Paige Nadeau

BCBA, nanaimo clinic director

paige@blackbirdse.com

(She/Her)

Paige is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst(BCBA)on the B.C. Registry of Autism Services Providers(RASP)list. Paige has a Masters degree in Professional Education with a Applied Behaviour Analysis, and a Bachelor of Science degree with concentrations in Educational Psychology and Biology.

As the Nanaimo Clinic Director, Paige supervises all of the services offered by Blackbird Nanaimo, including Early Treatment, Education, and Focused Treatment Programs. Paige is also a highly skilled toileting consultant who supports children of all ages. Though Paige is based in Nanaimo, she supervises Early Treatment programs all over Vancouver Island, provides in-person toileting consultation to families all over B.C., and offers distance toileting consultation services to families all over the world!

Paige is passionate about science and loves being silly with children; becoming a Behaviour Analyst was an easy decision for her! She gets to engage with and apply cutting-edge research while also designing and overseeing fun and effective treatment programs for kiddos and their families. Paige’s favourite part of her job is coming up with creative, unique, and individualized solutions/strategies to help families with their specific goals.

Dr. Katie Rinald

BCBA, Blackbird Special Education Director (BASED IN VANCOUVER)

katie@blackbirdse.com

(She/Her)

Dr. Rinald is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst and has been working with young children with ASD since 2004. She is a renowned expert in toilet learning and works with families with children of all ages all over Canada who experience toileting challenges. Note: to learn more about our toileting services for families outside the Nanaimo area, please visit the website for Blackbird Toileting Services.

As the Director of Blackbird Special Education, she works in both the Vancouver and Nanaimo locations to oversee high-quality treatment programs for children wtih ASD. Dr. Rinald has a Masters degree in Special Education with a concentration in Autism and Developmental Disabilities and a Doctoral degree in Inclusive Education.

Shelby mercer, rbt

RBT, program supervisor & Senior Toileting Therapist

shelby@blackbirdse.com

(She/Her)

Shelby is a Registered Behaviour Technician(RBT)certified by the Behaviour Analyst Certification Board. She is directly supervised by Paige and assists with program supervision and assessments. Shelby is responsible for managing day-to-day operations at our Nanaimo Centre, including hiring and scheduling employees, and coordinating with families. Shelby also oversees BIs using competency-based training protocols to ensure interventionists are consistently implementing skill acquisition protocols with fidelity and fluency. Shelby has extensive experience as a toilet learning interventionist; she regularly travels around BC to support learners of all ages with toilet learning!

Shelby is in the final stages of completing her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology through Athabasca University, after which she plans to pursue a Graduate Degree in Behaviour Analysis and work towards completing the requirements to become a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA). While she does such a fantastic job supervising client programs (seriously— not a simple task), families typically praise Shelby for her huge heart and unwavering cheerfulness. We love her because she is a tireless team member who takes personal pride in her role and is always willing to go the extra mile for her clients.

BA, JR. Consultant

katy@blackbirdse.com

(She/Her)

Katy has extensive experience supporting learners of all ages in clinic and home-based intervention programs. As a Jr. Consultant, Katy is responsible for assisting Paige with assessment, monitoring intervention programs, and supervising BIs. Katy works one-on-one with learners who are just beginning their therapeutic journies and working on ‘ready to learn’ skills. Katy also supports children of all ages with toilet learning programs. Although Katy is based out of Nanaimo, she currently supports learners from Cowichan Valley to Port Alberni.

Katy enjoys working with a variety of learners of all ages, and supporting their families with skill acquisition and generalization. As a parent of a 10-year old child, Katy understands how important it is to meet kiddos where they are at. Caregivers describe Katy as ‘enthusiastic’, ‘energetic’, ‘patient’ and ‘quick to respond’. Katy is admired by many of our team members for her ability to plan ahead, come up with creative solutions and work on program goals within play. We value Katy for her ability to applied behaviour analytic concepts to day-to-day situations in away that kiddos really enjoy. Katy has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Vancouver Island University, as well as a Graduate Diploma from Royal Roads University. Katy is currently completing further training in ABA and has plans to obtain a Masters Degree in Psychology.

NYLA HAIDER

Behaviour Interventionist (BI)

Early Intervention & Education Program

(She/Her)

Nyla has been working as a BI with Blackbird since January of 2021. In this time, she has worked with a variety of learners implementing clinical and home-based Early Intervention, Direct Instruction within our Education Program, toilet learning programs, after-school/weekend support for school-aged learners, and supporting learners in community settings (e.g., group homes, recreation programs, etc.). Before joining our team, Nyla worked in childcare doing after-school care and private home care for children. She also volunteered for the Special Olympics and was heavily involved in childrens’ recreation programs (i.e., coordinating sports tournaments, refereeing, and coaching sports for children in preschool through middle school).

Families Nyla has supported have raved about her energy, her ability to keep up with active learners, and her sunny disposition. As Nyla is a great fit for many learners, she continues to support children as a BI across all our programming. Nyla is currently in her third year of her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at VIU, and is also in the processes of obtaining certification as a Registered Behaviour Technician through the BACB. In the future, Nyla plans to obtain a Masters degree in Psychology to continue supporting individuals with disabilities.

GRACE ROBERTSON

Behaviour Interventionist (BI)

Education Program & Early Intervention

(She/Her)

Grace joined the Blackbird team in 2022 and has since been enjoying working with children ages 2-10 years of age. Grace supports learners in our Education Program by teaching them academics using Direct Instruction methods, as well as working on learner-specific goals such as toileting, using utensils to self-feed, or various language goals using AAC programs. She also works in our Early Intervention classroom guiding young learners through variety of Natural Environment Teaching activities to work on their intervention goals within play. Grace excels in supporting language within imaginary play, and she can often be found sitting on the floor building train tracks or furnishing dollhouses. Grace is a kind, compassionate, and soft-spoken instructor. She is creative, observative, and incredibly patient. Grace loves to follow her learner’s leads, and families often report that their children really look forward to their sessions with her!

As an older sister to two brothers, Grace has always known she wanted to work with children. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology from VIU. Grace did her Capstone project for this degree in Behaviour Intervention and realized then that she wanted to explore a career as a BI. Since joining our team, Grace has been eager to learn and support a variety of students. In her free time, Grace likes to spend time outdoors hiking, skiing, and swimming.