The OADC is a university-based training center in which students receive hands-on, practical experience as part of their coursework and degree program.
Enhanced supervision. Student-clinicians at the OADC are supervised by faculty BCBAs at a higher rate than at a community-based agency. This ensures that clients are always receiving the highest level of service, that students are applying their classroom learning during sessions, and that both clients and student-clinicians are making steady progress toward their goals. Students are also receiving supervised fieldwork hours to prepare them for the national certification exam when they graduate.
Interdisciplinary collaboration. As a university-based center, we have access to top area professionals in a variety of related disciplines, including speech and language pathology, nursing, social work, counseling, and special education. The OADC is proud to collaborate with other departments and resources on the St. Cloud State University campus, as well as other community professionals working with our clients, to ensure that clients and their families receive consistent, complementary, and individualized programming from the best clinicians in multiple specialties.
Transparency. The OADC maintains an open-door policy to families and caregivers to observe their client’s sessions. Families may also elect to allow ABA and interdisciplinary students and faculty to observe sessions to broaden their learning opportunities. Clients and their guardians are entitled to any and all information on programming, progress, goals, and recommendations.
The Offerdahl Autism Discovery Center adheres to the ethical guidelines established by the American Psychological Association, the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts established by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board®, and the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
The mission of the OADC is to teach clinicians of all levels and backgrounds to provide evidence-based, collaborative, consumer-driven, culturally responsive, behaviorally based treatments for clients and their families in central Minnesota and beyond.
OADC Advisory Board Purpose
The OADC Advisory Board provides insights on best practices in clinical work, grounded in the OADC Mission and HUSKY Values. The Board reviews current practices and makes recommendations on how to better serve our clients, their families, and the community.
To address the mission and values of the OADC, the Board is made up of representatives who provide in-depth understanding of the various clinical requirements. Board members serve staggered three-year terms.
OADC Advisory Board Meetings
The Board will meet annually to review center operations and clinical services, and they will generate a formal report of recommended actions and considerations for the coming year to ensure that OADC practices are maximally aligned with the OADC Mission and HUSKY Values.
Every year the OADC directors will report to the Board on which recommendations were implemented and the outcomes, as well as which recommendations were not acted upon and the rationale.