The Sweet Briar departments of education and psychology and the Honors Program will host guest lecturer James Ball, a board-certified behavior analyst who has worked in the field of autism for 20 years, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3 in the Boxwood Room at the College’s Florence Elston Inn & Conference Center.

Ball will present “Misconceptions and Myths of Autism,” a discussion of the misunderstandings associated with applied behavior analysis.

The talk will “explore a variety of systematic techniques for teaching students with an autism spectrum disorder,” according to Ball, who is president and CEO of JB Autism Consulting. “It will focus on teaching specific skills, enhancing motivation and generalization teaching.”

As a private consultant, Ball specializes in professional development, staff training, parent training, classroom design and support and behavior management, and provides functional behavior assessments to school districts and families. He lectures internationally on topics related to autism including inclusion services, behavioral assessment and management, social skills training, direct instruction, sensory issues and accountability.

His book, “Early Intervention and Autism: Real-life Questions, Real-life Answers,” was released last year. He also is a featured author and advisory board member for the Autism Asperger’s Digest magazine.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is made possible by the support of Lucy Kimbrough, Sweet Briar Class of 1977. For more information, please contact Julie Hemstreet at (434) 381-6473 or jhemstreet@sbc.edu.