Inside Behavior Analysis
Volume 1 | 2009 | Number 1
Israel ABA
By Eitan Eldar, Orit Hetzroni, and Michael Ben Zvi
IABA was established in 2003, held its first conference shortly afterwards, and has conducted the 6th conference this spring. IABA consists of more than 50 Behavior Analysts, half of which are Board approved BCBA & BCABA. All of the IABA members actively support ABA in various academic and clinical fields and more than 100 additional professionals participate in IABA activities. Approximately 100 students are currently enrolled in two BACB approved programs. These programs are offered at Tel-Aviv University, led by Prof. Amos Rolider, and at the Zinman College, led by Dr. Eitan Eldar.
IABA organizes opportunities for CE credits for the certified behavior analysts, who participate as well as present in conferences held in both institutes throughout the year. IABA also published the Hebrew version of ABA terms and ethical principles. Notably, most of the students who have graduated from the above programs were employed in a variety of educational and clinical agencies.
IABA goals are to:
- Promote ABA as a leading science in human behavior.
- Gain recognition of the discipline as a distinct and unique profession by the Ministries of Health and Education.
- Have more members and friends join the IABA.
- Establish an ABA journal in Hebrew.
- Establish additional approved ABA programs in other universities and graduate programs in ABA.
- Promote both experimental and applied ABA research in Israel.
The recent year has been very fruitful. The two programs introduced ABA to a variety of professionals who were eager to acquire the appropriate knowledge and skills. Several professional meetings were held, discussing various issues such as "Induction to ABA in the education system - suggestions for behavior analysts who are making their first steps in collaboration with teachers and principals."
The 2009 spring conference, held at the Zinman College, dealt with behavioral strategies that support learning. The main notion offered to shift some resources and effort away from "fighting violence," directing it instead towards increasing motivation and success in learning. Functional Analysis was presented as a way to identify students' difficulties and a variety of ABA-based teaching strategies were demonstrated. All of these strategies are being successfully implemented by behavior analysts at the ABA center as well as in various schools. Concepts such as momentum, motivational operations, fluency, and more were explained and related to the various strategies.
The conference was held in collaboration with the Special Education Department in the Ministry of Education. Such joint effort is a breakthrough, as it demonstrates a shift in the attitude of the "education system" in favor of ABA. Furthermore, a new position was nominated in the Ministry of Education: Applied Behavior Analysis Consultant. The role of this professional is to promote ABA among different regions and schools in Israel.
We still have to face many challenges related to certifying behavior analysts in Israel and disseminating ABA in various governmental offices and institutions. We shall do our best to achieve these goals as soon as possible.