Rena J. Sorensen-Burnworth, PhD
Title
Staff Psychologist
Appointment
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Email
rena.sorensen-burnworth@cchmc.org
Phone
513-636-1760
Fax
513-636-1759
Bio
Rena J. Sorensen-Burnworth, PhD, is an assistant professor of Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Psychology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. In January 2000, Dr. Sorensen joined Cincinnati Children's and the Kelly O'Leary Center to assist in the development of intensive behavior intervention programs for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their families.
Dr. Sorensen came to Cincinnati Children's from the Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she completed an internship and fellowship in the Department of Behavioral
Psychology, specializing in the behavioral assessment and treatment of persons with developmental disabilities, severe behavior, and pediatric feeding disorders.
Dr. Sorensen-Burnworth also served as an adjunct faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Continuing Studies, teaching courses on behavioral interventions for children with autism to graduate students in special education. Dr. Sorensen earned her undergraduate degree at Iowa State University and her graduate degree at Central Michigan University.
Dr. Sorensen is currently pursuing research on topics such as skill acquisition for persons with autism, as well as the assessment and treatment of behavior disorders. Dr. Sorensen has presented her work at local, state, and national levels.
Credentials
PhD : Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, Mich., 1998.
Internship: Pediatric Psychology, The Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md., 1996-1997.
Fellowship: Pediatric Psychology, The Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md., 1998-1999.
Awards and Honors
Research
Skill acquisition in children with autism; assessment and treatment of destructive behavior
Research Grants and Contracts
Co-author, Emory Society, "The Kelly O'Leary Center for Pervasive Developmental Disorders" (PI's: Patricia Manning-Courtney, M.D., Rena Sorensen-Burnworth, Ph.D., & Ajay Kaul, M.D. Amount: ~ $80,000)
Principal Investigator, Anne Quimper Memorial Prize, Student research grant for support of school psychology student thesis and dissertation research, 1994 (Amount: $221.00)
Publications, Most Recent
Manning-Courtney, P., Brown, J., Molloy, C. A., Reinhold, J., Murray, D., Sorensen-Burnworth, R., Messerschmidt, T., & Kent, B. (2003). Diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 33(9) 283- 304.
O'Connor, J. T., Sorensen-Burnworth, R. J., Rush, K., Eidman, S. (2003). A mand analysis and levels treatment in an outpatient clinic, Behavioral Interventions, 18(2), 139-150.
Professional Organization Memberships
Teaching
Direct clinical supervision of O'Grady Pediatric Psychology Residents. (Approximately 9 hours/week: July 2000 – 2005)
Direct clinical supervision of Post-Doctoral Fellow (Approximately 3 hours/week: July 2003 – Present)
Presentations to Pediatric Medical Residents on topics related to Autism Spectrum Disorders including differential diagnosis and intensive treatment options (2000-present; usually 3 presentations per year)
Ongoing presentations to The Kelly O'Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorder staff on functional behavior assessment, behavior management strategies, and safe management procedures (Presented 1-2 times per year, 2000 – present)
Presented to the CCHMC Division of Psychology Satellite Meeting, "Managing obsessive behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorders" (September 4, 2003)
Presented to the CCHMC Division of Speech and Language Pathology, "Understanding behavior in children with autism spectrum disorders" (October 1, 2003; January 5, 2005).
Presented to the CCHMC Department of Genetics on the topic of "Behavior management strategies" (February 2001)
Presentation to the CCHMC Division of Speech and Language Pathology Autism and Birth – 3 Groups on the topic of "The Intensive Behavioral Intervention Program at The Kelly O'Leary Center," (February 2001)
Invited presentation for the Pediatric Psychology Colloquium on "Applied Behavior Analysis in the treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders," (October 2000)
Abstracts
Sorensen-Burnworth, R, & Kroeger-Geoppinger, K. (Accepted for presentation 2006, July). Individual Tutoring Programs: A Model for Evidence-Based Short-Term Skill Acquisition. Paper accepted at the Autism Society of America National Convention, Providence, RI.
Sorensen-Burnworth, R., Eidman-Sheahan, S., Kroeger-Geoppinger, K., & Lentz, J.
(Accepted for presentation 2006, May). Reevaluating "Necessary" Prerequisites for Toileting Training Children with Autism. Paper accepted at the Association for Behavior Analysis National Convention, Atlanta, GA.
Eidman-Sheahan, S., Sorensen-Burnworth, R., Kroeger-Geoppinger, K., & Lentz, J.
(Accepted for presentation 2006, May). A Reinforcement-Based Intensive Toileting Training Protocol for Children with Autism: A Model for Training Caregivers. Paper accepted at the Association for Behavior Analysis National Convention, Atlanat, GA.
Kroeger-Geoppinger, K., Sorensen-Burnworth, R., Eidman-Sheahan, S., & Lentz, J.
(Accepted for presentation 2006, May). Initiation Training: Decreasing Prompt Dependency for Initiating Voiding. Paper accepted at the Association for Behavior Analysis National Convention, Atlanta, GA.
Sorensen-Burnworth, R. J., Lentz, Kroeger-Geoppinger, K., Eidman-Sheahan, S.
(2005, May). Reevaluating "Necessary" Prerequisites for Toileting Training Children with Autism. Poster presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis National Convention, Chicago, IL
Rone-DePolo, M., Jensen, V. K., Sinclair, L. V., Averill, C., Wynn, J., & Sorensen-Burnworth, R. (July 2004). ABA treatment for autism: Science, market, and policy in Ohio. Paper presented at the American Psychological Association National Convention, Honolulu, HI
Sorensen-Burnworth, R. & Eidman, S. (2003, May). From excessive to appropriate: Decreasing the ritualistic singing of a student with autism. Poster presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis National Convention, San Francisco, CA.
Eidman, E., & Sorensen-Burnworth, R. (2003, May). Socially mediated behavior: A comparison of extinction, verbal reprimands and redirection. Poster presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis National Convention, San Francisco, CA.
O'Connor, J. T., Henry, J., & Sorensen-Burnworth, R, (2003, May). Training parents as therapists during functional analyses. Paper presented at the Association for Behavior Analysis National Convention, San Francisco, CA.
Books
Bradley-Johnson, S., & Sorensen, R. (1997). Visually impaired and blind. In A. Thomas and J. Grimes (Eds.),
Children's Needs: Psychological Perspectives, (Second Edition). Washington DC: National Association of School Psychologists
Special Interests
Autism spectrum disorders; developmental disabilities; severe behavior disorders; ritualistic behavior; applied behavior analysis; skill acquisition; parent training
Editing
Guest editor, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
Related Areas
This person works in these other areas at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical
Center:
