This Baylor professor works to serve kids with autism — and their teachers

Children spend much of their days in school, so it makes sense that a researcher looking to help them thrive might focus on that time in the classroom. Dr. Tonya Davis (BS ’02, MS ’04), a professor of educational psychology in Baylor’s School of Education, does just that.

A nationally recognized expert in behavioral, emotional and educational interventions for those with autism, Davis’ goal is to ensure that children receive the best, most effective services to meet their distinct needs. That often leads her to apply her work in school-based settings, and to equip teachers in those efforts.

“If we want children to access evidence-based practices, we have to prepare teachers to implement them,” Davis says. “School is the only place every single child can access these intervention services and educational services.”

Over the years, Davis has earned millions in research funding from organizations like the U.S. Department of Education and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board that believe her work can help educators in their efforts to best serve children with autism and developmental disabilities. She’s studied the effectiveness of a variety of options to help students learn and thrive amidst their own unique challenges in the real world-learning lab of school classrooms. The result of that work is proven strategies to serve children, teachers who understand how to implement them, and students who thrive in the process.

Classrooms are just one setting in which Davis serves through research. She’s also affiliated with the Baylor Center for Developmental Disabilities, where she interacts with impacted families and children. And she passes on her work to future generations in Baylor classrooms, having earned an Outstanding Faculty Award as she prepares future educators and researchers to identify, study and meet future needs.

Sic ’em, Dr. Davis!