaborative services to school teams to facilitate the creation of functional assessment-based behavior intervention plans for individual students. Feasibility and effectiveness are her main goals in applied settings.
Bailey Copeland, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA
Bailey is a doctoral student in special education at Vanderbilt University. Originally from New Orleans, she moved to Nashville to study special education. After receiving her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in special education at Vanderbilt University, Bailey worked as a behavior analyst in Metro Nashville Public Schools. Bailey has the ability to bring highly technical strategies to home and school settings to see positive results, and her creativity for making these strategies work towards positive behavioral change is endless. Her expertise includes assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, collaboration between home and school, and designing interventions to increase functional communication.
Janey Macdonald, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA
Janey is a doctoral student in special education at Vanderbilt University. After receiving a bachelor’s degree from Pitzer College in psychology, she returned to her hometown of Nashville to complete a master’s degree in special education at Vanderbilt University. Before returning to Vanderbilt for her doctoral studies, Janey worked as a special education teacher in Nashville, an English and special education specialist in A Coruña, Spain, and a behavior analyst in Denver, Colorado. Janey’s expertise includes the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, designing effective interventions in a school-based setting, and increasing functional communication skills in children.
Jessica Paranczak, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA
Jessica is a doctoral student in special education at Vanderbilt University. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware in elementary and special education and a master’s degree in special education from Vanderbilt University. Before coming back to Vanderbilt, Jessica worked as a behavior analyst in both a residential clinical setting and a city school district. Jessica’s expertise includes incorporating language-based interventions into treatment of problem behavior. She offers a wealth of knowledge and resources for creating plans that increase socially appropriate behaviors in children.
Sellers Behavioral Consulting 