About Us

OUR MISSION

We are dedicated to improving the lives of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities and behavioral disorders in the Cape Fear and surrounding regions by:

providing quality, empirically supported psychological treatment services based in applied behavior analysis
developing and refining effective treatments through clinical research
disseminating effective treatment technologies through consultation, training, and publications
offering quality training experiences for undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate trainees

OUR LEADERSHIP

Melanie Bachmeyer-Lee, PhD, LP, BCBA-D

President/Founder

Director, Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program

Director, Behavior Management Program

Dr. Bachmeyer is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and a licensed psychologist and board certified behavior analyst at the doctoral level. She earned a master's degree in educational psychology with an emphasis in applied behavior analysis from Georgia State University and a doctoral degree in school psychology from the University of Iowa. She completed a predoctoral internship in the pediatric feeding disorders and behavioral pediatrics clinics at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her research has been published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behavior Analysis in Practice, Behavioral Interventions, and Clinical Pediatrics. Dr. Bachmeyer is a past president of the North Carolina Association for Behavior Analysis and recipient of the Fred Keller Excellence in Behavior Analysis Award from the North Carolina Association for Behavior Analysis.

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Tom Cariveau, PhD, LP, BCBA-D

Director, Early Skill Acquisition Program

Director of Clinical Training

Dr. Cariveau is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and is a licensed psychologist and a board certified behavior analyst at the doctoral level. He earned a master's degree in special education and a doctoral degree in school psychology from the University of Oregon before moving to Atlanta, GA to complete a predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the Marcus Autism Center and Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Cariveau's research on establishing meaningful skill repertoires for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities using a behavior-analytic approach has been published in journals such as the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, Behavioral Interventions, Learning and Motivation, and the Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

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Ryan Blejewski, MA, LPA, BCBA

Program Coordinator, Behavior Management Program

Ryan is a part-time faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and a board certified behavior analyst. He earned a Master’s of Science in clinical psychology with an emphasis in applied behavior analysis from the University of North Carolina Wilmington under the supervision of Dr. Carole Van Camp. He completed an internship at Central Regional Hospital in Butner, North Carolina where he provided clinical services to individuals with various mental health disorders. He worked at the New England Center for Children in Massachusetts providing clinical services to children and adolescents with severe problem behavior.

Connor Sheehan, MA, BCBA

Program Coordinator, Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program

Connor is a board certified behavior analyst. She earned a Master’s of Science in clinical psychology with an emphasis in applied behavior analysis from the University of North Carolina Wilmington under the supervision of Dr. Carol Pilgrim. She completed undergraduate internships providing clinical services to individuals with developmental disabilities exhibiting severe problem behavior at the New England Center for Children in Massachusetts and the Neurobehavioral Outpatient Unit at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. She completed a graduate internship in the Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program at the Center for Pediatric Behavioral Health.

OUR SUPPORT

Brooke Hebbelman

Administrative Associate/Intake Coordinator

Caitlin Kirkwood, PhD, BCBA-D

Associate Director, Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program

Dr. Kirkwood is a board certified behavior analyst at the doctoral level. She earned a Master’s of Science in clinical psychology with a concentration in applied behavior analysis from the University of North Carolina Wilmington under the supervision of Dr. Melanie Bachmeyer. She earned a doctoral degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from the University of Nebraska under the supervision of Dr. Cathleen Piazza. During her doctoral training, she worked in the intensive day treatment and outpatient programs of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute and University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Intestinal Rehabilitation Program. She has conducted research on the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders and caregiver training. Dr. Kirkwood has authored publications in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, book chapters, and training manuals.