Michael Naatz

Supervisor, M.A., BCaBA (Certificant 0-16-7006)

Michael was first introduced to working with people with disabilities as a driver completing his German national service time. His experiences convinced him to pursue sociology at the University of Bayreuth and the University of Mainz where he received A Master’s of Arts degree (M.A.). During his studies, Michael worked at a senior citizen’s residential facility, helping the elderly and disabled with their daily living needs. From 2006 to 2008 Michael completed training to become a non-medical practitioner and began self-employment working with individuals with Autism. This opportunity allowed him a wide range of experiences including working with a 17 year old diagnosed with Autism in a special education school setting and working as an integration helper for a 7 year old with autism in a regular school classroom. The latter child was supported by Knospe-ABA and Michael began training as a co-therapist in our approach to ABA/VB in 2009. Due to his many experiences and excellent report with the Knospe-ABA child and family he was assigned, Michael started the consultant training in the summer of 2011. Before even starting as a consultant in spring of 2012, Michael got to work with over 50 different children with Autism and related disorders just during training. In addition to Knospe-ABA workshops Michael has also benefitted from several other workshops, i.e. 3-day workshop of Dr. Vince Carbone “Teaching Verbal Behavior to Children with Autism and Related Disorders” in November 2011 in Zurich; Dr. Vince Carbone’s Verbal Behavior workshop in Rome in 2013; workshop “Using Applied Behavior Analysis and Verbal Behavior Strategies to Improve Autism Programming for both Toddlers and Teens with Autism”, presented by Mary Barbera, PhD, RN, BCBA-D in Cologne, and in 2017 he attended Laura Ferguson’s workshop “Teaching Communication and Social Skills to Children with Autism and Developmental Disabilities”. From 2013 till 2015 Michael completed the BACB approved coursework on ABA from the IFKV (www.ifkv.de) in Bad Dürkheim in cooperation with the University of North Texas (UNT). Michael passed his BCaBA (Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst) exam in March of 2016. With well over 10 years of experience working with children with special needs and their families in the North Rhine – Westphalia area, Michael has been a supervisor to a few Knospe-ABA consultants in northern Germany, and is a very valuable team member.