Inside Behavior Analysis
Volume 1 | 2009 | Number 1
Heartland ABA
By Steven Taylor
The past year has been a very successful year for the Heartland Association for Behavior Analysis. Our conferences continue to grow each year and have attracted speakers from around the world. Last year, we began a Poster Contest for student research; the poster representing the best empirical dataset will receive an award of $200 applied to the ABAI annual convention. We've started a Speaker of the Month Series focusing on research around the Heartland Area. Our website at www.hlaba.org continues to improve to attract more members and advocates to our membership.
Our 2009 Executive Board includes Dr. Henry Roane as our immediate past president, Tami McDowell as the current President, Dr. Valerie Volkert as our vice president, Anney Fahrenholz as our secretary/treasurer, Dr. Lera Joyce Johnson as our representative at large, and Andrea Clements as our student representative. Dr. Steve Taylor and Elizabeth Gawley both served on the 2008 Executive Board and continue to offer great insights. HLABA has been setting its sights on the future of behavior analysis in the Heartland Region and how HLABA can facilitate those changes. In January, 2009, the HLABA Executive Board met and created a five-year strategic plan for the future of our great organization. Three key areas were identified as our focus: membership support, community connection, and student activation.
The 3rd annual conference of the Heartland Association for Behavior Analysis was held in October, 2008, and played host to some of the brightest minds in behavior analysis including Brian Iwata, Jon Bailey, and Edward Daily. Other presentations highlighted research efforts from University of Nebraska Medical Center, Children's Care Hospital and School, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Munroe-Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center, University of Iowa, University of Kansas Lifespan Institute, and Western Michigan University.
The Speaker of the Month series presents the newest advancement in behavior analysis research. Attendees are able to earn Continuing Educational Credits while networking with other behavior analysts in the area. Dr. Henry Roane spoke on recent advances in the treatment of severe problem behaviors. Dr Terry Falcomata spoke on recent advances in Functional Communication Training. Dr. Tiffany Kodak spoke on Early Intervention and Autism. Plans for future presentations will look into broader audiences through teleconferencing technologies.
The 4th annual HLABA conference is to be held on October 1-2, 2009. The upcoming conference promises more opportunities to learn about advances in the field of behavior analysis as well as network with other professionals. F. Charles (Bud) Mace, Ph.D.,is Professor of Psychology and Director of Research for the Psychology Program at the University of Southern Maine. He is also Director of the ACHIEVE laboratory school for children with emotional disabilities. Dr.Mace has published over 100 articles and chapters and is most well known for his research on the functional analysis of severe behavior disorders, behavioral momentum, and the Matching Law. David Wacker, Ph.D., is a Professor of Pediatrics and Special Education at The University of Iowa. He directs two outpatient clinic services for children and adults with disabilities who engage in severe problem behavior. He is the Principal Investigator on an NICHD-funded research project evaluating the long-term effectiveness of functional communication training in home settings. Meeta Patel, Ph.D., serves as the Executive Director of Clinic 4 Kidz, which is primarily a home-based pediatric feeding disorders program located in Novato, California. She provides these services to children all over the country. Her research and clinical interests focus on treating feeding problems in children with medical complications (e.g.,prematurity, failure to thrive [FTT], tube dependence, gastresophageal reflux [GER], food allergies, etc.).