Ronald Leaf

Bio

Dr. Ronald Leaf is a licensed psychologist who has over thirty years of experience in the field of autism. Dr. Leaf began his career working with Professor Ivar Lovaas, while receiving his undergraduate degree at UCLA. Subsequently, he received his doctorate under the direction of Dr. Lovaas.

During his professional training at UCLA, he served as Clinic Supervisor, Research Psychologist, Lecturer, and Interim Director of the Young Autism Project. He was extensively involved in many of the Young Autism Project research investigations, contributed to The Me Book, and is co-author of The Me Book Videotapes, a series of instructional tapes offering training for teaching autistic children. He is co-author of A Work in Progress, a manual on behavioral treatment of autism, It’s Time for School! Building Quality ABA Educational Programs For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Sense And Nonsense In The Behavioral Treatment of Autism: It Has To Be Said and Crafting Connections: Contemporary Applied Behavior Analysis for Enriching the Social Lives of Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Dr. Leaf has consulted nationally and internationally to families, school districts, day programs and residential treatment facilities. Dr. Leaf served as the Director of Straight Talk's Developmental Disabilities Services division for 15 years. This program provided residential and day treatment for adults with developmental disabilities. Dr. Leaf is also the Executive Director of Behavior Therapy and Learning Center, a mental health agency providing treatment, consultation and related services to parents, program staff and school personnel in the United States.



Specialties:

  • psychology

Affiliation:

  • Autism Partnership

Location:

Activity

  • Sharecare News
    Sharecare News posted a story about Psychology:

    MONDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) -- Music can help soothe the fear and anxiety of critically ill patients who have been placed on ventilators, reducing both their stress and their need for sedatives, according to a new study.

    Intensive care unit (ICU) patients allowed to listen to music of...Full Article

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    FRIDAY, May 17 (HealthDay News) -- Although being openly gay appears to affect a male actor's masculinity ratings, it does not affect views on his performance, according to a new study.

    Researchers from Clemson University in South Carolina found that an actor who is "out" can be convinci...Full Article

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    FRIDAY, May 17 (HealthDay News) -- Teen bullies are more likely to be criminals when they're adults, a new study finds.

    UT Dallas researchers analyzed several decades of data collected from more than 400 men in Britain. All of them had similar working-class backgrounds and most came from ...Full Article

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    WEDNESDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- Military service members who sustain more than one mild traumatic brain injury may be at much greater risk of suicide, according to a new study.

    Researchers at the University of Utah found that the risk for suicidal thoughts or behaviors increased fo...Full Article

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    THURSDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- Teenage boys who play violent video games for hours on end may become desensitized to the brutality, a small new study finds.

    The research focused on 30 boys, aged 13 to 15, who were divided into two groups. One group typically played violent video game...Full Article

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    FRIDAY, April 26 (HealthDay News) -- When the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings were identified as two brothers -- one of them a teenager -- many parents wondered, "Who raised these boys?"

    Mental health experts say it's normal to want to blame parents or close relatives of young pe...Full Article

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    WEDNESDAY, April 24 (HealthDay News) -- A robot might tidy your kitchen some day, but how will you feel about the mechanical member of the household?

    Researchers say people's empathy for robots can be similar to what they feel for other humans.

    Functional MRI scans showed t...Full Article

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    FRIDAY, April 19 (HealthDay News) -- Gender plays a role in how researchers perceive the work of other scientists, according to a new study.

    Researchers at Ohio State University found that scientific studies written by men were viewed as higher quality than identical studies listing femal...Full Article

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    FRIDAY, April 19 (HealthDay News) -- Media use is a serious distraction for college freshmen, with a new study finding young women devote up to 12 hours daily on pursuits such as texting, posting status updates and surfing the web.

    And the more time spent using media, the research suggest...Full Article

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    FRIDAY, April 19 (HealthDay News) -- Men whose fathers were abusive or absent are more likely to get into bar fights, a new study reveals.

    These findings about alcohol-related aggression are from a survey of 137 men, aged 18 to 25, in Australia, and appear online in advance of publication...Full Article

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    TUESDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) -- It's the day after the Boston Marathon bombings and three people are dead, including an 8-year-old boy who came to cheer on friends during the race. The boy's mother and sister are both seriously injured. A nation is on edge -- again. And parents are wonderin...Full Article

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    MONDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- Just as the smell of freshly brewed coffee may compel you to pour a steaming cup of java, a small taste of beer may activate part of your brain's reward system and trigger the urge for more, a new study suggests.

    Researchers have discovered that senso...Full Article

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    THURSDAY, April 4 (HealthDay News) -- Many more American women are living with their partners rather than tying the knot, a new government survey finds.

    And they live together longer than couples in the recent past, and many more get pregnant before marriage, according to the survey relea...Full Article

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    THURSDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- Lasting fame rarely happens overnight, but once a person becomes truly famous they are likely to stay that way for a very long time, a new study finds.

    Researchers analyzed the names mentioned in English-language newspapers over several decades, and ...Full Article

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    WEDNESDAY, March 27 (HealthDay News) -- People who have been mugged or randomly attacked can remain highly distrustful of others long after the incident, a new study finds.

    The findings reveal a previously under-recognized effect of physical assault and could he...Full Article