Nearly 20 years ago TOHUM was founded by a parent in Turkey who traveled all through Europe and the United States to find services for her son when he was diagnosed with autism.
At that time there were no services in Europe that appeared effective. Although several programs in the States were interested in selling their curricula to this mother, PCDI’s Executive Directors, Drs. Krantz and McClannahan, were the only ones who advised her to focus on creating a program with highly trained staff to provide ongoing support.
From there, Biyamin Birkan, a student studying to become a special educator in Turkey, was identified to complete an intensive residency at PCDI. Dr. Binyamin Birkan, BCBA-D helped established TOHUM, replicating the systems and teaching procedures developed by Drs. Krantz and McClannahan. Dr. Birkan has maintained a close relationship with PCDI for decades, and served as TOHUM’s executive director for many years before establishing the Binyamin Birkan Academy in 2019.
Hayal Korkmaz and Nergiz Koçarslan moved into Executive Director positions at TOHUM in 2019 after receiving intensive clinical and leadership training at PCDI. In their ongoing partnership with PCDI, they invited Executive Director, Dr. Amanda Freeman, to conduct an external evaluation of their program. This included an evaluation of data notebooks, and hands-on clinical training with their leadership team.
“It’s remarkable to see so many of the systems developed and employed at PCDI making an impact in Turkey. We’re proud of TOHUM for continuing the legacy of dissemination by becoming a leader in ABA autism intervention in the region.”
– Dr. Amanda S. Freeman