Professional Summary: Dr. Irwin Helvey is a Senior Board Certified Behavior Analyst in the Severe Behavior Program at Children’s Specialized Hospital—Rutgers University Center for Autism Research, Education, and Services (CSH–RUCARES) and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She is also an Adjunct Professor in the Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the College of Charleston and both a Master of Arts and a Ph.D. in Psychology with a concentration in Applied Behavior Analysis from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She has regularly served as a guest reviewer in behavior-analytic journals, including The Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behavior Analysis in Practice, and Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice. She was the recipient of the 2021 Behavior Analysis in Health, Sport, and Fitness SIG Small Research Grant and the 2021 Dissertation Award from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Her primary research and clinical interests include the assessment and treatment of severe behavior disorders, translational and applied research on treatment relapse, and physical activity. She has conducted additional research in the areas of interpersonal and group contingencies and diversity in behavior analysis training programs.
Education:
Ph.D., University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, 2022
M.A., University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 2020
B.A. College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, 2017
Courses Taught:
Graduate
- Introduction to Single-Case Design
- Applications of Behavior-Analytic Principles: Changing Behavior
Undergraduate
- Learning and Behavior Change
- Psychology as a Science and Career
- Science and Pseudoscience
- Abnormal Psychology
Research Interests
- Assessment and treatment of severe behavior disorders
- Translational and applied research on treatment relapse
- Physical activity
Publications:
Auten, E., Van Camp, C., & Irwin Helvey, C. (2025). Further translational evaluations of efficacy and preference for isolated and synthesized contingency procedures. Behavioral Interventions,40(1), e2076. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.2076
McCabe. L. H., Greer, B. D., Irwin Helvey, C., & Briggs, A. M. (2025). On the evidence for interactive effects during and following synthesized contingency assessments. Behavioral Interventions, 40(1), e2074. https://doi.org/10.1002/bin.2074
Angley, S. M., Kishel, C. B., Irwin Helvey C., & Greer, B. D. (in press). Durability in the treatment of socially reinforced destructive behavior. In Mitteer, D. R. (Ed.), Toward durability and generalization in the treatment of autism. (pp. X–Y). New York: Springer-Verlag.
Norris, H. M., Mitteer, D. R., Irwin Helvey, C., & Greer, B. D. (in press). Applied research on mitigating resurgence. In M. P. Kranak (Ed.), Behavioral treatments for individuals with autism: Promoting longevity and durability. (pp. X–Y). New York: Springer-Verlag.
Fisher, W. W., Greer, B. D., Irwin Helvey, C., & Mitteer, D. R. (in press). Severe problem behavior. In J. C. Vladescu, & D. J. Cox (Eds.), Applied behavior analysis for clinical, education, and training applications. (pp. X–Y). Elsevier.
Norris, H. M., Greer, B. D., Angley, S. M., Irwin Helvey, C., & French, J. L. (2024). Intervention for aggressive–destructive behavior. In J. K. Luiselli, F. L. Bird, H. Maguire, & R. M. Gardner (Eds.), Behavior safety and clinical practice in intellectual and developmental disabilities. (pp. 85–108). Springer.
Irwin Helvey, C., Fisher, W. W., Mitteer, D. R., Fuhrman, A. M., & Greer, B. D. (2024). Protective equipment in clinical intervention. In J. K. Luiselli, F. L. Bird, H. Maguire, & R. M. Gardner (Eds.), Behavior safety and clinical practice in intellectual and developmental disabilities. (pp. 139–168). Springer.
Blejewski, R., Hurtado, R., Batchelder, S., Irwin Helvey, C., & Pilgrim, C. (2024). Student perceptions of diversity, equity, and inclusion practices related to racism in behavior-analytic graduate training programs. Behavior and Social Issues. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42822-024-00177-2
Greer, B. D., Shahan, T. A., Irwin Helvey, C., Fisher, W. W., Mitteer, D. R., & Fuhrman, A. M. (2024). Resurgence of destructive behavior following decreases in alternative reinforcement: A prospective analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 57(3), 599–614. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.1083
Gates, L., Cariveau, T., & Helvey, C. I. (2024). A Pilot Study of Observing Responses in Dyadic Competition. The Psychological Record, 74(1), 133-138. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40732-023-00583-9
Donlin Washington, W., & Irwin Helvey, C. (2023). Leisure. In Rehfeldt, R. A., Cihon, T., Rasmussen, E., & Ala’I, S. (eds.), Women in Behavior Science: Observations on Life Inside and Outside the Academy.
Van Camp, C. M., Irwin Helvey, C., & Donlin Washington, W. (2023). Evaluating physical activity levels. In Matson, J. L. (ed.), Applied Behavior Analysis: A Comprehensive Handbook.
Irwin Helvey, C., Gates, L., Rountree, P., & Cariveau, T. (2023). Gamified human operant research: A brief introduction to Minecraft Education. Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Bulletin, 34, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/VT58F
Irwin Helvey, C., Fisher, W. W., Greer, B. D., Fuhrman, A. M., & Mitteer, D. R. (2023). Resurgence of destructive behavior following differential rates of alternative reinforcement. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.1010
Irwin Helvey, C., Van Camp, C., Mueller, C., & Auten, E. (2023). Evaluating preference for functional and non-functional stimuli in the treatment of destructive behavior. Behavior Analysis in Practice. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00773-5
Van Camp, C. M., Batchelder, S., & Irwin Helvey, C. (2022). A bout analysis of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 55(3), 782-798. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.922
Irwin Helvey, C., & Van Camp, C. M. (2022). Further comparison of isolated and synthesized contingencies in functional analyses. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 55(1), 154-168. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.890
Irwin Helvey, C., Thuman, E., Cariveau, T. (2022). Recommended practices for individual supervision: Clarifying expectations for the behavior analytic trainee. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 15, 370-381. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-021-00557-9
Cariveau, T., Irwin Helvey, C., Moseley, T. K., & Hester, J. (2022). Equating and assigning targets in the adapted alternating treatments design: Review of special education journals. Remedial and Special Education, 43(1), 58-71. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932521996071
Doughty, A. H., & Irwin, C. M. (2018). Developing a novel preparation to analyze the onset of derived stimulus relations. Behavioural Processes, 148, 27-30. https://doi-org.liblink.uncw.edu/10.1016/j.beproc.2017.12.013
Professional Affiliations:
- Society for Pediatric Research
- Association for Behavior Analysis International
- Southeastern Association for Behavior Analysis
- Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior SIG