Dr. O’Connor received her undergraduate training at Rutgers College - Rutgers University where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She completed her master’s and doctoral training at the State University of New York in Binghamton in Clinical Psychology where she worked with children with autism and pervasive developmental disorders. She then completed her Pre-Doctoral Internship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute & The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to focus on working with developmentally disabled children who display severe behavior problems. Dr. O’Connor accepted a faculty position in the Neurobehavioral Outpatient Clinic in the Behavioral Psychology Department at Kennedy Krieger institute in 1994. She is a member of the Association for Behavior Analysis and the Maryland Association for Behavior Analysis. She is currently a licensed psychologist in Maryland and a psychologist at Kennedy Krieger Institute.

Dr. O’Connor’s research has focused on the assessment and treatment of severe behavior problems including self-injury, aggression, pica, property destruction and other problem behaviors exhibited by individuals with developmental disabilities. This includes the development of outpatient intensive behavioral treatment approaches for problem behavior, as well as evaluation of generalization of treatment effects and long-term outcome following inpatient or outpatient treatment. Dr. O’Connor’s primary research interests focus on parent and teacher training, and Smith-Lemli Opitz Syndrome.

Lieving, G.A., Hagopian, L.H., Long, E.S. & O'Connor, J. (2004). Response-class hierarchies and resurgence of severe problem behavior. The Psychological Record. 54: 621-634

Paclawskyj, T. R., Kurtz, P.F., O’Connor, J.T. (2004). Functional assessment of problem behaviors in adults with mental retardation. Behavior Modification. 28(5): 649-667.

Kurtz, P. F., Chin, M. D., Huete, J. M., Tarbox, R. S. F., O’Connor, J. T., Paclawskyj, T. R. & Rush, K. S. (2003). Functional analysis and treatment of self-injurious behavior in young children: A summary of 30 cases. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 36, 205-219.

O’Connor, J.T., Sorensen-Burnworth, R.J., Rush, K.S., & Eidman, S.L. (2003). A mands analysis and levels treatment in an outpatient clinic. Behavioral Interventions, 18,139-150.

O’Connor, J.T., Sorensen-Burnworth, R.J., Fisher, W.W., Kurtz, P.F., Henry, J.R., & Fahs-Clark, A. (2002). Classroom-based functional analysis of destructive behavior. Proven Practice, 4, 77-81

Fisher, W. W., O’Connor, J. T., Kurtz, P. F., DeLeon, I. G., & Gotjen, D. L. (2000). The effects of noncontingent delivery of higher and lower quality reinforcers on destructive behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 33, 79-83.


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