Inside Behavior Analysis
Volume 2 | 2010 | Number 1 | On-line ISSN: 2151-4704
2008 Sidney W. and Janet R. Bijou Fellowship Awardee
By Morgan Chitiyo
I would like to thank the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis (SABA) for selecting me as one of the recipients of the 2008 International Development Grant Award. The grant helped me with my research to promote the adoption and use of Positive Behavior Support (PBS)and its behavior analytic principles among some of the most vulnerable children in Zimbabwe. Through the funds, I was able to travel to Zimbabwe (July 12 to August 12, 2009) and conduct training of professionals who work with children orphaned by AIDS in the Midlands province. Team members of the Midlands Aids Caring Organizations (MACO) were introduced to PBS and were trained on how to utilize PBS strategies to design interventions for the said children. Zimbabwe has one of the highest numbers of children orphaned by HIV and AIDS. These children face tremendous challenges in their struggle to cope with their loss. Not surprisingly, the challenges affect the children's access to education. Thus, MACO was developed to provide psychosocial support to these children in order to promote positive educational outcomes.
In order to enhance the quality of supports given to the children, I decided to introduce the research validated practices in PBS as part of the interventions to the benefit of the children. Thus, the $1000 received from SABA was used to buy textbooks on PBS, develop training materials for the workshops that were conducted to train the MACO team, and develop a website that will be used to disseminate information on any new research and developments in the area of PBS and applied behavior analysis for the team. The website is under construction and will soon be operational. Table 1 provides a list of how the money was used.
| Item | Cost in USD |
| Building Positive Behavior Support Systems in Schools (by Crone & Horner) Guilford Press IBSN 1-57230-818-4 | US$28 * 2 copies = US$56 |
| Parenting With Positive Behavior Support (by Sergay, Childs, Hieneman) Brookes IBSN 1-55766-865-5 | US$25 * 2 copies = US$50 |
| Behavior Management: Principles and Practices of Positive Behavior Supports (by Wheeler & Richey) IBSN 0-13-093989-7 | US$75 * 1 copy = US$75 |
| Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers (by Troutman & Alberto) Merril IBSN 0-13117994-2 | US$100 * 1 copy = US$100 |
| Understanding Applied Behavior Analysis: An Introduction to ABA for Parents, Teachers, and Other Professionals (by Kearney) Jessica Kingsley Publishers IBSN 978-1-84310-860-3 | US$20 * 2 copies = US$40 |
| Production of a training manual that will be distributed to the participants during the workshops (photocopying) | US$500 |
| Development of an interactive website that we will use to disseminate information on any new research and developments in the area of PBS and applied behavior analysis | US$250 |
| Total | US$1000 |
Table 1. Use of money from SABA International Development Grant