Association for Behavior Analysis International

The Company We Keep It is said that we are known by the company we keep. It is a way of acknowledging that we act like those with whom we surround ourselves, particularly as pertains to our core beliefs and values. The core beliefs and values of behavior analysts -- in being decidedly unusual in the history of reflections on the human condition – made for a particularly small group of companions in the early days. It was a group of radical naturalists with high hopes of saving the world by way of a profoundly different understanding of human behavior. That understanding enabled the development of highly efficacious applications, making a place for increasing numbers of practitioners. Ours is, as such, no longer a small group and as the core beliefs and values of large groups tend to have less cohesion than those of their smaller counterparts, it is worth considering whether we can still be known by the company we keep.

Operant Conditioning to Address Poverty-Related Health Disparities Poverty is a pervasive risk factor underlying poor health. Our research shows that operant conditioning can address poverty-related health disparities. This presentation will describe two key findings of this research. 1) Financial reinforcement for HIV viral suppression can maintain long-term HIV viral suppression in low-income adults living with HIV. 2) A reinforcement-based therapeutic workplace can maintain drug abstinence, promote employment, and reduce poverty. Under the therapeutic workplace, unemployed adults are hired and paid to work, and required to provide drug-free urine samples to maintain access to the workplace and/or maximum pay. The therapeutic workplace could serve as a model anti-poverty program, particularly for people with histories of drug addiction or other health problems.

Since 2007, APOPO’s Mine Action Program has released nearly 86 million square meters of land to local communities, freeing over 5.8 million people from the threat of land mines and avoiding an estimated 58,000 injuries and deaths. In 2017, APOPO completed all work in Mozambique after the country was declared to be mine free (a year ahead of schedule). It has now shifted its de-mining efforts to other countries, such as Cambodia, where it is partnering with the Cambodian Mine Action Centre. APOPO is collaborating closely with partners like Humanity Inclusion and Mines Advisory Group to develop iterations of its existing rat and dog mine-detection technology, in order to speed up the process of detecting cluster munition remnants and urban area IEDs‚ which are increasingly becoming important parts of humanitarian mine action. Since 2007, APOPO’s Tuberculosis Program has evaluated hundreds of thousands of samples, identified over 13,000 tuberculosis patients, and prevented an estimated 32,000 additional infections. In Maputo, Mozambique, APOPO’s detection method has led to a 40 percent increase in the tuberculosis detection rate.

All convention registrants are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Shelter cats who exhibit problem behavior are less likely to be adopted and may be euthanized. Functional analysis has been shown useful for identifying the variables that maintain problem behavior in some nonhuman animals. However, traditional functional analysis methodology can be difficult to use in shelter settings. Trial-based functional analyses (TBFAs), which are conducted in the natural environment and require few instances of problem behavior, may be useful. However, the efficacy of TBFAs has not been demonstrated with non-humans. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the TBFA for use with shelter cat problem behavior. TBFAs were conducted on the aggressive behavior of three cats and the results were used to create a function-based interventions. Results showed that problem behaviors were maintained by escape from humans and function-based treatments reduced problem behaviors to below 80% of baseline levels. Implications and practical issues will be discussed.

The field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is facing tumultuous discussion regarding ethics, quality, and organizational status (Silbaugh & El Fattal, 2021). Clinical quality at large ABA agencies requires alignment unilaterally from the executive team through the individual provider to be effective. Identifying and adopting a model that aligns with evidence based practice, safety, compassion, dignity and respect may provide a guiding compass for organizations looking to improve the quality of their services and achieve meaningful outcomes. This symposium includes four presentations that will outline how a nationwide organization has integrated the values of the Practical Functional Assessment (PFA) and Skill Based Treatment (SBT) to develop a Response to Intervention model, called the Foundations to Care, that starts with an entry level behavior intervention plan for all clients, then utilizes the PFA and SBT as components for the assessment and treatment of interfering behavior. The first presentation provides an outline of the major components of the entry level behavior plan, the Foundational Plan and preliminary data from its adoption across initial training and implementation efforts. The second presentation will describe the adoption of the PFA as a functional analysis to inform treatment and organization-wide data supporting its effective and efficient use. The third presentation will highlight the impact of Skill Based Treatment across interfering behaviors and skill acquisition domains. The fourth presentation will provide an overview of the mentorship model used to train clinicians in all components of the Foundations of Care and its effect on clinical practice. The discussant will comment on large-scale adoption of evidence-based, values driven care