Julia Kröger

M.A. Clinical Casework, BCaBA (Certificant 0-22-13471)

Julia gained her first experiences with people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) during her voluntary social year in the summer of 2009. She worked in a residential group of a specialist hospital of the “v. Bodelschwingh Foundation Bethel” in Bielefeld. In fall 2010 she began her studies, but continued to work in the residential group. In addition, she accompanied people with special needs on numerous trips, among other things, and took part in holiday games for children with ASD several times as a caregiver. During this time, Julia was able to gain experience with various support measures, such as the TEACCH approach. In order to be able to help people with disabilities and especially with ASD, she began working as a tutor for a child who was sponsored by Knospe-ABA in 2010. At that time, Julia was already actively involved with the ABA/VB method and other approaches to support children with special needs. She got to know the approach of the Autismus Ostwestfalen-Lippe e.V. through an internship at the therapy center in Bielefeld. During her master’s degree in Clinical Casework at the Münster University of Applied Sciences, which she successfully completed in spring 2015, she again had the opportunity to work intensively on supporting children with developmental disorders and ASD. She took part in the Münster MIA project (“Münster intensive therapy for children with ASD”) under the direction of Prof. Dr. medical Röttger’s part. In the seminars, she received further theoretical background knowledge about autism-specific behavioral therapy and attended a PECS workshop (PECS – Picture Exchange Communication System). As part of the MIA project, she had the opportunity to work as a tutor for another child with ASD in the Bielefeld area for two years. She also led a parent group for participating families. In addition, Julia trained in adventure and experiential education in 2014 in order to be able to carry out social skills training in a different setting. Since then she has been working as a trainer in this area, mainly with school classes, but also with children with disabilities. During her work as a tutor, which started in 2010, Julia not only acquired excellent knowledge through practical work, but was also able to build up a good theoretical knowledge of ABA and the VB approach, which she gained by participating in the Knospe -ABA introductory workshop and the advanced workshop II. Julia has been part of the Knospe-ABA team since August 2015. During the intensive training period, she not only got to know numerous children with ASD and other diagnoses, but was also involved in the development of individual ABA/VB behavioral and learning programs at home, school and and kindergarten environment, analyzing behaviors, conducting specialized counseling, and studying the detailed application of the Verbal Behavior approach to applied behavior analysis. Julia supports families with children with special needs in Northern Germany. After several years of distance learning, Julia passed her Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) exam in early 2022. Julia is currently on maternity leave.