Sylvia Woodyard

Sylvia Woodyard has taught at KPU in the EDAS program since 2005.  She teaches Positive Behaviour Support, Child and Adolescent Development and Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder.  Currently the Practicum Coordinator, she also advises and oversees students’ practicum experience. Since 1981, Sylvia has worked with individuals across the lifespan who have a variety of exceptionalities.  As a Behavior Consultant she brought her love of Positive Behavior Support principles to individuals and caregivers with a view to improving quality of life, and she considers it an honour to teach these evidence-based skills to EDAS students. In addition to Behaviour Consultant, she has worked in the capacities of support worker and manager in the community living field.  She led a provincial pilot project teaching parenting skills to adults with mental health and developmental disabilities, and co-led a team mandated by the province to provide residential settings for people moving out of BC’s provincial institutions, followed by managing the programs.  Sylvia enjoys combining her passion for quality support of young people with disabilities with her passion for social justice and adult education. She has presented at a BC Association for Community Living (now known as Inclusion BC), the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity, and several local presentations for various agencies and school districts. Sylvia has her Bachelor of Arts with a major in Psychology from Trinity Western University (1988), and has a Masters of Education in Workplace and Adult Learning (University of Calgary, 2010). More recently, she has completed coursework toward a Board Certified Behavior Analyst certification at the Florida Institute of Technology.  Her career and vocational interests, in no particular order, include adult education as social justice, Positive Behavior Support, spirituality and vocation, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Applied Behavior Analysis.