Peggy Schaefer Whitby, University of Arkansas assistant professor of special education, has been chosen to attend a summer training institute sponsored by the National Center for Special Education Research at the Institute of Education Sciences.

The 2013 Summer Research Training Institute in Single-Case Design Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison takes place June 24-28.

The training is intended to increase the capacity of the nation’s education researchers to conduct methodologically rigorous single-case intervention studies. The institute will focus on intervention research in which the “cases” consist of either individual participants or clustered educational units such as small groups, classrooms or schools.

Whitby joined the faculty of the College of Education and Health Professions last fall. Her area of expertise is autism spectrum disorders. She received a doctorate in exceptional education from the University of Central Florida.

She also was selected recently to serve as an Act Early Ambassador for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program called “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” The program about autism spectrum disorders emphasizes the importance of acting early on concerns about a child’s development.

Whitby is one of the faculty members who will teach courses as part of a new graduate certificate to be offered this fall in applied behavior analysis. It will prepare professionals to work with people with autism spectrum disorders.