Newsletter
Volume 31 | 2008 | Number 3
Recent Developments and Future Events: A Message from the President
By William L. Heward
These are exciting and challenging times for behavior analysts. Our excitement is evoked by the many opportunities arising from society's increasing interest in evidence-based methods for changing behavior in virtually every arena in which behavior analysts work: education, clinical therapy, public health, organizational management, and preservation of the environment, to name a few. As exciting as the opportunities before us are, the challenges confronting our discipline are equally daunting: the need for more and better graduate training programs in behavior analysis, particularly at the doctoral level, the need for legislative support of and protection for behavior analysis practitioners, the need to protect consumers of behavior analysis services, dwindling resources for laboratories and training future scientists in the experimental analysis of behavior, to name a few.
One item in the job description of ABAI President is writing an article for the Newsletter informing the membership of recent developments and future plans of the Association. While this is a seemingly straightforward task to be sure, the amount and complexity of information that might be reported at this juncture exceeds both the page limits of the President's Message (lucky for you) and my ability to write clearly and concisely (not so lucky for you).
What I can report with assurance is that your elected leadership is keenly aware of the many forces pulling and pushing upon behavior analysis as a field and ABAI as a membership organization. ABAI's Executive Council has worked diligently during the past year to reach strategic decisions that will make optimal use of the organization's resources in advancing and promoting the science and practice of behavior analysis while achieving increased and improved services for the Association's members.
This article summarizes some key results of the recently conducted survey that sought member input on a variety of issues, reports several significant decisions made by Council at its annual fall meeting, briefly describes plans for ABAI's 2009 annual convention and other conferences, and announces a new accredited graduate program and the establishment of two new affiliated chapters and a special interest group.
ABAI's Revised Mission Statement
At its annual fall meeting in Phoenix earlier this month, Council voted unanimously to revise the ABAI mission statement from "to develop, enhance, and support the growth and vitality of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice" to read as follows:
to contribute to the well-being of society by developing, enhancing, and supporting the growth and vitality of the science of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice.
Although the change is slight in number of words, the revised statement reflects an important recognition that ABAI’s mission should not be to develop and promote behavior analysis for the sake of behavior analysis per se, but to do so because behavior analysis offers humankind one of its best hopes to solve many of it problems. The revised mission statement also acknowledges ABAI's ethical responsibility to help protect the consumers of practices and technology derived from our science.
Member Survey
In late summer/early fall, ABAI conducted a major survey of members' and affiliate members' opinions on a variety of topics relevant to the science and practice of behavior analysis, such as professional credentialing, certification, licensure, legislation, continuing education, professional liability insurance, funding and support of basic research, and dissemination of behavioral science research. In an effort to assess the needs and preferences of behavior analysts across a diverse range of domains, all 16,502 individuals with viable e-mail addresses in the ABAI database received an invitation to complete the survey. 1,900 completed surveys were returned for an overall response rate of 12%. The survey data were analyzed with consulting support from the Carl Frost Center for Social Science Research and the report prepared for Council by the ABAI office. Some key results of the survey are highlighted below.
Demographics
- Education: Bachelors, 13%; master's, 45%; doctorate, 36%.
- Primary discipline: behavior analysis, 32%; psychology, 28%; education, 9%; special education, 9%.
- 48% (800) respondents checked that they were a certified behavior analyst; 52% (872) respondents checked that they were not a certified behavior analyst.
- Residence: U.S., 82%; non-U.S., 18%.
Practice Issues
A significant majority of survey respondents indicated that the following practice-related items were "somewhat important" or "very important" for ABAI to support:
- Recognition of BACB-certified behavior analysts' right to practice, 84% (1,598).
- Diverse continuing education activities for practitioners, 78% (1,488).
- Licensing of doctoral-level behavior analysts, 77% (1,468).
- Licensing of master's level behavior analysts, 77% (1,453).
- Political action at the federal level to require insurance coverage for behavior analysts, 74% (1,411).
- Training and support for affiliated chapters' effort to influence legislation related to practitioner issues, 71% (1,355).
- Provision of liability insurance for behavior analysts, 69% (1,312).
A large majority of survey respondents also said they would benefit substantially (894, 47%) or moderately (549, 30%) from the licensure of behavior analysts (77%).
Science Issues
A significant majority of survey respondents indicated that the following science-related items were "somewhat important" or "very important" for ABAI to support:
- Dissemination of science, 91% (1,727).
- Provision of scientific conferences, 88% (1,669).
- Dissemination of information about funding opportunities, 80% (1,517).
- Provision of specialized research training, 79% (1,488).
- Creation of additional scientific publications, 68% (1,284).
Practice Board
In the fall of 2007, Council created a Practice Board "To meet the needs of ABAI members and members of its affiliated chapters providing behavior analytic services to various constituencies consistent with the scientific foundations of behavior analysis." The Practice Board replaced the Professional Affairs Board, as the new Board would serve its mission.
Members of the Practice Board are: Linda Hayes (Board Coordinator and Council member), Michael Dorsey, Michael Dougher (Council member), R. Douglas Greer, Maria Malott, Travis Thompson, and Michael Weinberg.
At Council's request, the Practice Board held a strategic planning meeting August 22-24. One outcome of that meeting was a report by the Practice Board titled, "Meeting Practitioner Needs While Promoting and Preserving the Science of Behavior Analysis," which proposed a more specific mission, a committee structure to accomplish the work of the Board, and several strategic initiatives. The report was distributed to Council members in early September. After reviewing and discussing the Practice Board's report, Council conveyed a series of questions to the Practice Board seeking clarification and/or additional information regarding various aspects of the report. The Board prepared written responses to those questions for Council's review at its fall meeting.
At that meeting Council voted unanimously to approve the Practice Board's proposal that it be empowered to support and endorse the licensure of behavior analyst practitioners. The specific motion passed reads as follows: "In order to promote the professional provision of evidence-based applied behavior analysis services and protect the public, ABAI encourages the licensure of Master's and doctoral trained behavior analysts. ABAI will support its constituencies in working with state and federal administrative and legislative bodies toward this end.
Council also approved at its fall meeting the Practice Board's proposed committee structure (Governmental Affairs Committee, Licensure Committee, Continuing Education Committee, and Committee for Research in Practice). Two of the committees are described briefly here and in more detail elsewhere in this issue.
Licensure Committee - The Licensure Committee will work in collaboration with other boards within ABAI and with other organizations and key individuals in the field to formulate the educational and practice requirements that would be recommended for states to include in licensure bills for behavior analysts.For more information about the Licensure Committee, see the article by the committee chair, Michael Weinberg.
Governmental Affairs Committee - The Governmental Affairs Committee (GAC) was established to serve as a resource to practicing Applied Behavior Analysts and to work to protect the integrity of the profession. The GAC will arrange public testimony at legislative hearings, communicate with stake holders and affiliated organizations, and hold an annual public Committee meeting. Through various advocacy efforts, the GAC will help to achieve legislation, funding, and programs on the state and federal levels in the support of practicing Applied Behavior Analysts. To learn more about the GAC, see the article by Michael Dorsey, Chair of the GAC.
Science Board
The previous issue of the Newsletter contained an update from the Science Board on the Board's creation, membership, mission, and goals in four broad categories: Research Support, Research Dissemination, Scientific Education, and Public Relations.
In the area of Research Support the Science Board has established a Task Force to study and make recommendations to the latest revision of the NIH Guide to the Care and Use of Animals in Laboratory Research. This Task Force (Karen Anderson, Mark Branch, Steve Dworkin [Chair], Tim Hackenberg, Chris Newland, and Ray Pitts) met in Atlanta prior to the SEABA meeting in October to discuss and begin drafting a set of recommendations for Council approval.
With respect to the dissemination of scientific knowledge, the Science Board has established a special track on Translational Science for the 2009 ABAI Convention. The objective of this track will be to highlight cutting-edge translational research in the form of generally accessible overviews of specific research domains that span the continuum from basic science to application. Featured events in this track will be a pair of sessions jointly sponsored by the Science and Practice Boards on behavioral momentum (with presentations by Tony Nevin, Bud Mace, and Jennifer McComas) and stimulus control in autism (Bill McIlvane, Mark Sundberg, and Robert Koegel).
At its fall meeting Council approved two proposals from the Science Board for activities to support Scientific Education: a science-based special topic conference and a summer internship program for highly qualified undergraduate students interested in pursuing careers in behavior analysis science. Following the Fall Council meeting the Science Board convened in Phoenix under the leadership of Board Coordinator Tim Hackenberg to begin planning these activities and other initiatives. A full report of the Science Board's activities and future plans will appear in the next issue of the Newsletter.
Education Board
ABAI's Education Board will hold a strategic planning meeting in Chicago later this fall. The Education Board Coordinator, Charles Merbitz, will lead a working group of Board members, the Coordinators of both the Science and Practice Boards, and representatives of other ABAI standing committees to explore how the Education Board's work can complement and be supported by activities of the Practice and Science Boards.
A future issue of the Newsletter will include an update from the Education Board on its plans.
Accredited Programs, Chapters, and SIGs
At its fall meeting Council approved the recommendation of the Accreditation Committee's site visit team to award ABAI Accreditation for 5 years to the Master's Programs in Applied Behavior Analysis, Organizational Behavior Management, and ABA/OBM in the College of Psychology and Liberal Arts at Florida Institute of Technology. Council also approved the reports from site visit teams recommending that the Master of Science Program in Psychology (emphasis in Behavior Analysis) from the Department of Psychology and Child Development at California State University-Stanislaus and the Master's of Science in Behavior Analysis from the Department of Behavior Analysis at the University of North Texas be re-accredited for a 5-year period. Congratulations to the faculty at these three institutions of higher education for achieving and maintaining graduate programs in behavior analysis with curricula and quality training opportunities for students that meet ABAI's accreditation standards.
Applications to establish two new affiliated chapters (the Association for Advancement of Radical Behavior Analysis [Italy] and Oregon ABA) and a new SIG (the Behavioral Coaching and Counseling Special Interest Group) were also approved by Council. Congratulations to the founders and charter members of these new ABAI-affiliated groups of behavior analysts.
Conferences
ABAI's office staff, boards, and committees continue the never-ending cycles of work required to plan and produce conferences that members find professionally valuable and personally motivating.
2009 Annual Convention
ABAI's 35th Annual Convention to be held in Phoenix next May is shaping up to be the largest meeting of behavior analysts to date. When the submission deadline for the 2009 convention arrived at midnight October 15th, the ABAI office had received a record number of program proposals. The more than 1,600 papers, panels, symposia, and posters submitted by members will be supplemented by numerous workshops, invited addresses, special events, and sessions organized by the Science and Practice Boards.
One highlight of the 2009 convention is sure to be the Presidential Scholar Address by Lonnie G. Thompson, Distinguished University Professor in the School of Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University. One of the world's most renowned paleoclimatologists, Thompson has been described as an "ice hunter," and a "translator" who deciphers messages trapped in ice cores that tell the history of the world's climate. He has led more than 50 expeditions during the last 30 years, to remote ice caps in Peru, Bolivia, China, Antarctica, Russia, Kenya, and other regions. Thompson's findings have resulted in major revisions in the field of paleoclimatology by demonstrating how tropical regions have undergone significant climate variability, countering the earlier view that higher latitudes dominate climate change.
Figure 1. Lonnie G. Thompson
Thompson's research has been featured in hundreds of publications, including National Geographic and the National Geographic Adventure magazines, and is highlighted in An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's documentary film on global warming, for which Thompson was a consultant. One of Time magazine's 2008 Heroes of the Environment, Thompson was identified in the magazine's October 6 issue as one of six scientists and innovators whose work is key to addressing global climate change. Thompson's many honors and awards include the Tyler World Prize for Environmental Achievement (2005), the environmental sciences equivalent of a Nobel Prize, and the U.S. National Medal of Science (2007), the highest honor the United States bestows on an American scientist. The story Thompson's data tell of the history of the Earth's climate and its implications for climactic change should be of great interest to ABAI's membership, as one of the most pressing issues facing humankind is whether we will change our behavior sufficiently enough to protect the environment.
Watch for more information on the 2009 convention in the next issue of the ABAI Newsletter and mark your calendar now for ABAI's 2010 annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas.
2009 International Convention
ABAI's Fifth International Conference will take place August 7-10 in Oslo, Norway. The submission deadline of December 10 is fast approaching. The call for papers and information about the conference hotel and travel to and within Norway, can be accessed at: http://abainternational.org/oslo/index.aspx
2008 Education Conference
ABAI held its first Education Conference September 5-7 in Reston, Virginia. The single-track conference focused on evidence-based education practices. Each of the nine invited presenters addressed the current state of knowledge of evidence-based practices at the research, practice, and/or policy levels. At its fall meeting Council gladly accepted a generous proposal by the Wing Institute to fund the publication of a book of papers derived from the Education Conference presentations. ABAI and the Wing Institute will hold joint copyright to the book. To learn more about the Education Conference, see the article in this issue by ABAI Past President and Education Conference Coordinator, Janet Twyman.
2008 and 2009 Autism Conferences
ABAI's 2nd Autism Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 8-10, 2008. ABAI's 3rd Autism Conference will be held in Jacksonville, Florida February 6-8, 2009. For a report on the 2008 event and information about the 2009 program, see the article in this issue by Maria Malott and Bill Heward.
Other Behavior Analysis Conferences
For a calendar and web links to conferences sponsored by ABAI Affiliated Chapters see Upcoming Conferences section of this issue.
Future Developments and Opportunities
I am confident that ABAI will anticipate and respond positively to future opportunities to contribute to the well being of society by developing, enhancing, and supporting the growth and vitality of behavior analysis. My confidence stems from the knowledge that ABAI's members--you--expect nothing less and will respond as needed to ensure that your organization does so.