Inside Behavior Analysis
Volume 2 | 2010 | Number 2
French ABA
By Joëlle M. L. Nuchadee
French ABA, an ABAI affiliated chapter in France, held its first annual conference on December 10–11, in Lille. The conference program included a variety of topics on behavior analysis and developmental disabilities, addressing both basic and applied behavior analytic research. The convention began with Maria Malott presenting the use of behavior analysis to meet organizational challenges. Later, Andy Bondy spoke about picture exchange communication systems, and Andy Lattal discussed the functional relations between past events and present behavior. During the second half of this first day, Linda Copeland reviewed the importance of developmental pediatric screening with evidence based assessment tools to make the diagnosis of children with autism spectrum disorders. It was followed by Ernest Vargas' fascinating speech on verball behavior. We then seized the opportunity to celebrate the achievement of our 2009 master's students, by hosting their graduation ceremony.
This first day ended with a poster session. A total of 14 posters were presented, covering topics including the development of applied behavior analysis (ABA) in France by a team of professionals, and of more basic behavior analysis, namely the research work of the students from Lille's University and the work of a team from the National University of Ireland Galway.
The second day of the convention began with Joseph Morrow presenting the origins of behavior analysis and its contrast to traditional psychology. Mark Sundberg presented an overview of Skinner's verbal behavior and discussed the importance of identifying language intervention priorities for children with autism. William Heward considered the role of applied behavior analysis in the classroom setting, and William Dube spoke about transitional research in developmental disabilities. The final talks were by Julie Vargas on Skinner's early engineering endeavors and the present day use of conditioned reinforcers and shaping procedures and by Timothy Shahan on behavioral momentum and quantitative analyses of relapse.
The conference resulted in more than 150 registrations. Attendees included mainly professionals working in behavior analysis, teachers and parents of children diagnosed with developmental disabilities, and graduate and undergraduate students. Based on the feedback we got from the audience we know that they appreciated all the speakers and learned a lot from them, though the applied behavior analytic research was evaluated more favorably.
We hope our attendees, as well as our speakers, had a nice time in Lille and enjoyed the conference as much as we did. It was really a wonderful opportunity and a terrific learning experience! We are grateful to the student volunteers from the University of Lille and to the staff members from the Maison Européenne des Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société.
ABA is a new field in France. We are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. We are working hard to disseminate behavior analysis in the academic field, to increase public awareness of the challenges that autism spectrum disorder underlies, and to advocate for appropriate services for the people with autism spectrum disorders. We are proud to open a joint master's next year with Andy Lattal's team from the University of West Virginia on both experimental and applied behavior analysis. Check our website at http://france-aba.com for more information and updates on future events.