Principal Staff

Thomas Kitchen, MS, BCBA

Tom has been in the field of autism for 12 years, and has worn many hats, including direct care therapist, public school special education teacher, behavior analyst, staff trainer, educational/behavioral consultant, program coordinator, graduate program teaching faculty, and agency administrator. As a consultant, he has worked with families from around the country. As an instructor in both regional and online graduate education programs, he teaches students from all corners of the United States.

Prior to coming to the Achievement Center, Tom served as the designer, developer, and coordinator of a widely-recognized intensive school program for children with autism. Along with LEADERS Co-Director, Bob Gulick, Tom developed a parent and practitioner training model as a result of a grant he and Bob received from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One of the results of this project was co-authorship of the book, Effective Instruction for Children with Autism: An Applied Behavior Analytic Approach.

Tom has frequently been interviewed in print, television, and radio media about his work in autism, and he has served as an “expert” witness in due process proceedings regarding children with autism. He has been very fortunate to have enjoyed collegial relationships and interactions with several world-renowned practitioners in the field.

Tom's areas of interest within the field lie primarily with effective instructional techniques, curriculum development for language and social skills, and reduction of problem behaviors. Aside from his role at the Achievement Center, Tom teaches "Assessment and Curricula,” one of the five courses in Penn State University World Campus's Graduate Certificate in Autism. In this online program, Tom teaches students from all over the country.

Additionally, Tom teaches within Mercyhurst College’s Graduate Program in Applied Behavior Analysis, one of only 2 BACB-approved programs in western Pennsylvania. In that program, he teaches three of the required five courses (Basic Principles of Behavior, ABA for Classroom Management, and Advanced Topics in ABA, a summer seminar course). He also co-coordinates and supervises the BACB-approved Intensive Practicum, which allows students to gain the required supervision experience necessary to sit for the Board Certification examination.

Tom can be reached at (814) 459-2755, ext. 1249 or via e-mail.

Robert Gulick, MFA, BCBA

Bob Gulick is a Board Certified Behavior Analysts with more than 25 years of clinical experience with both children and adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. His work has included direct service and teaching of adults and children in residential, vocational, and educational settings; staff, teacher, and parent training; applied research in instructional methodology and language acquisition; and systems development in the area of Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention.

Bob serves as an adjunct faculty member in Mercyhurst College's Graduate Program in Applied Behavior Analysis, where he teaches courses in functional assessment and functional communication training as well as providing mentoring supervision to candidates for Board Certification in Behavior Analysis.

Currently, Bob’s applied research efforts have been focused on the acquisition of higher language and social skills in children with ASD and the application of Relational Frame Theory to enhance early intensive behavioral intervention curricula. Along with Tom, Bob has co-authored the book, "Effective Instruction for Children with Autism," and is presently a co-director of the LEADERS program at the Achievement Center in Erie, Pa.

Bob can be reached at (814) 459-2755, ext. 1248 or via e-mail.