Newsletter
Volume 31 | 2008 | Number 2
Florida ABA (FABA)
By Dr. H. Allen Murphy
During our first venture to Jacksonville, a record 1,032 people attended FABA’s 27th Annual Meeting in September 2007. The conference featured 65 sessions, 17 pre- or post-conference workshops, and 29 posters. A short list of the presenters included Murray Sidman, Jack Michael, Hank Pennypacker, Jim Partington, Janet Twyman, Jon Bailey, Ernie Vargas, Dave Wilder, and
Clive Wynne.
Figure 1. Dr. Brian Iwata (left) and Dr. Jon Bailey
In recognition of the 25th anniversary of his seminal article on functional analysis, FABA and ABAI Past-President Brian Iwata provided the Keynote Address “Some Antecedents and Consequences of Functional Analysis Methodology: An Historical Perspective.” Immediately following the Keynote, Dr. Iwata was presented with the first FABA Outstanding Scientific Contributions to the Field of Behavior Analysis Award (see Figure 1). A follow-up symposium titled “Extensions of Functional Analysis” organized by Tim Vollmer featured presentations by former Iwata students Jennifer Zarcone, Iser DeLeon, Dorothea Lerman, and Rick Smith. FABA President Karen Wagner’s ambitious Presidential Address, “It Takes a Community to Raise a Good Behavior Analyst: We’re Only as Strong as Our Weakest Link” with video clips from a number of behavior analytic notables was very well received. The same can be said for the annual Community Outreach pre-conference event, an outgrowth of Florida’s Behavior Analysis Service Program for foster care consumers offered gratis for parents and teachers in the local community who can not attend the conference.
The Florida Legislation is in session at the time of writing this article. FABA has the good fortune to be able to acquire the services of a lobbyist, Eric Prutsman, who qualifies as an Honorary Behavior Analyst given his commitment to the field. Eric has worked closely with the FABA Executive Committee to promote and support ABA and we are happy to announce two significant outcomes of these efforts. First, the Florida Senate has unanimously passed a bill requiring insurance companies to pay for treatment for children with autism. The impact made by, and recognition of, ABA is apparent from this quote from Eric. “There was no debate, only discussion of how behavior analysis makes all the difference in the world for autistic children. And you can’t say this about many bills (or any that I can think of); there wasn’t a dry eye in the Senate as the bill passed 39-0.” The bill will now proceed to the House, and we have our fingers crossed.
September 14–20, 2008, was officially designated as “Florida Behavior Analysis Week” to coincide with FABA’s 28th Annual Conference, one you did not want to miss! This year’s convention was held at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa in Bonita Springs on Florida’s southwest coast. The conference kicked off with a full day of workshops on Wednesday, September 17, followed by a Hospitality Suite sponsored by the Bay Area Association for Behavior Analysis. Two full days of sessions occurred on Thursday and Friday with the Thursday Keynote Address offered by Amy Sutherland, author of What Shamu Taught Me About Love, Life and Marriage, and the Friday Presidential Address “How Not to Start a Career but Still End up Where You Belong” by Tony Gelabert. The conference wrapped up with Saturday morning presentations largely geared for those who were unable to attend during the week. As always, the FABA Store featured a full array of behavior clothing, literature, and gift items including the popular Behavior Counts, Got Data? and our newest Think Function lines.
Several themes will be featured for 2008:
- Recognition of the anniversaries of four milestones in behavior analysis: the 1938 debut of The Behavior of Organisms with a presentation by Jack Michael; Julie and Ernie Vargas will speak about Walden Two in its 60th year; a symposium on 50-year old JEAB; and, trends in JABA over 40 years by several of its
past editors. - The reemergence of environmental issues as a public and behavioral concern including a presentation by Jeanine Plowman Strafford on Furman University’s efforts to “go green.” The convention hotel offered eco-tours!
- And, behavioral applications in animal training and welfare including presentations by Jon Bailey, author of How Dogs Learn.
To learn more about FABA or the recent FABA conference, go to www.FABAworld.org, www.behaviorcanchange.org, or contact Al Murphy at amurphy@pc.fsu.edu.