How Dr. Gale Became Interested in Technology

I have been always been fascinated by the different ways technology can be usefully employed to enhance the quality of assessment and interventions. My interests started in the 1970's when I was working as a research assistant at Sea World while attending college. Aside from participating in research studies, I designed interactive water play toys for dolphins held in isolation tanks.

Other projects followed. I developed toys for children with developmental disabilities in the late 70's, and used portable computers in the 80's to create "instant reports" at nursing homes. In the early 90's I began using "feedforward" video techniques with students diagnosed with autism.

In 1998, I founded BehaviorTech Solutions. Its mission was to be "dedicated to the development, implementation, & support of technology-based assessment & treatment for education & mental health." In 2000, I created my first web-enabled technology tool, Progress Communicator. It began as a solution to a unique problem.

A fourth grader with Asperger's characteristics asked his Resource Room teacher if he could use the bathroom. Of course, she said "yes." He proceeded instead to a nearby pay phone and called his mother. He informed her no one at school knew where he was and further, no one cared. Chaos ensued.

At the request of the district, I was asked to create a behavior intervention. The mother worked on the computer throughout the day. I created a web-based friendly tracking form the child and his teachers could use whenever there was something positive to report or when there was a problem. The results were automatically emailed his mother and a data log was maintained. Instant graph analyses were available too. The mother calmed down, the child developed better control over his anxiety, and the lengthy IEP meetings came to a halt.

Bottom line... I was hooked! This technique was so powerful, so simple, I had to find ways to create more of these. I began creating forms with my more clients, primarily those having problems with anxiety, social skills, and impulse control. In 2002, I used it to treat a client who compulsively purchased watches. (See case study).

Rapid Screener " came about via a similar experience in 2001. An IEP meeting was entering its fourth agonizing hour. Well-meaning parents, attorneys, and school staff battled over which problems were occurring in what settings. The T-scores, standard scores, percentiles, and correlation coefficients only confused things. Watching helplessly, I began sketching the details for a functionally-based multi-rater social-emotional assessment tool.

Thanks to an educational grant from the WebSurveyor Corporation, significant enhancements were made to the Rapid Screener engine in 2005. It has matured from a "home-grown" tool for use in my own practice to a robust, fully scalable commercial instrument. Our quality assurance data indicate that more than 95% users rate the results as valid and 87% report it is easy to use.

Hard to say... Things are growing quickly as BehaviorTech Solutions, Inc. is demonstrating that it is fills an important niche, providing secure, easy-to-use technology solutions for education (primarily special ed) and for mental health.

Thanks to Keri Bowers and Joey Travolta, the HELP Group, and Areva D. Martin, Esq. and Donna Ross Jones of the Special Needs Network, and the Los Angeles Department of Social Services, I have been able to reach out to the community and offer programs that make using technology less intimidating. For an introductory article on how and why students benefit when clinicians use technology, see my article in the May/June 07 issue of the California Psychologist.

We are currently accepting contracts for our services. Call 818.788.2100 and speak to Rhonda Sloan or Patty Kirby if you have questions (I'm happy to speak with you as well!).

Bruce M. Gale, PhD
CEO/Clinical Psychologist PSY10598
BehaviorTech Solutions, Inc
email me Ph: 818.788.2100 x1