Inside Behavior Analysis
Volume 1 | 2009 | Number 1
Rehabilitation & Independent Living
By Michael P. Mozzoni
The Rehabilitation and Community Reentry Special Interest Group continues to grow from just three in 2006 attendees to 14 in 2008. Student interest is growing as awareness of the needs of soldiers returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) continue to be highlighted in the media. The April 16, 2009, article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM 360:16 pp 1588-1591) has created a firestorm within the TBI community concerning the misinformation contained within the piece. Questions of mTBI (mild traumatic brain injury) diagnosis and measurement cry out for our methodological contribution. The "Gold Standard" of diagnosis for mTBI in returning soldiers is still the self-report questionnaire. NIDRR (National Institute for Disability Research and Rehabilitation) has changed its ABI (Acquired Brain Injury) focus from research and diagnosis to vocational rehabilitation, which may offer behavior analysts a ripe opportunity for research grants related to return to work issues for persons with ABI, especially soldiers separated from the military (DoD). The Rehabilitation and Community Reentry Special Interest Group offers behavior analysts an alternative to our dominate client population (Autism) at this time. Although the SIG could easily meet about community reentry of any population, currently TBI and military issues are under discussion. Far too few behavior analysts are involved in serving people with brain injuries within the rehabilitation community and the VA/DoD systems, which is to our detriment. ABA offers a robust and powerful methodology which can have a profound impact upon training methods, time required in rehabilitation, cost, and ultimately quality of life for persons living with the effects of brain injuries. Discussions on how to "sell" behavior analysis to treatment programs has been fruitful. How to survive as a behavior analyst within a traditional ABI program has also been useful to attendees who learn that "having the data" is not the only criterion needed to function successfully within a mixed discipline program. Participants in the SIG can network with professionals serving in the top neurobehavioral programs in the country yielding job, research, and internship opportunities.