Leslie Neely: Supporting those with disabilities through interdisciplinary research
Before Leslie Neely found her calling as an applied behavior analyst and educational psychology professor, her path looked much different — she started her professional career managing infrastructure projects in central Texas after completing a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.
“I was an engineer in a previous life, right out of college, and was working as a project manager for the toll roads project in Austin. While working there, I met somebody who does the job I do now,” Neely recalled. “It was just one of those fortuitous meetings.”
Inspired by the encounter, Neely decided to re-route her career path, earning an M.Ed. in Behavior Analysis and Special Education and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University. She would join the UTSA faculty shortly after in 2015.
Now an associate professor in the College of Education and Human Development (COEHD), Neely leverages her interdisciplinary background in her research and teaching. With expertise in both engineering and the social sciences, her work explores the use of technologies like AI and virtual reality in behavior analysis and the treatment of complex behaviors in those with autism or other developmental disabilities.
“One of my passions is to meld these two worlds and help improve effectiveness, accuracy and precision of some of the approaches we use,” Neely said. “I'm really passionate about how we can leverage technology to improve quality of life overall.”
A central aspect of Neely’s work involves creating access to independent community living for those with disabilities. A key part of this includes providing quality employment opportunities for adults with autism, ADHD or other developmental disabilities, who are disproportionately unemployed or underemployed.
Her latest project, Employ210, aligns with this mission.
Employ210 is a five-year, $9 million grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education that aims to shrink the employment gap for neurodiverse adults in San Antonio. The project, led by Neely and fellow COEHD faculty member John Davis, is a partnership between UTSA, Morgan’s Multi-Assistance Center (MAC) in San Antonio, and Southern Methodist University.
Working with local companies, the Employ210 team will curate an array of jobs for neurodiverse individuals to choose from based on their interests and skill level. After defining employer expectations and analyzing job tasks, they will create customized training materials that will better prepare these job seekers for the day-to-day duties and types of interactions required in their desired roles. This will include AI training simulations that will provide personalized feedback so job seekers can master necessary skills before even setting foot into the role.
“There's a lot of research surrounding the interview process, and how to get past that interview process for autistic individuals. We're going to prepare these individuals in a couple of different jobs so when they go to an interview, they'll already be very knowledgeable about that job and will understand exactly what it is required,” Neely explained.
“We're actually going in and asking these employers, ‘Who is your best employee?’ And we're going to shadow that employee and come up with a blueprint for those jobs.”
By aligning employee skills with employer needs and expectations prior to job placement, Neely hopes this will lead to better career matches. The team plans to support more than 300 San Antonio job seekers over the next five years.
Employ210 is one of several collaborative research projects that Neely has been a part of. She previously worked with Wei Wang in the College of Sciences to enhance computer science education for students with visual impairments using AI and cloud technologies, and she partnered with Guenevere Chen in the Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design to develop new technologies to support the needs of children with disabilities and their families.
She also serves in multiple leadership roles including director of the Child and Adolescent Policy Research Institute (CAPRI), associate director for the UTSA Brain Health Consortium, and UTSA director for the San Antonio Applied Behavior Analysis Project (SAABA). Her roles all have a common goal in mind – to make a lasting difference for those with disabilities in San Antonio and beyond.
“I like building relationships and ideas and big projects,” Neely said. “As long as we're building capacity to support the disability community in San Antonio, then I'm for it.”
The type of impactful academic-based programs Neely leads in collaboration with community partners are important contributors to UTSA’s national standing as a university committed to community engagement. Learn more about UTSA’s Carnegie Community Engagement Classification here.
Read more Faculty Features about other interesting and accomplished faculty at UTSA.
