Association for Behavior Analysis International

The Association for Behavior Analysis International® (ABAI) is a nonprofit membership organization with the mission 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.

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46th Annual Convention; Washington DC; 2020

CE by Type: PSY


 

Workshop #W3
CE Offered: PSY
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Children on the Autism Spectrum
Thursday, May 21, 2020
4:00 PM–7:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: AUT/DDA; Domain: Applied Research
CE Instructor: Cheryl B. McNeil, Ph.D.
CHERYL B. MCNEIL (West Virginia University), CHRISTOPHER OWEN (West Virginia University), COREY LIENEMAN (West Virginia University), ROBIN HAN (West Virginia University)
Description: Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an evidence-based intervention shown to decrease severe disruptive behaviors in children ages two to seven years. The course of treatment is divided into two phases: child-directed interaction (CDI) and parent-directed interaction (PDI). CDI strengthens the caregiver-child bond, whereas PDI teaches the caregiver to discipline effectively. In CDI, the caregiver practices PRIDE skills (i.e., praise, reflect, imitate, describe, and enjoy) shown to improve the caregiver-child relationship and increase child compliance even at long-term follow-up (Eyberg et al., 2001). Mastery of the PRIDE skills is beneficial for parents and caregivers as well as any individual who has contact with children. The presentation will connect the current ABA treatments PCIT. Clinical presentations of young children with ASD who present with comorbid behavioral difficulties will also be discussed. Specialized issues with this population, including social/communication difficulties and restricted interests, will be addressed. Skills will be described and practiced with regard to individualizing CDI and PDI to fit the unique concerns of children with ASD. Additionally, the workshop will propose a novel third component of PCIT, entitled “Social Directed Interaction” (SDI), in which the caregiver coaches the child to engage in pro-social behaviors while interacting with other children and adults.
Learning Objectives: 1) Model child-directed interaction skills 2) Explain the theoretical rationale and empirical evidence for providing PCIT to children on the autism spectrum (PCIT-ASD) 3) Discuss specialized issues and comorbid difficulties using PCIT-ASD 4) Critique new techniques related to social skills training.
Activities: Attendees will obtain learning objectives through lecture, demonstration, video modeling, interactive role-play, and small group breakouts. Core content will be taught through lecture, demonstrations, and video modeling. Interactive role-play and small group breakouts will be used to supplement and support participant learning.
Audience: This workshop is targeted for junior BCBAs, BCBAs, and BCBA-Ds.
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): Disruptive Behavior, Evidence-based Treatment, Parent-Child Interaction
 
Workshop #W5
CE Offered: PSY/BACB — 
Ethics
Standing up for Science: Ethical Challenges and Opportunities for Behavior Analysts Working in the Autism Community
Thursday, May 21, 2020
4:00 PM–7:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: AUT/CSS; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: David A. Celiberti, Ph.D.
DAVID A. CELIBERTI (Association for Science in Autism Treatment), ERIN S. LEIF (Monash University )
Description: There are literally hundreds of interventions for autism, although the vast majority of these lack any scientific support. Unfortunately, approaches that are not grounded in science prevail in many schools and centers, fringe treatments are afforded widespread media coverage distracting consumers and separating individuals with autism from science-based intervention such as ABA, and the internet is filled with misinformation and unsubstantiated claims. This presents ethical challenges and opportunities for behavior analysts. Science and scientific methods are not only relevant to discussions surrounding autism treatment selection but should serve as the foundation upon which treatments should be chosen, implemented, and evaluated. This workshop will highlight the role that behavior analysts can play in helping consumers, consultees, supervisees and other colleagues choose interventions, implement those interventions with high degrees of fidelity and transparent, as well as in objectively evaluating outcomes. Strategies for promoting science and the scientific method in both practice and in communication will be discussed throughout the workshop as they interface with our ethical responsibilities and what is known about evidence-based practice.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, workshop participants will be able to: 1. identify and describe red flags in autism treatment, recurring media misrepresentations, and diverse perspectives on treatment selection and explain the ethical concerns that result; 2. demonstrate a broader conceptualization of how the tenets of applied behavior analysis can be both a model and a framework for delivering science-based education and treatment regardless of discipline and highlight the implications conceptually and procedurally; 3. describe challenges for behavior analysts related to interdisciplinary collaboration, consumer education, and interacting with members of the media community and describe strategies for avoiding or reducing the impact of these challenges; and 4. identify specific and sustainable contributions that can be made to promote science in the treatment of autism across disciplines, as well as within interactions with the media community and consumers
Activities: Instructional strategies will include lecture, small group exercises, and follow up feedback and discussion. Original source material from the media will be incorporated in the workshop and discussion. Very brief role plays will be included as warranted.
Audience: The workshop level is intermediate but would be suitable for behavior analytic teaching faculty, BCBAs involved in supervision and consultation, as well as BCBAs working with multi-disciplinary teams.
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Intermediate
 
Workshop #W9
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Referent-Based Verbal Behavior Instruction
Thursday, May 21, 2020
4:00 PM–7:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: AUT/VRB; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: Alonzo Alfredo Andrews, M.A.
ALONZO ALFREDO ANDREWS (The University of Texas at San Antonio), LEE L MASON (Cook Children's Health Care System; Texas Christian University)
Description: Skinner’s (1957) analysis of verbal behavior deconstructed language according to stimulus control. Although the functional independence of these verbal operants has been empirically demonstrated, more commonly, speaker’s verbal behavior is induced by a convergence of controlling stimuli. However, circumscribed stimulus control may inhibit the development of complex verbal repertoires for some individuals, including those with autism spectrum disorders. For this reason, in this workshop, we describe a behavior analytic intervention with the overarching goal of establishing multiple control over verbal behavior through the conditioning of referent stimuli.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe the strength of verbal operants in relation to one another; (2) demonstrate prompting and fading of verbal operants; and (3) demonstrate the process for transferring stimulus control across verbal operants
Activities: Workshop objectives will be met through a balanced presentation of lecture, video modeling, role-playing, and workbook demonstrations. Core content will be taught through lecture and video demonstrations of strategies will be provided. Guided notes will be provided in order to support participant learning.
Audience: This workshop is geared towards Board Certified Behavior Analysts, Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts, Registered Behavior Technicians, special education teachers, school psychologists, speech language pathologists, and other professionals who provide direct services to strengthen the language of children with autism. (Ideally, this workshop will follow our other workshop submission on the Verbal Behavior Stimulus Control Ratio Equation)
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Basic
Keyword(s): control transfer, generative instruction, high-p sequence, verbal behavior
 
Workshop #W10
CE Offered: PSY/BACB
Strategies for Rapidly Assessing Skills and Developing Comprehensive, Prioritized Intervention Plans for Individuals With Autism Based on Developmental Patterns of Typically Developing Children
Thursday, May 21, 2020
4:00 PM–7:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: AUT/VRB; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: James W. Partington, Ph.D.
JAMES W. PARTINGTON (Behavior Analysts, Inc.)
Description: This workshop is designed for consultants to learn how to quickly assess skills and design comprehensive intervention programs for children with autism. Many funding sources limit the time consultants have to conduct an assessment and design an intervention program. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct comprehensive, yet time-efficient assessments that lead to the development of effective educational programs. It is necessary to prioritize learning objectives are selected for those basic language and learner skills that allow students to learn from their everyday interactions with others. To facilitate a rapid acquisition of critical skills, it is important that specific learning objectives are based on the patterns of skill development of neurotypical children. Participants will compare the skill levels of young children with autism to the age-equivalent skills of typically developing children from a peer-reviewed journal publication. Participants will learn to analyze programs for nonverbal individuals and select learning objectives that identify the skills necessary to develop instructional control and to establish an initial verbal repertoire. Participants will also learn to analyze programs for an individual who has basic mand, tact, and intraverbal skills, and select learning objectives that will lead to development of more advanced language and social interaction skills.
Learning Objectives: 1. Participants will be able to state strategies to rapidly assess the basic language and learning skills of young students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. 2. Participants will be able to state strategies for developing a prioritized set of learning objectives based upon a student’s current set of skills. 3. Participants will be able to compare the existing skill levels of a child with an autism spectrum disorder with the age-equivalent skills of typically developing children.
Activities: The workshop will begin with a pre-assessment of the workshop participants’ abilities in reviewing a brief description of a student’s skills and then identifying repertoires that should be the focus of an intervention plan. A presentation on how to rapidly assess a student’s basic language and learning skills will be provided, followed by a presentation of data from a peer-reviewed journal article regarding data of neurotypical children’s skills measured on the ABLLS-R from 6 months to 7 years of age. The patterns of skill development across multiple repertoires of typically developing children will then be reviewed and discussed with the participants. A review and discussion of both early learner and advanced learner profiles will be conducted to identify prioritized learning objectives for each type of student. Finally, a post-assessment of the participants’ abilities in assessing and identifying appropriate learning objectives will be conducted.
Audience: This workshop is designed at an intermediate level for Board Certified Behavior Analysts who have had some experience assessing skills and implementing teaching strategies who now wish to further develop their ability to quickly assess the skills and develop effective educational programs for children with a diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): autism treatment, program development, rapid assessment, verbal behavior
 
Workshop #W11
CE Offered: PSY/BACB
Toilet Training for Individuals With Autism and Developmental Disabilities: Assessment to Treatment - Day to Night
Thursday, May 21, 2020
4:00 PM–7:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: AUT/DDA; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: Frank R. Cicero, Ph.D.
FRANK R. CICERO (Seton Hall University)
Description: Research indicates that behavioral toileting methods continue to be effective for individuals with and without disabilities. The current workshop will present the audience with empirically supported procedures for toilet training individuals on the autism spectrum using a variety of methods consistent with the principles of ABA. First, a brief review of the literature on toilet training will provide the audience with background information showing empirical support for behavioral principles and procedures. Seminal articles in the field of ABA will be discussed. Next, the presenter will discuss the importance of conducting an objective assessment of problem skill areas so that treatment procedures can be properly individualized and designed. Assessment procedures and functional hypotheses will be discussed targeting both urination and bowel movement accidents. Data will include narrative ABC data, frequency counts and scatter plots. The details of a reinforcement-based urination training procedure will be presented. The audience will be presented with a task analysis for how to run the procedure and analyze treatment results. The presenter will then outline the details of assessment, treatment, data analysis and evaluation for bowel training. An emphasis will be placed on functional assessment for bowel accidents so that treatment can be tailored to function.
Learning Objectives: 1. Through this workshop, audience members will be able to conduct a behavioral assessment of toilet training issues and needs. 2. The audience members will be able to design and implement an effective urination training intervention. 3. The audience members will be able to design and implement an effective bowel training intervention. 4. The audience members will learn how to collect data for a toileting intervention in order to make useful data-based treatment decisions
Activities: Workshop activities will include didactic instruction by the presenter guided by a power point (which will be distributed as a hand out), discussion of distributed materials including assessment protocols, data sheets, task analyses and sample treatment plans, role plays of treatment strategies, group discussion and the answering of audience questions. Discussion of case examples and case data will also be provided.
Audience: The workshop content will be at the intermediate level. Basic principles and procedures of applied behavior analysis will be described related to how they can be used in toilet training interventions, however the workshop is not designed to teach these basic principles and procedures for people who are unfamiliar with ABA.
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): bowel training, enuresis, toilet training, urination
 
Workshop #W14
CE Offered: PSY/BACB
When Peek-a-Boo Fails: How to Teach Eye Gaze to Young Children With Autism
Thursday, May 21, 2020
4:00 PM–7:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: AUT/DDA; Domain: Applied Research
CE Instructor: Ivana Krstovska, Ph.D.
IVANA KRSTOVSKA (Lehman College, City University of New York)
Description: Impairment in eye gaze is one of the earliest symptoms identified in infants later diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Eye gaze impairment interferes with successful attention to environmental stimuli necessary for building the foundation of early social communication. As a result, the learning process of young learners with ASD is negatively affected. This workshop will first review the research on eye gaze interventions across both requesting and joint attention contexts. Prerequisite skills required for eye gaze will be identified next. Specific procedures to teach eye gaze across different social-communicative contexts, including requesting and joint attention will be described as well as planning for generalization. Video clips of typically developing toddlers and toddlers with ASD engaging in eye gaze will be viewed, followed by a guided practice of various prompting and prompt fading procedures to teach eye gaze. Strategies to decrease response effort during instruction will be discussed to help avoid the development of problem behavior during intervention.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the workshop, the participant will be able to: 1. assess and, if necessary, teach prerequisite skills needed for eye gaze 2. teach eye gaze in different social-communication contexts 3. decrease response effort to engage in eye gaze 4. plan for skill generalization and maintenance
Activities: This workshop will include a lecture, video observation, discussion, and guided practice. Supplemental materials with written procedures for each targeted skill will be provided to participants at the beginning of the workshop.
Audience: This workshop is developed for practitioners who work with young children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders as direct service providers, supervisors, trainers or consultants in the early intervention program and preschool special education facilities as well as those who provide Applied Behavior Analytic home-based services.
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Advanced
 
Workshop #W15
CE Offered: PSY/BACB — 
Ethics
Comprehensive Program Evaluation of Individualized Intensive Behavioral Intervention for Autism in the Lovaas Model
Thursday, May 21, 2020
4:00 PM–7:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: AUT/OBM; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: Eric V. Larsson, Ph.D.
ERIC V. LARSSON (Lovaas Institute Midwest; University of Minnesota)
Description: This workshop will present the four main purposes, methods, and outcomes of comprehensive program evaluation of a widely recognized EIBI program: the Lovaas model: 1) to ensure that each family is receiving the most appropriate level of individualized intervention; 2) to evaluate the organization’s programming in a manner that contributes to continuous quality improvement; 3) to convey the value of the treatment program to policy makers; and 4) to meet the obligation of the behavior analyst to the field by producing useful research. The evaluation is geared to efficiently identify and develop the most significant objectives for each different child in as short a time frame as possible. The most efficient objectives will entail genuine sustainable generalization in all natural environments. The performance of all team members, parents, and supervisors are managed on a daily, weekly, six-month, and overall basis. Key measures will be presented, including the dynamic program management system. The prescriptive assessment system is multi-modal. It includes criterion-referenced measures, norm-referenced measures, standardized measures, treatment integrity, resource utilization, reliability, social validity, and individualized behavior analyses. A substantial body of research on 246 children served over 15 years will be presented.
Learning Objectives: The participant will be able to describe: 1) the important context variables for giving parents the opportunity to give genuine informed consent to treatment. 2) a variety of assessments of child response to treatment. 3) a system for generating an individualized prescriptive prognosis for EIBI every six months. 4) measures that convey the value of the treatment program to policy makers. 5) the results of a comprehensive research program.
Activities: The format includes, lecture, video-taped models, models of evaluation materials, and question-and-answer discussions of challenges being faced by participants in their own program evaluation activities.
Audience: Advanced clinicians, administrators, and advocates.
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Advanced
Keyword(s): EIBI, Informed Consent, Outcomes, Program Evaluation
 
Workshop #W18
CE Offered: PSY/BACB — 
Ethics
Help for BCBAs With Challenging Ethical Dilemmas: Avoiding Multiple Relationships, Confidentiality, and Limits to Confidentiality
Thursday, May 21, 2020
4:00 PM–7:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: CBM/CSS; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: Jeannie A. Golden, Ph.D.
JEANNIE A. GOLDEN (East Carolina University)
Description: Similar to psychologists and other helping professionals, BCBAs have several ethical responsibilities including: avoiding multiple relationships, confidentiality and limits to confidentiality when someone is at-risk for hurting themselves or others or being hurt by others. Although BCBAs may be aware of what these ethical responsibilities are, they may not have had the training to deal with these complicated and sometimes threatening situations. The workshop presenter is a licensed psychologist in addition to a BCBA-D and has had much experience supervising professionals, including BCBAs, who are faced with these daunting situations. This workshop will provide BCBAs and other professionals knowledge of and practice with handling these situations. Workshop participants can bring real or hypothetical ethical dilemmas to process, as well as hear about case scenarios and participate in roleplay situations. Behavior Skills Training (BST), which is an evidence-based procedure recommended for use in supervision, will be used to aid participants in becoming more skilled and confident in handling these challenging ethical dilemmas. Participants will be provided with specific tools that might be helpful in solving challenging ethical dilemmas (problem solving model, fidelity checklists, safety assessment form) and given information on how to use these tools.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to: 1. Describe the reasons why ethical dilemmas of avoiding multiple relationships, confidentiality and limits to confidentiality when someone is at-risk for hurting themselves or others or being hurt by others are so challenging 2. Describe the problem-solving process for dealing with challenging ethical dilemmas and how it was used in specific case scenarios 3. Describe the use of Behavior Skills Training (BST), including instructions, modeling, rehearsal and feedback, to aid participants in becoming more skilled and confident in handling these challenging ethical dilemmas 4. Describe the use of specific tools that might be helpful in solving challenging ethical dilemmas (problem solving model, fidelity checklists, safety assessment form)
Activities: The participants will listen to lecture and case examples of ethical dilemmas. They will also have discussion, role play ethical dilemmas and receive feedback on how these were handled. They will also be exposed to current literature regarding ethical dilemmas.
Audience: BCBAs, psychologists, social workers, guidance counselors, teachers, administrators
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): confidentiality limits, ethical dilemmas, multiple relationships, suicide ideation
 
Workshop #W36
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/NASP
Improving Classroom Behavior Support Through Applied Behavior Analysis
Friday, May 22, 2020
8:00 AM–11:00 AM
To Be Determined
Area: EDC/AUT; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: Robert F. Putnam, Ph.D.
ROBERT F. PUTNAM (May Institute), ERIK MAKI (May Institute), SACHA KG SHAW (Endicott College )
Description: This workshop will provide behavior analysts a review of the research on evidence-based practices in classwide behavior support (Simonsen & Fairbanks, Briesch, Myers, & Sugai, 2008; Simonsen et al., 2015; Reinke, Herman & Sprick, 2011). These practices include: 1) antecedent practices (physical layout, classroom expectations, behavioral routines, teaching expectations and routines, precorrections, active supervision); 2) instructional management (opportunities to respond), 3) reinforcement practices (contingent behavioral-specific praise, group contingencies, and token economies, behavioral contracts) and consequence (planning ignoring, explicit reprimands, differential reinforcement, response cost, and timeout). The workshop will go over the use of classwide functional assessment as a method to systematically evaluate the classroom environment to design and implement effective classroom-wide behavioral support practices. Once the environment is assessed, the model incorporates both indirect (i.e., lecture, written training materials) and direct (i.e., modeling, performance feedback) instruction. Finally, participants will learn how teachers participate in a data-based decision-making process to establish more effective practices, procedures, and interactions with students. Data (Swain-Bradway et al., 2017) will be presented supporting the need for a comprehensive training method that includes both direct instruction and performance feedback for teachers to implement classroom-wide behavior support practices with integrity.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) apply functional assessment strategies to the selection and implementation of effective classroom-wide practices; 2) use evidence-based methods used to train teachers in evidenced based classroom-wide behavior support practices; 3) use a data-based decision process used with teachers to modify classroom behavior support practices, and; 4) use instructional and behavior support practices that establish more effective interactions between teachers and students and increase on task behavior.
Activities: Participants will learn how to: 1) apply functional assessment strategies to the selection and implementation of effective classroom-wide practices; 2) use evidence-based methods used to train teachers in evidenced-based classroom-wide behavior support practices; 3) a data-based decision process used with teachers to modify classroom behavior support practices, and; 4) instructional and behavior support practices that establish more effective interactions between teachers and students and increase on-task behavior.
Audience: Behavior analysts who consult to classrooms both in public school districts and/or private schools who desire to develop their consultation skills to improve both instructional practices and/or on-task behavior of students.
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Intermediate
 
Workshop #W40
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP — 
Supervision
Training Caregivers in Schools and Human Services: From Research to Practice
Friday, May 22, 2020
8:00 AM–3:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: AUT/DDA; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: Peter Sturmey, Ph.D.
PETER STURMEY (The Graduate Center and Queens College, City University of New York)
Description: 1. Behavioral Skills Training (BST) has been widely adopted in educational and residential services as a method to train socially significant, evidence-based skills that result in improvements in the skills of typical children and adults and with children and adults with developmental disabilities. 2. There are hundreds and small N experiments and tens of randomized controlled trials demonstrating the effectiveness, efficiency and acceptability of BST. 3. These studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals, such as JABA. 4. The content relates to ethical, legal, statutory and regulatory guidelines and standards such as: (1) ABAI's and BCBA ethical guidelines that practitioners should be competent and use effective evidence-based practices; (2) legal requirements to do no harm or minimize harm by having trained caregivers; and (3) strategies used by services to mitigate risks and liabilities by having competent staff and use evidence-based practices.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1)describe how to conduct a training needs assessment for their organization; (2)describe the components of behavioral skills training (BST); (3) conduct an adequate task analysis of a teaching skill; (4) describe a training procedure that incorporates role play scripts using strategies to promote generalization of skill; (5) describe strategies to develop pyramidal training; describe strategies to develop and evaluate system-wide caregiver training programs.
Activities: The workshop will include (1) didactic / lecture presentations on research that forms the basis for skills training; (2) written exercises to write tasks analyses, training procedures, general case and multiple case training analyses of caregiver performances; (3) varied videomodels of BST; and (4) group discussions of applications and development of plans.
Audience: This intermediate workshop will be appropriate for advances graduate students, Masters and Doctoral level practitioners, program administrators and faculty teaching classes in ABA.
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): parent training, pyramidal training, staff training
 
Workshop #W45
CE Offered: PSY/BACB
Providing Sexual Education for Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Disabilities Through the Use of Behavior Analytic Assessment and Instruction
Friday, May 22, 2020
8:00 AM–3:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: AUT/DDA; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: Frank R. Cicero, Ph.D.
FRANK R. CICERO (Seton Hall University), SORAH STEIN (Partnership for Behavior Change)
Description: Sexual behavior is a topic that will be an issue for many individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities at some point in their lives. Although specific issues vary, many issues are related to deficits in social skills. ABA treatments can be effective in promoting appropriate behaviors of a sexual topography though targeting related social behaviors. This workshop will focus on ABA strategies useful for individuals with developmental disabilities including individuals on the autism spectrum. The workshop will begin with an overview of general issues regarding sexuality development. Consistent with ethical standards, a brief overview of the physiology of human sexual behavior will be provided so that behavior analysts can identify situations where medical issues may be present. We will then address problem sexual behavior through functional assessment and discuss replacement treatments based on function. We will then move into more specific topics which could be included within an ABA sexual education curriculum. Treatment strategies will include reinforcement-based shaping, differential reinforcement, discrimination training, video modeling, task analyses, picture activity schedules, scripts and script fading, and social stories. Empirically supported literature and data will be presented where applicable and available. Topics related to ethics and consent will be discussed.
Learning Objectives: 1. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to state common issues experienced by people with developmental disabilities and ASD as related to appropriate and problem behaviors of a sexual topography, 2. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to develop 2-3 teaching programs for skill acquisition of sexual behaviors using techniques and theories consistent with applied behavior analysis, 3. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to conduct a functional assessment of problem behavior as it relates to sexual behavior and develop a behavior intervention plan based on the function, 4. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to list considerations associated with consent.
Activities: Workshop content will be taught through the following activities: 1. Didactic instruction by the presenters, 2. Group discussion, 3. Presentation and review of teaching materials, 4. Role play and practice of presented teaching procedures where applicable, 5. Sharing and discussion of research data
Audience: The current workshop content is geared towards the following audience: 1. Intermediate and advanced behavior analysts who have a desire to learn how to apply behavioral principles and teaching methods to the topographies of sexual behavior. 2. Educators and related service professionals who have an advanced behavioral background and work with individuals with developmental issues that have needs in the area of sexual behavior.
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): autism, sex, sex education, sexual behavior
 
Workshop #W47
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/NASP — 
Ethics
Using Adaptive Assessments Ethically in Behavior Analytic Practice
Friday, May 22, 2020
8:00 AM–3:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: CBM/DDA; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: Amanda Keating, Psy.D.
AMANDA KEATING (University of South Florida)
Description: Over the past several years, behavior analysts have been tasked by funders to provide a variety of outcome measures and assessments. However, most behavior analytic programs do not provide training in many of these assessments. In this workshop, the ethical use of two specific adaptive measures will be provided, the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Third Edition (Vineland-3) and the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System, Third Edition (ABAS-3). Each of these instruments will be discussed along with guidance on administration. Case studies will be provided, and participants will practice providing semi-structured interviews with the goal of equipping behavior analysts to utilize the instruments to not only satisfy funders, but to gain valuable information about their behavior programming.
Learning Objectives: 1. List the different options the Vineland-3 and ABAS-3 can be administered and scored. 2. List several advantages of the semi-structured interview format for adaptive skills assessment. 3. Compare and contrast the utility of the Vineland-3 and ABAS-3 for use in behavioral programming.
Activities: This workshop will include lecture, demonstration, discussion, hands-on practice in utilizing the semi-structured interview format, practice with scoring, and case studies for practice with interpretation. Participants will be provided sample protocols.
Audience: Intermediate. The target audience would be practitioners who are seeking training to evaluate the outcomes of such assessments when provided by others or to ethically administer the ABAS-3 or Vineland-3 to consumers following the workshop.
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): ABAS-3, adaptive assessment, insurance requirements, Vineland-3
 
Workshop #W48
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/NASP
Delivering the PAX Good Behavior Game for Clinical and Population-Level Prevention Effects
Friday, May 22, 2020
8:00 AM–3:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: CSS/EDC; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: Dennis D. Embry, Ph.D.
DENNIS D. EMBRY (PAXIS Institute), JASON FRUTH (Ohio Research Solutions)
Description: A sophisticated version of the good behavior game [1-5], used in multiple randomized trials [6-11], significantly reduces in immediate, proximal problematic behaviors [2] and has long-term prevention, intervention and treatment effects on mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders measurable 1, 5, 10-15 years later [12-19]. A Canadian randomized trial reduced DSM disorders at a population level [9], specifically benefitting children with historic disparities. The PAX Good Behavior Game, the official version of the GBG used in randomized comparative effectiveness trials, is more sophisticated than the original ABA studies [2, 4, 10, 11]—yet not well known among ABAI professionals [2, 20]. All randomized trials of the PAX GBG are by independent scientists, with no economic ties to the program. Independent studies of bare bones versions of GBG, without the relational frame, Premack reinforcers, and others evidence-based kernels have either no effect or iatrogenic effects on behavioral health indicators [21, 22]. PAX GBG is explicitly designed to create generalization across people, activities, behaviors, and settings—including to home, after school settings, etc. This workshop details how PAX GBG can be supported by ABA specialists [23, 24] in the context of educational laws, health-care services, and population-level implementations in eight states already to reduce psychiatric and behavioral disorders at population-level.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to: (1) facilitate schools and communities in the adoption and delivery of the PAX Good Behavior Game in classroom settings for children with appropriate DSM diagnoses and/or supporting social justice for children, families, and communities with historic disparities; (2) reinforce PAX GBG implementation for effective outcomes that reduce challenging behavior, improve in social and academic skills, and address special education issues; (3) assist measurement, monitoring and reinforcement of teacher implementation, child behavior change, and generalization across people, places, and time.
Activities: Lecture, small group activities, large group activities
Audience: Applied behavior analysts working in schools, after-school centers, autism centers, and congregate care settings
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Advanced
 
Workshop #W50
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/NASP
Two-for-One Teaching: A Relational Frame Theory Approach to Integrating Social-Emotional Learning Into Academic Instruction
Friday, May 22, 2020
8:00 AM–3:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: EDC/DEV; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: Jonathan Weinstein, Ph.D.
JONATHAN WEINSTEIN (VA Hudson Valley HCS), LAUREN POROSOFF (Empowerforwards.com)
Description: In this highly experiential, make-and-take workshop, we’ll learn protocols that incorporate values work into academic units. Informed by evidence-based psychological science, the workshop will involve writing, drawing, food metaphors, Relational Frame Theory, making stuff you can use, and empowering students to become the people they want to be. As a set of Tier 1 interventions that teachers can incorporate flexibly into their classrooms, students learn to do meaningful academic work while also learning how they want to approach their education, their work, their surroundings, and each other. After learning each protocol by doing it ourselves, we’ll reflect on the process and see an example of what it looks like in a classroom. Then, based on what we’ve just learned, we’ll create materials so we can use the protocols with our students. Along the way, we’ll discover how some of the psychological science of empowering students discover and do what matters to them, and we’ll learn how to structure units to incorporate SEL into every stage.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: 1. Lead six protocols that augment the functions of academic tasks to also include perspective-taking, values exploration, and committed action. 2. Name the three elements of deictic framing and describe its benefits in the classroom. 3. Describe the difference between conditional and hierarchical framing and their relative benefits in the classroom. 4. Explain how deictic and hierarchical framing function in six protocols. 5. Identify six stages of an academic unit. 6. Design academic units to include social-emotional learning at every stage.
Activities: Instructional strategies include the following work: 1. Experiential: Learn a protocol you can use with students by trying it yourself. 2. Reflective: Debrief the experience and examine how it can apply to your practice. 3. Generative: Based on what you’ve just learned, make something to use in your own work. 4. Iterative: Repeat this cycle so that you’re building a unit throughout the day. Audience members will mostly work in small groups. There will be several short didactic presentations.
Audience: This is a workshop for classroom teachers across the age span from middle school to post-secondary educational settings.
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Basic
Keyword(s): Tier-1 Intervention
 
Workshop #W58
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA — 
Ethics
The Evolution of a Science: A Brief History of Behavior Analysis in the Twentieth Century
Friday, May 22, 2020
8:00 AM–3:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: PCH/TBA; Domain: Theory
CE Instructor: A. Charles Catania, Ph.D.
A. CHARLES CATANIA (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)
Description: This history of our science reviews its origins and the co-evolution of basic and applied research in the context of major world events. Precursors through 1900 include Darwin and Thorndike. 1900s: Behavior emerges as a subject matter; 1910s: Watson's Behaviorist Manifesto; 1920s: Learning theorists; 1930s: Skinner joins Keller at Harvard, later writes Behavior of Organisms; 1940s: World War II leads to shaping, Walden Two, other innovations; 1950s: The Cold War provides context for Science and Human Behavior, Verbal Behavior; SEAB and JEAB founded; 1960s: The science grows despite cognitive-behavioral culture wars; JABA founded; our own organizations develop; applications and basic work grow side by side (e.g., "psychotic children"; time out); 1970s: Applications foster founding of programs; international extensions grow; the field, with roots in psychology, sees a viable future outside it; 1980s: Treatments of autism, self-injury, etc., establish conditions for credentialing and professional extensions; 1990s: Behavior analysis thrives mainly in cultural niches, but an explosion of applications brings increasing recognition; The 21st Century: Where do we go from here? (This workshop is based on a book in progress with Nancy Neef and Victor Laties as co-authors. It will probably be Catania's last ABAI workshop.)
Learning Objectives: 1. Participants should be able to describe how basic concepts (reinforcement, the operant, the 3-term contingency) evolved and played a role in the expanding influence of behavior analysis. 2. Participants should be able to outline how basic and applied dimensions of behavior analysis evolved in combination in the early history of the field, then separated mainly for practical editorial reasons, and eventually came back together to provide reciprocal benefits in translational studies and in the basic questions raised by applications. 3. Participants should be able to identify the innovations of major founders of behavior analysis, especially including Keller, Skinner, Schoenfeld, Ferster and Sidman. 4. Participants should be able to describe how the work of the major founders contributed to education in general and the education of those on the autism spectrum in particular. 5. Participants should be able to identify the 20th century contexts within which the major features of behavior analysis were created and evolved. 6. Participants should be able to identify factors that led to negative views of behavior analysis within the general culture: from aircribs and timeout and use of punishment to issues of verbal behavior and human freedom.
Activities: This workshop will consist of lecture organized by decades of the twentieth century, with breaks (usually between decades) for discussion and for exercises in historical fact-checking.
Audience: The content should be of interest to all behavior analysts, and especially to those relatively new to the field. It should also be useful for those who teach either basic or applied courses or practica and who wish to enrich the discussion of our history and the origins of our behavioral tools and methods. The workshop will demonstrate the cumulative nature of central concepts and will also emphasize how basic and applied research developed side by side from the very beginning. Early behavior analysts didn't even make the distinction, which came relatively late as a consequence of managing the practicalities of journal editing. To the extent that the two approaches have moved apart, translational research is drawing them back together.
Content Area: Theory
Instruction Level: Basic
Keyword(s): application milestones, behavior-analysis founders, experimental milestones, theoretical milestones
 
Workshop #W63
CE Offered: PSY/BACB
Executive Functioning and Autism: Applications Within Applied Behavior Analysis
Friday, May 22, 2020
12:00 PM–3:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: AUT/EDC; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: Sarah B. Woldoff, Ph.D.
SARAH B. WOLDOFF (Arcadia University)
Description: The goal of a neuropsychological evaluation is to comprehensively assess and identify strengths and weaknesses across multiple areas. The evaluation measures such areas as attention, problem solving, memory, language, I.Q., visual-spatial skills, academic skills, and social-emotional functioning. Some children referred for an evaluation may already have a known learning disorder or other diagnoses such as Autism. Recommendations for particular therapies and methods as they relate to specific diagnoses stemming from the neuropsychological assessment can also be made and can be combined with other evaluations such as Functional Behavior Assessment. Executive functioning skills are critical for academic success both within the classroom and in the real world. Deficits in executive functioning are often seen in students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These behaviors include long-term planning, time management, using feedback effectively, controlling impulses, and utilizing organization skills. These deficits also contribute to poor social interactions, cognitive functioning, emotional and behavioral development, as well as learning and academic achievement and should be considered when establishing.
Learning Objectives: Describe how executive functions impact individuals with autism spectrum disorder Become familiar with interventions that support executive functioning difficulties Identify practical recommendations to create supports to create and use at home, in school, or in the community.
Activities: The format will combine lecture and small group activities and discussion. Attendees will receive guided notes, a resource packet, and glossary of terms to take home.
Audience: The workshop would be beneficial to PreK through high school teachers, RBTs, BCABA's, BCBA's, and other community service providers
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): Executive Functioning, Goal Setting
 
Workshop #W74
CE Offered: PSY/BACB — 
Ethics
Behavior Analysis of Seizures
Friday, May 22, 2020
4:00 PM–7:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: BPN/DDA; Domain: Applied Research
CE Instructor: John C. Neill, Ph.D.
JOHN C. NEILL (Long Island University)
Description: Up to 50% of individuals with severe developmental disabilities have epilepsy. Remarkably, behavior analysts are often unaware how epilepsy impairs their client's ability to learn and remember contingencies of reinforcement. Individuals with epilepsy often have behavior disorders which can be exacerbated by seizures. These seizures could be better controlled, and important new skills could be acquired, if the behavior analyst understands epilepsy. A brief review of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and molecular events responsible for seizures and seizure-induced impairments in learning and behavior will be provided. The etiology, genetics and classification of common seizure disorders will be briefly reviewed. Behavioral research on several animal models of seizures will be covered. Developmentally disabled clients are often improperly monitored and over-medicated for seizures. These issues can be avoided with EEG (electroencephalography), which is a crucial test for accurate diagnosis of epilepsy. Workshop participants will learn how to prepare a client for cooperating with the EEG, without sedation or anesthesia. Participants will learn how epileptic seizures change an individual's ability to operate on their environment. Conversely, the environment often modulates seizures. Behavior analysts will benefit their clients who have epilepsy by learning about how to describe, measure and control these relationships in an ethical manner.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the workshop, each participant will be able to: 1. Define an epileptic seizure. 2. Describe some of the developmental and neurological events responsible for epileptic seizures. 3. Recognize the importance of measuring the effects of seizures on learning and behavior. 4. Objectively describe, count and time seizures in relation to environmental conditions. 5. Recognize the importance of reviewing a client's history to determine etiology, and its particular impact on behavioral progress. 6. Recognize the effects of the environment on epileptic seizures. 7. Know how to prepare a client for cooperating with EEG tests, without sedation or anesthesia. 8. Discriminate pseudoepileptic versus epileptic seizures. 8. Manage learning and behavior disorders effectively in clients with epilepsy. 9. Explain some recent research on epilepsy and behavior analysis. 10. Explain how the environment can decrease abnormal brain activity and seizures.
Activities: The workshop activities will include lecture, group discussion, video observation, and interactive activities to test knowledge (using Kahoot). Students will have access to videos, peer reviewed articles and chapters on Research Gate before the conference. Research Gate link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/John_Neill
Audience: Clinical behavior analysts and experimental analysts with an interest in learning effective methods for analyzing seizures and their immediate and long term effects on intellectual functioning, everyday behavior and behavior disorders.
Content Area: Methodology
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): animal models, electroencephalography, epileptic seizures, pseudoepileptic seizures
 
Workshop #W76
CE Offered: PSY/BACB
Assessment and Treatment of Children With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders: Broadening the Lens
Friday, May 22, 2020
4:00 PM–7:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: CBM/DEV; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: Jeannie A. Golden, Ph.D.
JEANNIE A. GOLDEN (East Carolina University)
Description: Traditional counselors view aberrant behaviors as symptoms of underlying constructs that are the reason for these behaviors, while behaviorists view these behaviors as serving an environmental function. FBA identifies the function of aberrant behaviors and acceptable replacement behaviors that serve the same function. Components that are often missing in the analysis of aberrant behaviors include: 1) motivating operations in the form of private events (thoughts and feelings); and 2) learning history with specific Sds for reinforcement or punishment. This workshop will deal with the following: disturbed attachment, callousness and lack of emotionality, oppositional and defiant behaviors, and anxiety and depression.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to: 1. Describe the symptoms of emotional/behavioral disorders as behaviors serving an environmental function 2. Describe the process of conducting FBAs with children with emotional/behavioral disorders 3. Describe the role of learning history in treating with children with emotional/behavioral disorders 4. Describe the role of motivating operations and discriminative stimuli in treating children with emotional/behavioral disorders 5. Describe how to develop and implement function-based treatments for children with emotional/behavioral disorders
Activities: Workshop objectives will be met using lecture, role-play, case presentations, discussion and small-group interaction
Audience: Participants can include BCBAs, teachers, psychologists, psychiatrists, administrators, nurses, counselors, and social workers.
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): behavioral disorders, emotional disorders, function-based treatment, functional assessment
 
Workshop #W82
CE Offered: PSY/BACB — 
Ethics
Risk-Benefit Analysis of Treatments for Severe Problem Behaviors
Friday, May 22, 2020
4:00 PM–7:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: DDA; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: Nathan Blenkush, Ph.D.
NATHAN BLENKUSH (Judge Rotenberg Educational Center), JASON CODERRE (Judge Rotenberg Center), DYLAN PALMER (Judge Rotenberg Educational Center and Simmons University), JOSEPH TACOSIK (Judge Rotenberg Education Center)
Description: Behavior analysts are often part of multidisciplinary teams that treat patients with severe problem behaviors that are refractory to typical interventions. Professionals within and between disciplines do not always agree on the most appropriate treatment approach for a given person. However, there is general agreement that those providing treatment should provide the most effective and least restrictive interventions available. Unfortunately, risk perception and bias sometimes influence decision making to the detriment of the person receiving treatment. Here, we review decision analysis tools that may help inform decisions made by behavior analysts and interdisciplinary teams when treating severe problem behaviors. We review ethical, legal, and regulatory policies that must be considered in relation to treating people with severe problem behaviors.
Learning Objectives: 1. Participants will be able to describe the elements of at least two decision analysis tools associated with treatment selection. 2. Participants will identify at least three potential fallacies or biases associated with risk and clinical decision making. 3. Participants will evaluate at least two treatments using a risk benefit approach.
Activities: The format combines lecture, application of decision analysis, and group discussion.
Audience: Behavior analysts, psychologists, and other professionals who are often confronted with people who emit severe problem behaviors refractory to typical interventions.
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Advanced
Keyword(s): Decision analysis, Risk Perception, Treatment evaluation
 
Workshop #W93
CE Offered: PSY/BACB
Teaching Multiply Controlled Verbal Behavior: Theory and Application
Friday, May 22, 2020
4:00 PM–7:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: VRB/AUT; Domain: Applied Research
CE Instructor: Olga Meleshkevich, Ph.D.
OLGA MELESHKEVICH (ABA Consulting; Simmons University), JUDAH B. AXE (Simmons University)
Description: With early learners, behavior analysts often teach the basic verbal behavior operants, such as mands, tacts, echoics, and simple intraverbals. Once these repertoires are developed, programming should incorporate multiply controlled verbal behavior where more than one antecedent evokes a response. In this workshop, we will define concepts related to multiply controlled verbal behavior, including “verbal conditional discrimination,” joint control, and autoclitic frames. We will describe and illustrate research-based strategies to overcome restricted stimulus control when teaching three types of multiply controlled verbal behavior: (1) listener responding in which a selection response is evoked by a verbal stimulus and a nonverbal stimulus, (2) “intraverbal-tacts” in which a verbal response is evoked by a question about a picture, and (3) multiply controlled intraverbals in which a verbal response is evoked by a multi-part question (e.g., “What do you eat that is yellow?”). Throughout the workshop, we will discuss the roles of echoic behavior and autoclitic frames on shaping generalized verbal behavior repertoires.
Learning Objectives: • Define multiple control in verbal behavior and “verbal conditional discrimination.” • Explain the concepts of “restricted stimulus control” and “overselectivity.” • Describe research-based strategies for teaching verbal conditional discriminations. • Explain how procedures based on analysis of multiple control facilitate generalization within verbal operants.
Activities: lecture, video demonstrations, small-group activities
Audience: behavior analysts, speech-language pathologists, researchers, graduate students, special education teachers
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): autoclitic frames, intraverbal, joint control, multiple control
 
Workshop #W94
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA
The Verbal Behavior SCoRE: Stimulus Control Ratio Equation
Friday, May 22, 2020
4:00 PM–7:00 PM
To Be Determined
Area: VRB/AAB; Domain: Service Delivery
CE Instructor: Lee L Mason, Ph.D.
LEE L MASON (Cook Children's Health Care System), ALONZO ALFREDO ANDREWS (The University of Texas at San Antonio)
Description: Skinner (1957) writes, "It is my belief that something like the present analysis reduces the total vocabulary needed for a scientific account." In many ways, then, this seems to me to be a better way of talking about verbal behavior" (p. 456). Language is a much sought after, yet elusive subject matter for scientific investigation. Skinner (1957) proposed that language fell within the scope of a science of behavior, and was therefore open to functional analysis and interpretation. Over the past 60 years, much has been done to further the scientific explanation, prediction, and control of verbal behavior as a function of environmental variables. This workshop provides a hands-on approach to conducting the Verbal Behavior Stimulus Control Ratio Equation (SCoRE), and analyzing the results of this assessment for developing individualized treatment plans for individuals with autism and other language disorders. Specifically, we describe language as a continuous variable, and explain procedures for assessing verbal behavior deficits. The procedures described in this workshop are empirically supported (Lerman et al., 2005; Mason & Andrews, 2014), and conceptually systematic with a behavior-analytic approach to language assessment and intervention (Mason & Andrews, 2018).
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe the strength of verbal operants in relation to one another; (2) conduct a verbal operant analysis; and (3) identify treatment objectives based upon the results of the SCoRE.
Activities: Workshop objectives will be met through a balanced presentation of lecture, video modeling, role-playing, and workbook demonstrations. Core content will be taught through lecture and video demonstrations of strategies will be provided. Guided notes will be provided in order to support participant learning.
Audience: This workshop is geared towards Board Certified Behavior Analysts, Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts, Registered Behavior Technicians, special education teachers, school psychologists, speech language pathologists, and other professionals who provide direct services to strengthen the language of children with autism.
Content Area: Practice
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Keyword(s): functional analysis, language assessment, stimulus control, verbal behavior
 
Invited Paper Session #23
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
A Search for Efficiency in Teaching Basic Skills to Implement Autism Intervention: Research on Technology-Based Training in Brazil
Saturday, May 23, 2020
10:00 AM–10:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 2, Room 207A
Area: AUT; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Thomas S. Higbee (Utah State University)
CE Instructor: Romariz Barros, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: ROMARIZ BARROS (Federal University of Pará-Brazil; National Institute of Science and Technology on Behavior, Cognition, and Teaching)
Abstract:

The efficiency of behavior analytic intervention to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) increases when it is early, intensive, comprehensive, and long-lasting. This is particularly true for children with moderate to severe impairment. The above-mentioned key elements make behavior analytic intervention often inaccessible for most of the affected population in developing countries, such as Brazil. The main causes for that are: the shortage of trained professionals and the absence of specialized public services. Some of the families have the profile to be trained to participate in the intervention plan. Parental implementation may be an important tool for behavior analysts to deliver interventions with the required intensity, comprehensiveness, and extension. On the other hand, training technicians efficiently is another challenge. In this scenario, research focusing on the advancement of training procedures to develop implementation skills in parents of children diagnosed with ASD and also technicians is helpful. This presentation describes some of our applied research on teaching basic skills to implement behavior-analytic intervention to ASD. We describe our results with instructional video-modeling to teach parents to implement structured teaching and its impact on their respective children. We also compare results of implementation by parents to results of implementation by technicians. Research on training basic skills to implement incidental teaching is also reported, along with data on self-video-monitoring to prevent drifting in implementation by technicians. This research line as a whole is dedicated to developing useful tools for behavior analysts to quickly bring others to help in an intervention plan.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Students and professionals interested in the dissemination of Applied behavior analysis.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) identify the challenge of implementing large-scale, high-quality intervention to ASD in developing countries; (2) understand the importance of teaching technology to overcome such challenge; (3) analyze data concerning to the use of instructional video-modeling and video-monitoring as part of the solution.
 
ROMARIZ BARROS (Federal University of Pará-Brazil; National Institute of Science and Technology on Behavior, Cognition, and Teaching)
Romariz S. Barros is was born in Brazil in 1971. He is a Psychologist graduated at the Federal University of Pará-Brazil and Ph.D. on Experimental Psychology at the University of São Paulo. He has worked as a college professor at the Federal University of Pará-Brazil since 1997. He is currently a Full Professor at the Graduate Program on Theory and Research on Behavior. He is a Behavior Analyst accredited by the Brazilian Association of Psychology and Behavioral Medicine (ABPMC) and a member of the National Institute of Science and Technology on Behavior Cognition and Teaching.
 
 
Invited Tutorial #34
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
SQAB Tutorial: How Advanced Computer Technology can Advance Research and Practice in Behavior Analysis
Saturday, May 23, 2020
10:00 AM–10:50 AM
Marriott Marquis, Level M2, Marquis Ballroom 6
Area: SCI; Domain: Basic Research
PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP CE Offered. CE Instructor: Ellie Kazemi, Ph.D.
Chair: David Roth (B. F. Skinner Foundation)
Presenting Author: ELLIE KAZEMI (California State University, Northridge)
Abstract:

The rapid growth in computer technology means that nearly anything imaginable is either possible or will soon become possible. Behavior analysts, as specialists in learning and behavior, are uniquely trained to become strong collaborators on multidisciplinary teams focusing on projects to advance machine learning, simulation-based experiences, and much more. In this tutorial, I will discuss how we currently leverage such technology in my lab and integrate robotics, virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence (AI) in our behavior analytic research. I will share the outcomes of some of our current research projects as well as my collaborative efforts on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) grants.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe how advanced computer-technology can be utilized in experimental analysis of human behavior; (2) discuss how computer-technology can be utilized to increase accessibility and efficiency of behavior skills training through simulation-based trainings; (3) explain how integration of computer-technology in behavior analytic research and practice can help extend the reach of behavior analysis.
 
ELLIE KAZEMI (California State University, Northridge)

Dr. Kazemi is a Professor at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) where she has developed and teaches undergraduate and graduate coursework in behavior analysis for the past 10 years. She founded the Masters of Science Program in Applied Behavior Analysis in 2010 and has collaborated with the CSUN community to provide graduate students high quality supervision experiences. She currently has two different lines of research. Her applied research interests involve identification of efficient, effective strategies for practical training, supervision, and leadership. Her laboratory research involves leveraging technology (e.g., robotics, virtual or augmented reality) for efficient training and feedback using simulations. She is currently working on several nationwide large projects (e.g., with FEMA and NASA) with a focus on effective training and behavioral outcomes. She has received several mentorship awards including the ABAI Best Mentor Award, the Outstanding Faculty Award, the Outstanding Teaching Award, and the Outstanding Service Award. She has published articles and book chapters on a variety of topics including training, staff turnover, and the use of technology in behavior analysis. She is the leading author of a handbook written for both supervisors and supervisees that is titled, Supervision and Practicum in Behavior Analysis: A Handbook for Supervisees.

 
 
Invited Panel #49A
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/NASP
Obtaining Federal Funding for Behavior Analytic Research: A Panel Discussion With Program Directors
Saturday, May 23, 2020
10:00 AM–10:50 AM
Marriott Marquis, Level M2, Marquis Ballroom 3/4
Area: SCI; Domain: Service Delivery
Chair: M. Christopher Newland (Auburn University)
CE Instructor: M. Christopher Newland, Ph.D.
Panelists: ALAN TOMKINS (National Science Foundation), EMILY DOOLITTLE (Institute of Education Sciences)
Abstract:

This event, coordinated with the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences, will feature program directors (to be announced later) from federal funding agencies relevant to behavior analysis (e.g., NIH, IES, NSF). Program directors will briefly discuss funding priorities of relevance to behavioral scientists, suggest ways to better align behavior analytic proposals with these priorities, and take questions from the audience.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) identify potential funding agencies for behavioral work.; (2) describe current federal funding priorities; (3) identify resources to better advocate their research in proposals; (4) identify resources to write more competitive grant proposals.
ALAN TOMKINS (National Science Foundation)
Dr. Tomkins is deputy division director, NSF Social and Economic Division, Directorate of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences. He has served on the editorial boards of American Psychologist, Behavioral Sciences & the LawExpert Evidence: The International Digest of Human Behaviour Science and LawLaw and Human Behavior, and American Journal of Community Psychology.
EMILY DOOLITTLE (Institute of Education Sciences)
Dr. Doolittle is the National Center for Education Research Team Lead for Social Behavioral Research. She takes a lead role in writing NCER’s requests for applications and works closely with a wide-variety of researchers to provide technical assistance both individually and through webinars and workshops on IES grant writing and the application process. She received her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Chicago. 
 
 
B. F. Skinner Lecture Series Paper Session #52
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Post-Traumatic Problems in Living
Saturday, May 23, 2020
11:00 AM–11:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 1, Salon C
Area: CBM; Domain: Service Delivery
Chair: Amy Murrell (University of North Texas)
CE Instructor: Amy Murrell, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: SONJA BATTEN (Flexible Edge Solutions)
Abstract:

Traumatic experiences can have significant, and long-lasting, effects on the individuals who survive them. Frequently, clients who live through trauma experience a host of behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and physical health problems. When these individuals come to therapy, most of them are hoping that they will be able to eliminate the nightmares, memories, anger, anxiety, and other posttraumatic symptoms that they experience. In fact, most of them have tried many things (such as isolation, substance abuse, even suicide attempts) to manage these symptoms. However, what many of these individuals fail to realize is that their heroic efforts to avoid the pain of their posttraumatic experiences may actually be making things worse - and may even be the heart of the problem. In many ways, despite their best efforts, trauma survivors frequently find themselves trapped in a life that is largely devoted to the avoidance of pain. Effective empirically supported treatments for posttraumatic symptoms have been developed to aid trauma survivors in improving traditional PTSD symptoms. However, they are not universally effective, and not all clients are willing to engage in exposure-based treatment. In addition, given the high levels of psychiatric comorbidity with PTSD, treatments are needed that can cut across diagnostic categories and begin to treat presenting problems based on functional dimensions. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a contemporary behavior therapy, provides an alternative to the feel-good agenda and instead focuses on helping clients to reconnect with those ideals and principles for living that are deeply important to them and that dignify the difficult events that they have survived. This presentation will introduce clinicians to contextual behavioral tools to work with trauma survivors on identifying each person’s valued life directions and then help motivate experiential acceptance and behavior change in the service of those values.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Clinicians, supervisors, students

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe an understanding of posttraumatic problems in living based on a framework of experiential avoidance; (2) adapt traditional exposure-based interventions for an acceptance-based model; (3) promote life changes by helping clients move toward their values, rather than away from their pain.
 
SONJA BATTEN (Flexible Edge Solutions)
Sonja V. Batten, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist with a specialization in traumatic stress, who has worked in policy, clinical, and research leadership positions in the public and private sectors. Dr. Batten is a peer-reviewed ACT trainer, a Past-President and Fellow of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, the author of Essentials of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and the co-author of Committed Action in Practice. Dr. Batten is an experienced leader with a demonstrated history of working in the management consulting and health care industries. She is also a certified Change Management Practitioner and an experienced Executive Coach and Mentor.
 
 
Invited Paper Session #54
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
TRAUMA: Behavioral and Neurological Perspectives on Trauma
Saturday, May 23, 2020
11:00 AM–11:50 AM
Marriott Marquis, Level M4, Liberty I-L
Chair: Carla H. Lagorio (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire)
CE Instructor: Carla H. Lagorio, Ph.D.
Presenting Authors: PATRICK C. FRIMAN (Boys Town), K. MATTHEW LATTAL (Oregon Health)
Abstract: Non-scientifically oriented clinicians and counselors have coopted the concept of trauma, established a related dogma, and attempted with some success to keep behaviorally oriented professionals at bay. This is tricky territory. The concept has been used to label and/or describe so many different types of human experience that it has become almost meaningless. It has no operational definition, at least not one widely accepted. Yet on closer inspection, regardless of its definition, the concept would seem perfectly suited for a behavioral analysis. In the simplest of terms, trauma appears to refer to aversive events that dramatically increase the negative reinforcement associated with avoidance of events that are topographically and/or functionally related to those events. The amount of avoidance exhibited by afflicted individuals impairs their diurnal and nocturnal functioning. The most effective approach would almost certainly involve escape extinction. However, because of the highly politicized nature of the concept, language describing that approach would almost certainly have to have more colloquial features in order to recruit any acceptance outside the field of behavioral analysis. This presentation will discuss trauma from that perspective.
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students. 

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) discuss approaches to PTSD and addiction; (2) discuss the persistent effects of trauma; (3) discuss ways to suppress fearful behaviors and drug-seeking behaviors; (4) discuss the neurobiological changes associated with trauma.
 
Trauma Drama: A Behavior Analytic Perspective on Trauma
PATRICK C. FRIMAN (Boys Town)
Abstract: A common finding from rodent studies of drug abuse is that acute or chronic stress can reinstate drug-seeking behavior after extinction. In most of these studies, the stressor occurs during the reinstatement test; very little is known about the effects on drug-seeking behaviors long after the stressor has occurred. We have developed a behavioral approach in which an acute stressor in one context causes persistent effects on drug-seeking behaviors in a different context. This approach models some of the persistent effects of trauma on relapse that often occur in patients with a diagnosis of comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD) and substance use disorder. I will describe some of the basic characteristics of this approach, including applications to different drugs of abuse and natural rewards, some of the underlying neurobiology, and how we have used this approach to evaluate potential treatments. These treatments focus on promoting extinction by pairing nonreinforced presentations of a stimulus or response during extinction with delivery of a drug that promotes epigenetic mechanisms that are involved in long-term memory. This leads to a persistent suppression of behavior that appears to resist environmental manipulations that cause relapse (such as exposure to cues or contexts previously associated with drugs of abuse). Implications of this approach for animal models of PTSD and addiction will be discussed.
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students. 

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) discuss approaches to PTSD and addiction; (2) discuss the persistent effects of trauma; (3) discuss ways to suppress fearful behaviors and drug-seeking behaviors; (4) discuss the neurobiological changes associated with trauma.
 
Trauma, Extinction, and the Problem of Relapse
K. MATTHEW LATTAL (Oregon Health)
 
 
Invited Paper Session #69
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Recent Advances in Relational Frame Theory: Implications for Education and Clinical Behavior Analysis
Saturday, May 23, 2020
12:00 PM–12:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: CBM; Domain: Basic Research
Chair: Amy Murrell (University of North Texas)
CE Instructor: Yvonne Barnes-Holmes, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: YVONNE BARNES-HOLMES (Ghent University)
Abstract:

The first book-length treatment of RFT was published almost 20 years ago in 2001. In recent years, a number of conceptual advances have been made in the theory that have implications for its application in both educational and clinical domains. The first of these is the emergence of a type of periodic table for conceptualizing derived relational responding, known as the multi-dimensional, multi-level framework (the MDML). The presentation will explain how this framework provides opportunities for conceptualizing and remediating the core skills required for basic and advanced language and cognition in educational contexts. The second of these is a recent extension to the MDML framework, called the hyper-dimensional, multi-level framework (the HDML), that incorporates the orienting and evoking functions of stimuli that participate in derived relations. The presentation will explore how this recent extension connects basic research in RFT to clinical behavior analysis. Overall, the case will be made that although RFT should be seen as a work in progress, the theory continues to offer insights that will potentially improve functional-analytic methods for assessing and treating behavioral problems.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Behavior analysts with an interest in development and clinical behavior analysis.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) discuss recent developments in relational frame theory (RFT), including the MDML and the HDML frameworks; (2) discuss RFT’s implications for education and remediation; (3) discuss RFT’s implications for clinical behavior analysis.
 
YVONNE BARNES-HOLMES (Ghent University)
Yvonne Barnes-Holmes is Associate Professor in Behavior Analysis and Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Clinical, Experimental, and Health Psychology at Ghent University, Belgium, although she is a native of Northern Ireland. She completed her Ph.D. at the National University of Ireland Maynooth in 2001 on developmental studies in Relational Frame Theory (RFT). She took up her first academic post at the same university in 2003 and worked there until 2015, when the research team she shares with her husband Dermot Barnes-Holmes moved to Belgium as part of a multi-million Euro research award to study the implications of RFT for psychotherapy. Professor Barnes-Holmes has published several books and over 150 scientific articles and book chapters. She has authored or given over 400 presentations and workshops. She is a World Trainer in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and has had a private clinical ACT practice for 22 years, providing global individual therapy and clinical supervision.
 
 
Invited Paper Session #79
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
TRAUMA: Effects of Trauma on Risk and Protective Factors
Saturday, May 23, 2020
12:00 PM–12:50 PM
Marriott Marquis, Level M4, Liberty I-L
Chair: Jessica Singer-Dudek (Teachers College, Columbia University)
CE Instructor: Jessica Singer-Dudek, Ph.D.
Presenting Authors: JEANNIE GOLDEN (East Carolina University), MARLA BRASSARD (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Abstract: Trauma in the form of child abuse and neglect at the hands of parents or caregivers has devastating psychosocial and neurological effects on children that may last throughout their lifespan. Children who have experienced maltreatment often fail to learn attachment to their parents or caregivers and this impairs their ability to form healthy attachments and experience reciprocal and caring relationships with others. Lack of attachment is associated with a lack of moral behavior, heightened processing of threat-related information, emotional dysregulation, depression, anxiety, dissociation, maladaptive coping strategies, risky sexual behaviors and increased risk for substance abuse. This presentation will provide a behavioral explanation of why maltreated children often do not learn attachment behaviors and receive negative reinforcement in the form of avoiding or escaping negative emotions. This explanation has several implications for treatment including why and how attachment behaviors can be learned.
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to: (1) state several examples of behaviors related to lack of attachment; (2) state several of the devastating effects of maltreatment and lack of attachment; (3) explain why maltreated children often do not learn attachment behaviors; (4) describe how maltreated children receive negative reinforcement in the form of avoiding or escaping negative emotions; (5) describe how attachment behaviors can be learned; (6) identify which of the following are causally affected by maltreatment in childhood and which are not, using data from genetically sensitive studies: cognitive deficits, psychopathology, educational outcomes, personality disorders, hearing impairments, and adult height; (7) list five areas where PM is more harmful that other forms of maltreatment and three mechanisms that likely account for its harmful effects; (8) identify behavioral parenting programs that are effective in improving the quality of observed parenting of children in preschool to adolescence but harmful for infants and toddlers; (9) describe the developmental context that likely accounts for the difference and the characteristics of programs that are effective with parents of very young children; (10) describe three research-supported prevention programs for PM and describe a public health approach for addressing PM and other forms of child maltreatment.
 
The Effects of Trauma on Attachment: A Behavioral Perspective
JEANNIE GOLDEN (East Carolina University)
Dr. Jeannie A. Golden is a licensed psychologist who received her Ph.D. in school psychology from Florida State University in 1981. Dr. Golden has taught in the psychology department at East Carolina University for 38 years and became the first national board certified behavior analyst in North Carolina in 2000. Dr. Golden received ECU teaching awards in 2001 and 2009, the FABA Honorary Lifetime Membership Award in 1994, the NCABA Fred S. Keller Excellence in Behavior Analysis Award in 2005, the ECU Scholarship of Engagement Award in 2012, the NCABA Do Things Award for Outstanding and Sustained Contributions in 2013, the ECU Psychology Department Award for Distinguished Service in 2015, and the ECU Psychology Department Faculty Appreciation Award for Mentoring in 2017. Dr. Golden and colleagues received grants from Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust (2008-2011) and the Department of Health and Human Services (2011-2016) to provide school-based mental health services in two rural, impoverished counties in North Carolina. In March of 2018, Dr. Golden and colleagues were awarded the Creating New Economies Fund Grant by Resourceful Communities for the Greene County Community Advancement Project.
Abstract: United States state statutes demonstrate a clear hierarchy in how harmful the different forms of child maltreatment are perceived (Baker & Brassard, 2019), but research does not support prioritizing of one form of child maltreatment over another. This presentation presents the evidence (briefly) for considering psychological maltreatment (PM) the equal of child sexual abuse, physical abuse, and physical neglect in contributing to adverse outcomes across the lifespan. Because PM, like corporal punishment, is so common, it challenges traditional short-term, narrowly focused, post-trauma reactive intervention practices, toward more sensitive and effective child protection and increased emphasis on primary prevention and good caregiving to achieve child well-being. Interventions with the greatest likelihood of success are presented – those consistent with ABA practice and those that may require shift in thinking.
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to: (1) state several examples of behaviors related to lack of attachment; (2) state several of the devastating effects of maltreatment and lack of attachment; (3) explain why maltreated children often do not learn attachment behaviors; (4) describe how maltreated children receive negative reinforcement in the form of avoiding or escaping negative emotions; (5) describe how attachment behaviors can be learned; (6) identify which of the following are causally affected by maltreatment in childhood and which are not, using data from genetically sensitive studies: cognitive deficits, psychopathology, educational outcomes, personality disorders, hearing impairments, and adult height; (7) list five areas where PM is more harmful that other forms of maltreatment and three mechanisms that likely account for its harmful effects; (8) identify behavioral parenting programs that are effective in improving the quality of observed parenting of children in preschool to adolescence but harmful for infants and toddlers; (9) describe the developmental context that likely accounts for the difference and the characteristics of programs that are effective with parents of very young children; (10) describe three research-supported prevention programs for PM and describe a public health approach for addressing PM and other forms of child maltreatment.
 
Interventions to Address Psychological Maltreatment, a Common and Harmful Form of Childhood Trauma
MARLA BRASSARD (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Marla R. Brassard, Ph.D., is a Professor in the School Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. For 37 years her research has focused on parenting, especially psychological maltreatment (PM) of children by parents, a non-physical form of abuse and neglect, that research shows is the equivalent in adverse causal impact to other forms of maltreatment and the most related to depression and suicidal behavior. Recently her work has expanded to include parenting in other high stress contexts, specifically parenting a young child with autistic spectrum disorder, with a focus on interventions that enhance parental well-being and increase quality of parenting. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and past president of the Council of Directors of School Psychology Programs.
 
 
Invited Tutorial #82
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA — 
Ethics
SQAB Tutorial: Back to the Lab: Human Behavioral Pharmacology Methods, Outcomes and Meanings
Saturday, May 23, 2020
12:00 PM–12:50 PM
Marriott Marquis, Level M2, Marquis Ballroom 6
Area: SCI; Domain: Basic Research
BACB/PSY/QABA CE Offered. CE Instructor: William Stoops, Ph.D.
Chair: Derek D. Reed (University of Kansas)
Presenting Author: WILLIAM STOOPS (University of Kentucky)
Abstract:

Human behavioral pharmacology methods have been used to rigorously evaluate the effects of a range of centrally acting drugs in human beings under controlled conditions. Methods like drug self-administration and drug-discrimination have been adapted from non-human laboratory animal models. Because humans have the capacity to communicate verbally, self-report methods are also commonly used to understand drug effects. This presentation will provide an overview of these traditional human behavioral pharmacology methods, as well as more novel measures that have been introduced to the field. Representative data will be shared and the benefits, challenges and translational relevance of each method will be discussed. This session will cover guiding principles in the design of human behavioral pharmacology studies (e.g., using placebo controls, testing multiple doses) along with ethical (e.g., avoiding enrollment of individuals seeking treatment, determining capacity to consent) and safety (e.g., dose selection, pre-screening of participants for exclusionary health problems) that must be addressed when conducting these types of studies.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) understand basic methods used in human behavioral pharmacology research; (2) know how ethical and safety issues are addressed in human behavioral pharmacology studies; (3) appreciate the clinical relevance of human behavioral pharmacology findings.
 
WILLIAM STOOPS (University of Kentucky)
Dr. William W. Stoops, a Professor in the Departments of Behavioral Science, Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Kentucky, earned his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Davidson College in Davidson, NC and his Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Kentucky. His research evaluates the behavioral and pharmacological factors that contribute to drug use disorders, focusing primarily on stimulant drugs. Dr. Stoops’ research contributions resulted in receipt of the 2016 Psychologist of the Year Award from the Kentucky Psychological Association, the 2013 Joseph Cochin Young Investigator Award from the College on Problems of Drug Dependence and the 2008 Wyeth Young Psychopharmacologist Award from Division 28 (Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse) of the American Psychological Association (APA). Dr. Stoops currently serves on the College on Problems of Drug Dependence Board of Directors and is Editor of Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology.
 
 
Invited Paper Session #110
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
TRAUMA: Prevention of Traumatic Events: Use of Antecedent and Generalization Strategies
Saturday, May 23, 2020
3:00 PM–3:50 PM
Marriott Marquis, Level M4, Liberty I-L
Chair: Kelly M. Schieltz (University of Iowa)
CE Instructor: Kelly M. Schieltz, Ph.D.
Presenting Authors: RON VAN HOUTEN (Western Michigan University), RAYMOND MILTENBERGER (University of South Florida)
Abstract: Pedestrian crashes have been on an increasing trend in recent years. Reasons possibly include increased levels of distracted driving, increased speeding behavior, and increased walking. Behavioral science has contributed to ways to increase driving yielding behavior on a community wide basis and the development on antecedent interventions that have been documented to increase reduce unsafe behavior and crashes. This presentation will focus on discussing some of the more important techniques as well as why antecedent interventions are effective without obvious sources of reinforcement.
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe the validity of different approaches to the assessment of safety skills; (2) describe behavioral skills training and its limitations for teaching safety skills; (3) describe in situ training for teaching safety skills; (4) describe strategies for promoting generalization of safety skills; (5) list several important variables used to change cultural safety practices; (6) discuss why interventions that rely on antecedents so effective, and how to further increase their efficacy; (7) discuss how the effect of behavioral safety methods on crashes is evaluated.
 
Reducing Pedestrian Injuries and Deaths
RON VAN HOUTEN (Western Michigan University)
Dr. Van Houten received his BA from SUNY at Stony Brook and his MA and Ph.D. from Dalhousie University, where he received training in the experimental analysis of behavior. He is currently professor of psychology at Western Michigan University. Dr. Van Houten has published extensively in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) on a wide variety of problems, such as the education of inner city youth and children with “learning disabilities,” the treatment of children and adults with developmental delays, the treatment of clinical problems in children, traffic safety, energy conservation, and aviation safety. Currently Dr. Van Houten is a member of the Transportation Research Board and a member of the National Committee for Uniform Traffic Control Devices. He is a past associate editor for JABA and a Fellow of ABAI. Dr. Van Houten is also an avid pilot of power aircraft and gliders and a flight instructor.
Abstract: This presentation will discuss research on teaching safety skills to children. It will describe different approaches to assessment of safety skills and the validity of these approaches. It will describe research on the effectiveness of interventions for teaching safety skills with an emphasis on active learning approaches including behavioral skills training and in situ training. The presentation will discuss the issue of generalization, the limits of behavioral skills training for promoting generalization, and strategies that can be used to enhance generalization. The presentation will discuss the issue of accessibility and strategies for increasing accessibility of effective interventions.
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe the validity of different approaches to the assessment of safety skills; (2) describe behavioral skills training and its limitations for teaching safety skills; (3) describe in situ training for teaching safety skills; (4) describe strategies for promoting generalization of safety skills; (5) list several important variables used to change cultural safety practices; (6) discuss why interventions that rely on antecedents so effective, and how to further increase their efficacy; (7) discuss how the effect of behavioral safety methods on crashes is evaluated.
 
Teaching Safety Skills: What Does It Take to Get Children to Do the Right Thing?
RAYMOND MILTENBERGER (University of South Florida)
Dr. Raymond G. Miltenberger received his Ph.D. from Western Michigan University and currently is professor of psychology and director of the Applied Behavior Analysis Master’s Program at the University of South Florida. He is the author of a highly regarded textbook on behavior modification, which is used at many universities across the country in both undergraduate and graduate courses. Dr. Miltenberger is most well known for having conducted a long-standing and
systematic series of studies on clinical (habit) disorders, prevention of abduction, and firearms safety. In particular, his research in the latter two areas has been characterized by the highly creative use of simulations and generalization testing, and by the careful development of task-analysis-based instruction described as “behavioral skills training.” In recognition of this work, he has received the Award for Distinguished Contributions to Applied Research from the
American Psychological Association (Division 25), and he has served as president of ABAI. 
 
 
Invited Tutorial #112
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA
SQAB Tutorial: Creating Artificial Organisms Animated by a Selectionist Theory of Adaptive Behavior Dynamics
Saturday, May 23, 2020
3:00 PM–3:50 PM
Marriott Marquis, Level M2, Marquis Ballroom 6
Area: SCI; Domain: Theory
BACB/PSY/QABA CE Offered. CE Instructor: Jack McDowell, Ph.D.
Chair: Marcus Jackson Marr (Georgia Tech)
Presenting Author: JACK MCDOWELL (Emory University)
Abstract:

The evolutionary theory of behavior dynamics (ETBD) is a complexity theory, which means that it is stated in the form of simple low level rules, the repeated operation of which generates high level outcomes that can be compared to data. The low level rules of the theory implement Darwinian processes of selection, reproduction, and mutation. This tutorial is an introduction to the ETBD, and will illustrate how the theory is used to animate artificial organisms that behave freely, and continuously, in any desired experimental environment. Extensive research has shown that the behavior of artificial organisms animated by the theory successfully reproduces the behavior of live organisms, in qualitative and quantitative detail, in a wide variety of experimental environments, including concurrent ratio schedules with equal and unequal ratios in the components, and concurrent interval schedules with and without punishment superimposed on one or both alternatives. An overview and summary of the research testing the ETBD will be provided. The material interpretation of the theory as an instance of supervenient realism will also be discussed. Finally, possible future directions will be considered with an eye toward identifying the most valuable path or paths for future development.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Behavior analysts interested in the basic science; individuals interested in computational theories of behavior or machine learning; individuals interested in modeling clinically significant human behavior.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) create artificial organisms animated by the selectionist theory; (2) run artificial organisms in experimental environments; (3) summarize empirical support for the theory; (4) consider possible material interpretations of the theory; (5) consider fruitful paths for further development of the theory.
 
JACK MCDOWELL (Emory University)

J. J McDowell received an A.B. from Yale University in 1972 and a Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1979. After completing his clinical internship, he joined the faculty of Emory University, where he is currently a professor in the Department of Psychology. Dr. McDowell is also a licensed clinical psychologist, and maintains a private practice of behavior therapy in Atlanta. Dr. McDowell's research has focused on the quantitative analysis of behavior. He has conducted tests of matching theory in experiments with humans, rats, and pigeons, has made formal mathematical contributions to the matching theory literature, and has proposed a computational theory of behavior dynamics. He has also written on the relevance of mathematical and computational accounts of behavior for the treatment of clinical problems. Dr. McDowell's current research is focused on his computational theory of selection by consequences, including studies of behavior generated by the theory's genetic algorithm, and possible implementations of the theory in neural circuitry. His work, including collaborations with students and former students, has been funded by NIMH, NSF, and NIDA. Dr. McDowell is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International.

 
 
Invited Paper Session #134
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
TRAUMA: Flexibility After Trauma: Exploring Vitality Through ACT and Feldenkrais Method
Saturday, May 23, 2020
4:00 PM–4:50 PM
Marriott Marquis, Level M4, Liberty I-L
Chair: Amy Murrell (University of North Texas)
CE Instructor: Amy Murrell, Ph.D.
Presenting Authors: MIRANDA MORRIS (DC ACT Consortium; Private Practice), CHRISH KRESGE (Private Practice)
Abstract: Trauma can have profound and lasting effects on the lives of survivors. The impact on psychological functioning can be particularly severe and may have interpersonal, professional, and health consequences. While not all survivors experience long term problems, those who do can find their lives ruled by the experience of trauma. Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT) holds that the long-term negative sequelae of trauma are primarily driven by two processes: avoidance and cognitive fusion (excessive, ineffective attempts to control unwanted private experiences). That is, survivors’ attempts to “not have” the memories, thoughts and feelings associated with the trauma may account for much of the distress associated with traumatic experiences. Together, avoidance and cognitive fusion function to increase psychological inflexibility and limit behavioral repertoires, costing survivors vitality, connection and engagement in valued living. The aim of ACT is to undermine these processes in order to increase psychological flexibility, defined in ACT as “the ability to contact the present moment more fully as a conscious human being, and to change or persist in behavior when doing so serves valued ends.” In working with trauma survivors, the ACT therapist focuses on helping survivors reconnect with their values and move towards what they care about. In this talk, I will review the relationship of psychological (in)flexibility to post traumatic symptomatology. In addition, I will discuss how to use ACT to help clients come to terms with traumatic events and to build meaningful lives that are defined not by the past, but by what matters.
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) explain how avoidance and fusion maintain post traumatic problems; (2) define psychological flexibility as used in ACT; (3) explain how to help clients clarify values and take committed action in the service of those values; (4) to operationally define ABMN Essential #1: Movement with Attention; (5) recognize ABMN Essential #7: The Learning Switch; (6) recognize ABMN Essential #6: Flexible Goals; (7) identify when ABMN and the Feldenkrais Method may be useful and complementary treatments in cases of trauma and its recovery.
 
In the Wake of Trauma: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Cultivate Valued Living
MIRANDA MORRIS (DC ACT Consortium; Private Practice)

Miranda Morris, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Bethesda, MD. She treats a broad range of difficulties and specializes in trauma and anxiety. Miranda is a Peer Reviewed ACT Trainer and the founder of DC ACT, a organization with two primary objectives: 1) the dissemination of contextual behavioral therapies in the DC region and beyond, 2) the provision of support and training opportunities for aspiring ACT trainers. Miranda conducts regular workshops in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and related contextual behavioral therapies including Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP) and Clinical RFT. She currently serves on the Executive Board of the the Association of Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) and is President Emeritus of the the Mid Atlantic Chapter of ACBS (MAC-ACBS).

Abstract: Trauma can be defined in many ways; the two most common interpretations of the word are a physical injury or a deeply emotionally upsetting event. In both cases, trauma can result in neurological and physiological as well as psychological damage and change. This damage often occurs early in life, either as a result of a genetic condition, birth-related injury, illness during infancy, or early childhood abuse or neglect. The negative consequences of trauma are often addressed in clinical psychology and sometimes specifically through clinical behavior analysis. However, in these methodologies, key effects on the child's somatic functioning may be neglected. This presentation will propose that the Anat Baniel Method of Neuromovement® (ABMN), based on the work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, may be used to address neurological, physiological, and movement limitations associated with childhood trauma. Further, the presentation will explicitly outline the overlap between applied behavior analysis and these methods through educating the audience on essential principles associated with ABMN and Feldenkrais Method® movement practices.
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) explain how avoidance and fusion maintain post traumatic problems; (2) define psychological flexibility as used in ACT; (3) explain how to help clients clarify values and take committed action in the service of those values; (4) to operationally define ABMN Essential #1: Movement with Attention; (5) recognize ABMN Essential #7: The Learning Switch; (6) recognize ABMN Essential #6: Flexible Goals; (7) identify when ABMN and the Feldenkrais Method may be useful and complementary treatments in cases of trauma and its recovery.
 
From Fixing to Connecting Through Movement With Awareness
CHRISH KRESGE (Private Practice)

Chrish is a Feldenkrais® practitioner (1998) who works with people of all ages and backgrounds, using movement as a primary tool for improving self-awareness, posture, thinking, voice, and overall health and wellness.  Chrish is also an actor, producer and director. She is passionate about using her diverse skills and background to help people find their optimal selves, innate dignity and composure. Chrish has been teaching the Feldenkrais Method® across the world for over 21 years in places such as the U.S., Ghana, Morocco, France, and Nepal.  During her teaching of the Feldenkrais Method, Chrish offers her students an enriching experience consisting of mental and physical improvement through natural, easy, and pleasurable ways of moving, using the brain’s amazing capacity to reorganize the body. In addition to working with performing artists and business executives alike, Chrish specializes in working with children with disabilities and trauma, and is a graduate of the Anat Baniel Neuromovement® Method for Children. Her studies with Ruthy Alon (Movement Intelligence) have also informed her work in many ways. Chrish has served three terms on the national Board of Directors of the Feldenkrais Guild® of North America and has chaired numerous annual Feldenkrais Method® conferences in North America.

 
 
Invited Tutorial #137
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
SQAB Tutorial: Using Quantitative Theories of Relapse to Improve Functional Communication Training
Saturday, May 23, 2020
4:00 PM–4:50 PM
Marriott Marquis, Level M2, Marquis Ballroom 6
Area: SCI; Domain: Basic Research
PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP CE Offered. CE Instructor: Brian Greer, Ph.D.
Chair: Timothy A. Shahan (Utah State University)
Presenting Author: BRIAN GREER (Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School)
Abstract:

Functional communication training (FCT) has strong empirical support for its use when treating socially reinforced problem behavior. However, treatment effects often deteriorate when FCT procedures are challenged, leading to the recurrence of problem behavior, decreased use of the functional communication response (FCR), or both. Researchers have accordingly described a number of strategies to improve the long-term effectiveness of differential-reinforcement procedures (e.g., FCT). For example, Wacker et al. (2011) assessed the maintenance of FCT-treatment effects by periodically exposing the FCR to periods of extinction and found that additional exposure to FCT helped guard against the disruptive impact of later periods of extinction. Basic researchers have described similar modifications to behavior-reduction procedures based on quantitative theories of behavior (e.g., Behavioral Momentum Theory and Resurgence as Choice) that also should help mitigate treatment relapse. Our research team has recently begun investigating

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

BCBAs, applied and basic researchers

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) explain FCT and describe its efficacy; (2) describe at least one common challenge to FCT treatment effects; (3) describe at least two specific strategies for mitigating relapse of problem behavior following FCT.
 
BRIAN GREER (Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School)
Brian D. Greer is the founding director of the Severe Behavior Program within the Rutgers University Center for Autism Research, Education, and Services. He is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and a core member of the Brain Health Institute. He received a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Florida in 2008, a Master of Arts in applied behavioral science in 2011 and a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology in 2013, both from the University of Kansas. He later completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He has served on the board of editors and as a guest associate editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. He is the 2013 recipient of the Baer, Wolf, and Risley Outstanding Graduate Student Award and the 2019 recipient of the B. F. Skinner Foundation New Researcher Award in the area of applied research. Dr. Greer is the Executive Director of the Society for the Quantitative Analyses of Behavior, and he currently supervises three R01 grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development on preventing relapse of destructive behavior using Behavioral Momentum Theory and Resurgence as Choice. He has helped to acquire and carry out over $10 million in federal grant funding.
 
 
B. F. Skinner Lecture Series Paper Session #151
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
About Reward
Saturday, May 23, 2020
5:00 PM–5:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: BPN; Domain: Basic Research
Chair: Carla H. Lagorio (University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire)
CE Instructor: Carla H. Lagorio, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: WOLFRAM SCHULTZ (University of Cambridge)
Abstract:

The talk will describe the properties of neurons in the brain’s reward systems and how their action contributes to economic decision-making. Each of several reward systems, including the dopamine neurons, striatum, amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex, play a unique role in these processes. The details of this function are currently being investigated using designs based on behavioral theories, such as animal learning theory, machine learning and economic utility theory.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Anyone interested in brain processes.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) define reward; (2) explain the function of rewards; (3) explain how we make economic decisions; (4) discuss how the brain processes rewards; (5) explain how reward processes go wrong.
 
WOLFRAM SCHULTZ (University of Cambridge)

Wolfram Schultz is a graduate in medicine from the University of Heidelberg. After postdoctoral stays in Germany, USA and Sweden, and a faculty position in Switzerland, he works currently at the University of Cambridge. He combines behavioural, neurophysiological and neuroimaging techniques to investigate the neural mechanisms of rlearning, goal-directed behaviour and economic decision making. He uses behavioural concepts from animal learning theory and economic decision theories to study the neurophysiology and neuroimaging of reward and risk in individual neurons and in specific brain regions, including the dopamine system, striatum, orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala.

 
 
Invited Panel #163
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/NASP
Quantitative Theories of Relapse to Improve Functional Communication Training: A Panel With Discussion
Saturday, May 23, 2020
5:00 PM–5:50 PM
Marriott Marquis, Level M2, Marquis Ballroom 6
Area: SCI; Domain: Theory
Chair: Christopher A. Podlesnik (Auburn University)
CE Instructor: Christopher A. Podlesnik, Ph.D.
Panelists: JENNIFER J. MCCOMAS (University of Minnesota), JOEL ERIC RINGDAHL (University of Georgia), TIMOTHY A. SHAHAN (Utah State University)
Abstract:

This panel will be a discussion of Dr. Brian Greer’s SQAB Tutorial on using quantitative theories of relapse to improve FCT.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe contemporary applications of computer technologies in behavior analysis; (2) describe the research questions to be addressed by computer technologies; (3) describe resources to leverage computer technologies in behavior analysis.
JENNIFER J. MCCOMAS (University of Minnesota)
JOEL ERIC RINGDAHL (University of Georgia)
TIMOTHY A. SHAHAN (Utah State University)
 
 
Special Event #164
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Presidential Scholar Address: Treating Antisocial Behaviors Among Children and Adolescents: From Behavior to Social Context
Saturday, May 23, 2020
6:00 PM–6:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Chair: Peter R. Killeen (Arizona State University)
CE Instructor: Peter R. Killeen, Ph.D.
 

Presidential Scholar Address: Treating Antisocial Behaviors Among Children and Adolescents: From Behavior to Social Context

Abstract:

Conduct Disorder in contemporary psychiatric diagnosis systems refers to a pattern of antisocial behaviors including acts of aggression, property destruction, stealing, vandalism, and cruelty. This is a lifelong impairing condition that has enormous costs to individuals, families, and society. This presentation highlights the problem, risk and causal factors and current treatments. One of the treatments we have studied is parent management training, which relies on principles and techniques of behavior analysis. Changing child, adolescent, and parent behavior seemed to be the major challenge as my work began. That turned out not to be anywhere near as daunting as addressing the challenges in society that directly support, foster, and in some cases cause aggression and antisocial behavior. The presentation will convey limitations of current intervention research, using my own work as a case study, and attend to broader foci that fall outside of any single model of behavior or discipline. Novel models of intervention delivery will be illustrated to convey ways to reach people in need but who receive none of our interventions or services.

 
ALAN KAZDIN (Yale University)
 
Alan E. Kazdin. Ph.D., ABPP, is Sterling Professor of Psychology and Child Psychiatry (Emeritus) at Yale University. Before coming to Yale, he was on the faculty of The Pennsylvania State University and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. At Yale, he has been Director of the Yale Parenting Center, Chairman of the Psychology Department, Director and Chairman of the Yale Child Study Center at the School of Medicine, Director of Child Psychiatric Services at Yale-New Haven Hospital.   Kazdin’s research has focused primarily on the treatment of aggressive and antisocial behavior in children and adolescents. His 750+ publications include 50 books that focus on methodology and research design, interventions for children and adolescents, behavioral and cognitive-behavioral treatment, parenting and child rearing, and interpersonal violence. His work on parenting and childrearing has been featured on NPR, PBS, BBC, and CNN and he has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, ABC News, 20/20, and Dr. Phil. For parents, he has a free online course (Coursera), Everyday Parenting: The ABCs of Child Rearing (ABCs = Antecedents, Behaviors, Consequences).   Kazdin has been editor of six professional journals (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Psychological Assessment, Behavior Therapy, Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice Current Directions in Psychological Science, and Clinical Psychological Science). He has received a number of professional awards including the Outstanding Research Contribution by an Individual Award and Lifetime Achievement Award (Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies), Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology Award and Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of Psychology (American Psychological Association), the James McKeen Cattell Award (Association for Psychological Science), and the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Science of Psychology (American Psychological Foundation). In 2008, he was president of the American Psychological Association.
 
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) discuss current findings regarding aggressive and antisocial behavior among children and adolescents (e.g., prevalence, long-term course, risk and causal factors); (2) review the status of treatments for problem behaviors for children and adolescents; (3) consider the many contexts that in which antisocial behavior emerges and is maintained; (4) discuss novel models of delivering services that can be used to scale interventions and reach people who are neglected in the delivery of evidence-based (and non-evidence-based interventions).
 
 
 
Invited Paper Session #201
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA
Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis in China: A Reflection of Twenty Years of Dissemination and Progress
Sunday, May 24, 2020
8:00 AM–8:50 AM
Marriott Marquis, Level M4, Independence A-C
Area: TBA; Domain: Theory
Chair: Lin Du (Teachers College, Columbia University)
CE Instructor: Lin Du, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: WEIHE HUANG (Creating Behavioral + Educational Momentum)
Abstract: In the West, the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) evolved from experimental analysis of behavior. In this evolutionary process, seven dimensions of ABA emerged: applied, behavioral, analytic, technological, conceptual, effective, and generality. On the other hand, ABA was introduced into mainland China 20 years ago and has been developing since then as a direct result of the rise of autism spectrum disorder. Therefore, the level of acceptance of, and interest in, the aforementioned seven dimensions varied in China. The different development of ABA dimensions in the West and in China can also be attributed to cultural and societal variables as well. This presentation will provide an overview of what I observed in the past two decades regarding the practice and research of ABA in China. Equipped with personal experience and relevant literature both in English and in Chinese, I will describe efforts and milestones of disseminating ABA in China. Based on this anthropological description, I will also share with participants my assessment of the current dimensions of ABA in China as well as recommendations to further elevate ABA practices and research in China.
Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Practitioners and researchers who are interested in diversity-related issues in general; providers and educators who are interested in providing programs to Chinese populations.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe the main difference of evolutionary courses of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in the West and in China; (2) list seven core dimensions of ABA in general and describe at least four of the current dimensions of ABA in China in particular (as presented by the speaker); (3) identify at least two cultural and societal variables that have influenced the development of ABA in China.
 
WEIHE HUANG (Creating Behavioral + Educational Momentum)
 
 
Special Event #210
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Behavior Analysis in the Domain of Psychology
Sunday, May 24, 2020
8:00 AM–9:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Domain: Theory
Chair: Peter R. Killeen (Arizona State University)
CE Instructor: Peter R. Killeen, Ph.D.
Panelists: ANTHONY BIGLAN (Oregon Research Institute), MICHAEL DOUGHER (University of New Mexico), ALAN KAZDIN (Yale University), MARK MATTAINI (Jane Addams College of Social Work-University of Illinois at Chicago), DEREK REED (University of Kansas), SUSAN SCHNEIDER (Root Solutions)
Abstract:

Whereas behavior analysts take due pride in the unique characteristics that distinguish us from mainstream psychology, those characteristics also distance us from psychology, cheating us of attention, recognition, support, and employment opportunities. Is it possible to remain true to our behavioral tenets, while improving our communication and presence in the larger intellectual community? If so, how do we go about it? We are fortunate to have Dr. Alan E. Kazdin, an early pioneer of behavior modification and expert in single case (N of 1) research designs in clinical and applied settings. He has succeeded in what we aspire to do--formulating and validating empirically grounded behavioral interventions, in particular for children and teenagers. He has been embraced by psychologists in general, having served as the president of APA and winning the APA gold medal for lifetime achievement. He also has a significant public audience (e.g. https://slate.com/author/alan-kazdin; https://time.com/author/alan-kazdin/ and https://amzn.to/2NiAp4c ). In this panel he will discuss with leaders in our field his thoughts about ways in which we can advance our agenda, and regain a seat at the table of empirically-based behavioral psychology writ large.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

ANTHONY BIGLAN (Oregon Research Institute)
Anthony Biglan, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist at Oregon Research Institute. He is the author of The Nurture Effect: How the Science of Human Behavior Can Improve our Lives and Our World.   Dr. Biglan has been conducting research on the development and prevention of child and adolescent problem behavior for the past 30 years. His work has included studies of the risk and protective factors associated with tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use; high-risk sexual behavior; and antisocial behavior. He has conducted numerous experimental evaluations of interventions to prevent tobacco use both through school-based programs and community-wide interventions. And, he has evaluated interventions to prevent high-risk sexual behavior, antisocial behavior, and reading failure.   In recent years, his work has shifted to more comprehensive interventions that have the potential to prevent the entire range of child and adolescent problems. He and colleagues at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences published a book summarizing the epidemiology, cost, etiology, prevention, and treatment of youth with multiple problems (Biglan et al., 2004). He is a former president of the Society for Prevention Research. He was a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Prevention, which released its report in 2009 documenting numerous evidence-based preventive interventions that can prevent multiple problems. As a member of Oregon’s Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission, he is helping to develop a strategic plan for implementing comprehensive evidence-based interventions throughout Oregon.
MICHAEL DOUGHER (University of New Mexico)
Dr. Michael J. Dougher is professor of psychology at the University of New Mexico, which is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to describing the breadth and crosscurrents of teaching, research, and service in his distinguished career. Trained at the University of Illinois, Chicago as a clinical psychologist, his career exemplifies the scientist-practitioner model of that discipline. He has published widely on the analysis and treatment of such clinical problems as pain, depression, and addictive behavior. His research, however, has extended far beyond the traditional boundaries of clinical psychology. He has brought creative basic analyses of verbal behavior and stimulus equivalence to bear on the understanding of not only the origins of clinical syndromes, but also new possible lines of approaches to their treatment. These complementary analyses of basic and applied research earned him the APA Division 25 Don Hake Award. Along these same lines, it is telling to note that Dr. Dougher served concurrently on ABAI's Practice Board and as the experimental representative to its executive council. His record of service also includes terms as president of ABAI and APA's Division 25, and on numerous boards and task forces related to professional issues in psychology. On these boards and task forces, he consistently has been a strong, thoughtful, and diplomatic representative of a behavior analytic perspective.   These same adjectives characterize his editorial contributions to behavior analysis, as editor of The Behavior Analyst, associate editor of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, and as a member of the editorial boards of six other journals. In addition, Dr. Dougher has provided equally exceptional service to his students and university. This mentor of 25 doctoral students has received several teaching awards, including being named the University of New Mexico Teacher of the Year in 1995. Prior to his present appointment, he served as the department's director of clinical training and also department chair, then associate dean for research in the College of Arts and Sciences, and thereafter as the University of New Mexico's associate vice-president for research.
ALAN KAZDIN (Yale University)
Alan E. Kazdin. Ph.D., ABPP, is Sterling Professor of Psychology and Child Psychiatry (Emeritus) at Yale University. Before coming to Yale, he was on the faculty of The Pennsylvania State University and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. At Yale, he has been Director of the Yale Parenting Center, Chairman of the Psychology Department, Director and Chairman of the Yale Child Study Center at the School of Medicine, Director of Child Psychiatric Services at Yale-New Haven Hospital.   Kazdin’s research has focused primarily on the treatment of aggressive and antisocial behavior in children and adolescents. His 750+ publications include 50 books that focus on methodology and research design, interventions for children and adolescents, behavioral and cognitive-behavioral treatment, parenting and child rearing, and interpersonal violence. His work on parenting and childrearing has been featured on NPR, PBS, BBC, and CNN and he has appeared on the Today Show, Good Morning America, ABC News, 20/20, and Dr. Phil. For parents, he has a free online course (Coursera), Everyday Parenting: The ABCs of Child Rearing (ABCs = Antecedents, Behaviors, Consequences).   Kazdin has been editor of six professional journals (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Psychological Assessment, Behavior Therapy, Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice Current Directions in Psychological Science, and Clinical Psychological Science). He has received a number of professional awards including the Outstanding Research Contribution by an Individual Award and Lifetime Achievement Award (Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies), Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology Award and Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of Psychology (American Psychological Association), the James McKeen Cattell Award (Association for Psychological Science), and the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Science of Psychology (American Psychological Foundation). In 2008, he was president of the American Psychological Association.
MARK MATTAINI (Jane Addams College of Social Work-University of Illinois at Chicago)
Mark Mattaini, DSW, ACSW, holds an emeritus appointment at Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where he was previously director of the doctoral program. He has developed, implemented, and researched behavioral strategies for individual, family, organizational, community and policy level interventions in the US, Canada, and Latin America, increasingly emphasizing advocacy, accompaniment, and activism in recent years. Consistent with that emphasis, his recent scholarship has focused on nonviolent action supporting social justice, and behavioral systems science at the cultural level. He is a research affiliate of the UIC Center for Research on Violence, and has chaired 25 dissertations related to responses to social issues. Most of his Ph.D. graduates are engaged in research and practice with marginalized populations, including those victimized by—and perpetrating—violence, and in developing evidence-guided supports for young people experiencing homelessness and social exclusion. Dr. Mattaini is author or editor of 13 books, two of the most recent being Strategic Nonviolent Power: The Science of Satyagraha, and Leadership for Cultural Change: Managing Future Well-Being, as well as numerous other publications. Editor of the interdisciplinary journal Behavior and Social Issues, Dr. Mattaini has served on the editorial boards of multiple journals in behavior analysis and social work. ABAI Convention Program Board Coordinator from 2013-2017, he has also been a long-time member of the Board of Planners for Behaviorists for Social Responsibility, the oldest ABAI SIG.
DEREK REED (University of Kansas)
Dr. Derek Reed is an Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science at the University of Kansas where he directs the Applied Behavioral Economics Laboratory. Derek received his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Illinois State University and his Masters and Ph.D. in School Psychology from Syracuse University. He has served as Associate Editor for Behavior Analysis in Practice and The Psychological Record, and guest Associate Editor for The Behavior Analyst, Journal of Behavioral Education, and Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. He serves as a reviewer on the editorial boards of The Behavior Analyst, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, and Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. Derek has published over 80 peer reviewed papers and book chapters, coauthored three edited books, and was the 2016 recipient of the American Psychological Association Division 25 B. F. Skinner Foundation New Applied Researcher Award. He is presently working on a new textbook titled “Introduction to Behavior Analysis” with his coauthors Greg Madden and Mark Reilly. Derek recently served on the ABAI Science Board and is presently the Executive Director of the Society for the Quantitative Analyses of Behavior. Derek's research translates the behavioral economics of addiction to understanding ultraviolet indoor tanning dependence in college populations.
SUSAN SCHNEIDER (Root Solutions)
Dr. Susan M. Schneider’s involvement in behavior analysis goes back to high school when she read Beyond Freedom & Dignity and wrote B. F. Skinner, never dreaming that he would reply. They corresponded throughout her master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Brown University, her engineering career, and her stint in the Peace Corps. At that point, Schneider bowed to the inevitable and switched careers, obtaining her Ph.D. in developmental psychology in 1989 from the University of Kansas. A research pioneer, she was the first to apply the generalized matching law to sequences and to demonstrate operant generalization and matching in neonates. Her publications also cover the history and philosophy of behavior analysis and the neglected method of sequential analysis. Schneider has championed the inclusive “developmental systems” approach to nature nurture relations, culminating in reviews in the Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior and The Behavior Analyst, and she has served on the editorial boards for both of those journals. Her book, The Science of Consequences: How They Affect Genes, Change the Brain, and Impact Our World, summarizes the field of operant behavior, its larger nature-nurture context, and its full range of applications. It earned a mention in the journal Nature, was a selection of the Scientific American Book Club, and won the 2015 Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis Award for Effective Presentation of Behavior Analysis in the Mass Media.
 
 
Special Event #234
CE Offered: PSY/BACB
CPT Billing Codes: An Update From the ABA Billing Codes Commission
Sunday, May 24, 2020
10:00 AM–10:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 1, Salon C
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Chair: Katherine Mahaffy (Association for Behavior Analysis International)
CE Instructor: Julie Kornack, Ph.D.
 

CPT Billing Codes: An Update From the ABA Billing Codes Commission

Abstract:

In the 18 months since the 2019 CPT I billing codes for adaptive behavior took effect, members of the ABA Billing Codes Commission have worked to disseminate information, resolve problems, address concerns, and identify next steps. This presentation builds on the information presented in the workshop ABA Billing Codes Commission Presents: Is That Billable? Understanding How to Bill Ethically and Effectively. This presentation will provide an update on the work of the ABA Billing Codes Commission and will address recurrent questions, including the effort to increase uniformity in how the codes are interpreted; the proper use of Medically Unlikely Edits; the process to value codes; and the next steps in the Commission’s effort to bridge the gap between billable services and ABA that reflects best practices.

 
JULIE KORNACK (Center for Autism and Related Disorders)
 
 
Target Audience:

Behavior analysts

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) discuss the purpose of CPT billing code descriptors; (2) discuss the appropriate use of Medically Unlikely Edits (MUEs); (3) state the difference between codes that are valued and codes that are carrier priced; (4) discuss the role of multi-disciplinary collaboration in the billing codes process.
 
 
 
Invited Paper Session #235
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Multiple Exemplar Training: Illustrations, Limitations, and Preliminary Guidelines
Sunday, May 24, 2020
10:00 AM–10:50 AM
Marriott Marquis, Level M2, Marquis Ballroom 6
Area: PCH; Domain: Theory
Chair: David C. Palmer (Smith College)
CE Instructor: Per Holth, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: PER HOLTH (OsloMet -- Oslo Metropolitan University)
Abstract:

Through a set of exemplars that sample the range of stimulus and response topographies, multiple exemplar training aims to produce the full range of performances. The principle has been widely acknowledged and used in experimental psychology, in the experimental analysis of behavior, and in behavior-analytic applications. Behavior analysts have often referred to a history of multiple exemplar training to account for different generalized performances. Examples of such generalized performances are abstraction and concept learning, responding to relations, identity matching, rule following, behavioral variability, responding to wh-questions, describing past events, learning sets, and continuous repertoires. There is convincing evidence for the usefulness of multiple exemplar training with respect to many types of performances, even performances that involve relations between objects or events. Yet, there appear to be at least two important exceptions, where direct multiple exemplar training does not work well: (1) when there are no physical dimensions at all along which generalized performances can emerge, and (2) when the relation between antecedents and an effective response is complex. General limitations of multiple exemplar training as well as an interpretation of exceptions in terms of behavior-mediated generalization are discussed. Guidelines for more effective training for generalized skills are outlined.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation participants will be able to: (1) describe different procedures that have been named ‘multiple exemplar training’; (2) describe at least five different behavioral phenomena that require some kind of multiple exemplar training; (3) specify some limits to what can result from direct multiple exemplar training.
 
PER HOLTH (OsloMet -- Oslo Metropolitan University)
Professor Per Holth received his license to practice psychology in 1983, and his Ph.D. in 2000, with a dissertation on the generality of stimulus equivalence. His clinical work has been in services for people with autism and developmental disabilities, in psychiatric units, and in the military services. His research activities span basic research, on stimulus equivalence and joint attention, as well as applied work and management of large research projects. Per Holth has taught classes in behavior analysis and learning principles at the University of Oslo and Oslo and Akershus University College (OAUC) since 1982, and joined the faculty of OAUC and the Program for learning in complex systems, as an associate professor in 2004 and as full professor in 2006. He teaches classes in all behavior-analytic education programs at OAUC. He has written for peer-reviewed publications on basic research, applied work, and philosophy of science; served on several editorial boards; and he has a member of the editorial troika of the European Journal of Behavior Analysis for 15 years. He has been a program co-coordinator of the TPC area of ABAI, is currently a program co-coordinator for the development area, and he is on the board of directors of the B. F. Skinner Foundation. His current research interests have drifted in the direction of basic experimental work with animals and humans.
 
 
Invited Tutorial #237
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Realizing the Potential of Applied Behavior Analysis to Improve Outcomes in Adolescents and Young Adults With Autism
Sunday, May 24, 2020
10:00 AM–10:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 2, Room 207A
Area: PRA; Domain: Theory
PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP CE Offered. CE Instructor: Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D.
Chair: Bobby Newman (Proud Moments)
Presenting Author: PETER GERHARDT (The EPIC School)
Abstract:

In their seminal article, Baer, Wolf and Risley (1968), stated that behavior analytic intervention is expected to result in strong, socially important, and generalizable behavior change which, in this case, should mean more positive adult outcomes in ASD. Unfortunately, despite a nearly three decade-long emphasis on evidence-based, behavior analytic intervention in ASD, adult outcomes remain poor “for almost any outcome you choose.” (Roux, et al, 2015, p. 8). While there may be several reasons for continued poor outcomes (including the challenge of simply defining “good outcome”), the potential of behavior analytic intervention to develop more positive adult outcomes has yet to be fully realized. Such outcomes, however, are well within the reach of our behavior analytic technology. But to do that, the contingencies governing our behavior will, most likely, need to shift. For example, we will need to shift from contingencies that reinforce the technical precision of our classroom-based interventions to contingencies the reinforce the somewhat less technical precision of community-based intervention (assuming the target has a fair degree of social validity). This tutorial will identify a number areas, both internal and external to the field, where a “contingency shift” may be necessary if the power of behavior analytic intervention to significantly improve outcomes for adults with autism is to be more fully realized.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: PENDING.
 
PETER GERHARDT (The EPIC School)
Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D., is the Executive Director of the EPIC School in Paramus, NJ. Dr. Gerhardt has nearly 40 years of experience utilizing the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis in support of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders in educational, employment, residential and community-based settings. He is the author or co-author on a number of articles and book chapters on the needs of adolescents and adults with ASD and has presented nationally and internationally on this topic. Dr. Gerhardt serves as Co-Chairman of the Scientific Council for the Organization for Autism Research and is on numerous professional advisory boards including the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies. He received his doctorate from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey’s Graduate School of Education.
 
 
B. F. Skinner Lecture Series Paper Session #238
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Keys to School Success: Bridging the Outcomes of the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts-3 (BTBC-3) to Language Development
Sunday, May 24, 2020
10:00 AM–10:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: TBA; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Lin Du (Teachers College, Columbia University)
CE Instructor: Lin Du, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: ANN BOEHM (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Abstract:

The session will cover the long history of how the outcomes of the BTBC-3 inform intervention and instruction for young children’s language development and success in school. The issues covered are of particular relevance for children on the ASD spectrum. Recent research using the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts-3: Preschool in a behaviorally-based preschool program has identified bi-directional naming as a key factor in the progression of learning, an issue to be explored in the session. The importance of relational concepts as measured by the BTBC for learning across all areas of learning, following directions and more complex problem solving will be presented along with strategies for intervention.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) highlight the history of the BTBC and its role in language development; (2) provide a guide for developing instructional activities at increasing levels of difficulty; (3) review recent research with students with special needs (ASD, visually impaired, deaf and hard of hearing, and individuals with cognitive impairment).
 
ANN BOEHM (Teachers College, Columbia University)

Ann E. Boehm, Ph.D. is professor emerita of psychology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University where she continues to teach a course on early childhood assessment. She is the author of the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (BTBC) which was the outcome of her dissertation and was seminal in identifying basic relational concepts as an important aspect of language development and essential for success across all areas of school learning. The test, now in in its third edition, consists of a preschool level (ages 3-5) and a school age level (ages 5-7). Outcomes of the test are helpful for identifying learning objectives and monitoring progress, The BTBC-3 is one of the few instruments available at these age levels in raised form and big picture versions for the blind and visually impaired (through the American Printing House for the Blind). She is the author of numerous books and articles. Her current research interests focus on the next version of the BTBC, direction following, intervention activities, and work with students on the ASD spectrum.

 
 
B. F. Skinner Lecture Series Paper Session #251
CE Offered: PSY
Why Do Captive Animals Perform Abnormal Repetitive Behaviours?
Sunday, May 24, 2020
11:00 AM–11:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: AAB; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Nathaniel Hall (Texas Tech University)
CE Instructor: Nathaniel Hall, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: GEORGIA MASON (University of Guelph)
Abstract: Unusual repetitive behaviours in confined animals (including those sometimes called stereotypies) have long been used as welfare indicators because they are disturbing and fairly easy to assess. Because it is not yet certain which behaviours should be included (for example, is wheel-running normal or abnormal?), how much the heterogeneity of different forms matters, and which are most analogous with stereotypies versus OCDs versus other clinical abnormal behaviours, I will group all as “abnormal repetitive behaviour” (ARB). Despite these unknowns, enough is now understood to use ARBs in welfare assessment (where welfare means affective state: moods, and quality of life). I will review the aetiology of ARBs, and discuss their underlying mechanisms (including unintended reinforcement by owners), to help illustrate why it is that they emerge. To evaluate their validity as indicators of welfare, I will review whether they are increased by exposing animals to aversive stimuli and stimuli that are ancestrally bad for fitness. I will show that the prevalence and/or frequency of ARBs typically reflects suboptimal husbandry and uncomfortable health problems, and that they are quite specific to negative states (though perhaps as experienced over the lifetime, rather than just present state alone). Overall, ARBs are thus reliable signs of poor welfare. However, general activity can be a confound. Indeed, some negative states never promote ARBs; and in some species, strains and individuals show little ARBs, even in extremis, becoming inactive instead (such that all else being equal, we should not assume that high ARB individuals have worse welfare than low ARB individuals).
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation participants will be able to: (1) explain how animal welfare is assessed by scientists (despite this relying on unobservable affective states); (2) select the appropriate control data and comparator groups when using abnormal repetitive behaviour (ARB) in animal welfare assessment; (3) recommend or select options for reducing ARB, from a range of techniques that include environmental enrichment and pharmaceutical approaches, and identify when these have successfully not only reduced ARB but also improved welfare.
 
GEORGIA MASON (University of Guelph)
 
 
Invited Paper Session #260
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Relational Skills Training for Enhancing Intelligence: The Science of Destabilizing Stable Traits
Sunday, May 24, 2020
11:00 AM–11:50 AM
Marriott Marquis, Level M2, Marquis Ballroom 6
Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Jonathan J. Tarbox (University of Southern California; FirstSteps for Kids)
CE Instructor: Jonathan J. Tarbox, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: BRYAN ROCHE (National University of Ireland, Maynooth)
Abstract:

Part of the mission of radical behaviorism is to increase control over behavioral variability in all domains of human activity, and perhaps especially those in which activity is seen as constrained by invariant traits. One such “invariant trait” is intelligence, a concept long understood to represent a mentalism. However, it is only recently that behavior analysts have made progress in providing a functional-analytic model of intelligence that was sufficiently progressive to produce targeted interventions that can increase intellectual skill fluency to the point where large and reliable gains are observable on standardised tests of intelligence. In this talk Dr. Bryan Roche of Maynooth University, Ireland, will outline the rationale behind one such intervention method, known as SMART training (Strengthening Mental Abilities with Relational Training), which has emerged from a Relational Frame Theory account of derived stimulus relations. The talk will also outline evidence of the positive effects on intellectual functioning of the SMART intervention, and argue that for pragmatic, ethical, and now empirical reasons, psychologists’ traditional conceptualization of intelligence needs to be revised.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students. 

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) define a derived stimulus relation and outline the usual laboratory procedures for generating them; (2) describe the main differences between a stimulus equivalence and a Relational Frame Theory account of derived stimulus relations; (3) provide and generate their own examples of common IQ test items that clearly assess a small set of relational framing skills; (4) discuss the relevance of relational skill fluency to everyday intellectual skill proficiency; (5) interpret findings from several studies that have claimed to increase IQ scores using relational skills training interventions.
 
BRYAN ROCHE (National University of Ireland, Maynooth)
Dr. Bryan Roche has been a member of academic staff at MU since 2000.  His early work was on the development of Relational Frame Theory, a post-Skinnerian account of human language and cognition, the first text for which has been cited over 1000 times in the academic literature.  He is author of over 100 peer reviewed papers and book chapters.  Dr. Roche has developed an online intervention, based on Relational Frame Theory, that is the only intervention currently known by psychologists to increase IQ by clinically significant degrees (around 15 points) for many or most users.  This method is known as SMART (Strengthening Mental Abilities with Relational Training), and is offered online by the MU campus company RaiseYourIQ.com of which Dr. Roche is a co-director.  Dr. Roche also conducts research into fear and avoidance as part of wider interest in anxiety, and has developed a new implicit test, built from first learning principles, called the FAST (Function Acquisition Speed Test), also available online as a test and in modified form as a therapeutic intervention to  enhance psychological flexibility in the context of troubling emotional issues. 
 
 
Invited Paper Session #262
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Systemic Behavior Analysis: A Therapeutic Approach for Optimizing Best Practices for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Families
Sunday, May 24, 2020
11:00 AM–11:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 2, Room 207A
Area: PRA; Domain: Theory
Chair: Bobby Newman (Proud Moments)
CE Instructor: Angeliki Gena, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: ANGELIKI GENA (University of Athens, Greece)
Abstract:

This presentation will address the question of effective practices for the treatment of individuals with autism spectrum disorder, from both an epistemological and a therapeutic perspective, and suggest the importance of a synthesis of two paradigms—behavior analysis and general systems theory—as a means of optimizing our assessment of the needs and the services provided to people with disabilities. Despite the development and the use of a wide array of behavior analytic practices that help all children with ASD to reach their full potential, a question that remains under-researched has to do with the effort expected from the child and his/her family and whether this effort can be somehow lessened without compromising the benefits. The answer to that question led to investigating the properties of another epistemological paradigm—general systems theory—its merits, its compatibility, and its complementarity to the discipline of behavior analysis. This presentation aims to demonstrate that the two paradigms are compatible and complementary and that their combination may lead to optimizing the therapeutic and pedagogical outcomes of behavior analytic practices. If we are to adapt a systemic perspective, according to which the joining of two or more systems leads to an outcome that exceeds by far the additive effects of those systems, it will be interesting to assess the potential emergent benefits of the synthesis of two compatible and complementary epistemological paradigms and how those translate into therapeutic outcomes.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Researchers and therapists in the field of autism spectrum disorder.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation the participants will be able to: (1) utilize the main principles of Systemic Behavior Analysis to evaluate a treatment program for people with ASD; (2) assess whether the breath of a Systemic Behavior Analytic treatment program is feasible and appropriate for the population of people with ASD of his/her interest; (3) plan for changes in the development of a behavior analytic intervention that incorporate systemic elements.
 
ANGELIKI GENA (University of Athens, Greece)

Angeliki Gena is Professor at the School of Philosophy, Department of Philosopsy-Pedagogy-Psychology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece (EKPA). She received her BA in Psychology and Sociology, her Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology and her Ph.D. from the “Learning Processes” program of the Psychology Department of the City University of New York. She conducted her Doctoral Dissertation at the Princeton Child Development Institute, in Princeton, New Jersey. She worked in various institutes in the USA and became the director of the Alpine Learning Group, a prominent center for children with autism in Alpine, New Jersey. She also taught as an adjunct professor at the City University of New York. In Greece she started her teaching career at the University of Thessaly, was elected at the University of the Aegean, and since 1998 teaches at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Her research is predominantly in the area of Behavior Analysis and its applications for early intervention in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Was general secretary of the Association of Behavioral Research for 11 years, is an associate of the Institute of Behavioral Research and Therapy, and a founding member and current president of the Institute of Systemic Behavior Analysis. She has served as an elected member of the Senate of EKPA, since 2016 she is a member of the board of trustees of IKY – National Organization of Scholarships, Greece – has been appointed to national committees of the Greek Ministry of Education, and has served on the board of various non-for-profit organizations. She has received several scholarships and awards for distinguished research and clinical practices addressing children with autism and grands from the European Commission and various Greek organizations. She has published numerous books, empirical and theoretical articles in peer-reviewed journals, as well as book chapters. The main focus of her research is in systemic behavior analysis and its applications for children with ASD and their families.  

 
 
Invited Paper Session #286
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA
Don Baer Lecture: Gains and Losses on the Balance Sheet: ABA 1964–2020
Sunday, May 24, 2020
12:00 PM–12:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: PRA; Domain: Service Delivery
Chair: Shahla Susan Ala'i (University of North Texas)
CE Instructor: Sigrid Glenn, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: SIGRID GLENN (University of North Texas)
Abstract:

One might say that the treatment that launched applied behavior analysis began with a commitment to help little Dicky, a 3 ½ year old boy with autism (Wolf, Risley & Mees, 1964). The treatment was an amazing story of a successful marriage of science and clinical wisdom. Now, over 50 years later, it is evident that applied behavior analysis has both expanded and shrunk. Expansion is seen in the 2018 Annual Report of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board: 35,286 professionals certified to practice behavior analysis and 51,507 technicians registered to assist them. Most of the recipients of these practices are children and adults with autism and developmental disabilities. Among the costs of taking behavior analysis to scale has been the shrinking of what it means to be an applied behavior analyst. Both science and clinical wisdom seem to have moved to the margins and other considerations have taken center stage. We will examine some of the changes that appear to have occurred, including ossification of protocols, training and supervision in decontextualized environments, and a focus on structural rather than functional approaches to treatment. We will also examine what appears to be a misunderstanding or misapplication of what constitutes evidence-based practice. Finally, we will consider contingencies at work in the current culture that may account for many of these changes; and we will offer some observations on how the field might recapture what has been lost as it continues moving forward.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: PENDING
 
SIGRID GLENN (University of North Texas)
Sigrid Glenn is Regents Professor Emeritus at the University of North Texas.  She was the founding chair of UNT’s Department of Behavior Analysis and the founder and former director of UNT’s Behavior Analysis Online program. Her published research includes work in conceptual, experimental and applied areas; current interests are primarily conceptual and philosophical, especially as these pertain to culturo-behavioral systems. Dr. Glenn is past president of ABAI and a founding fellow of the Association. She was the 2015 recipient of the Award for Distinguished Service to Behavior Analysis. Other awards include TxABA Award for Career Contributions to Behavior Analysis in Texas; CalABA’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Behavior Analysis; the Michael Hemingway Award for Advancement of Behavior Analysis; the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies Ellen P. Reese Award in Recognition for Significant Contributions to Communication of Behavioral Concepts; and--most important to her--the ABAI 2008 Student Committee Award for Outstanding Mentorship of students.
 
 
B. F. Skinner Lecture Series Paper Session #324
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
How Children Learn Early Communicative Gestures
Sunday, May 24, 2020
3:00 PM–3:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 2, Room 207A
Area: VRB; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Einar T. Ingvarsson (Virginia Institute of Autism)
CE Instructor: Einar T. Ingvarsson, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: ELENA NICOLADIS (University of Alberta)
Abstract:

Children can communicate through gestures (like pick-me-up or pointing) even before they begin to speak. Some gestures likely develop through social learning (like waving hello). Researchers have argued that other early gestures, like the pick-me-up gesture, cannot be learned through social learning (since adults do not gesture to be picked up). They have therefore proposed that these gestures are learned through ontogenetic ritualization, a kind of learning that critically involves role and dyad specificity. Ontogenetic ritualization is thought to differ from operant conditioning. In this presentation, on the basis of videotaped interactions between parents and children between six and twelve months of age, I argue that these early communicative gestures are likely learned through operant conditioning. I also discuss the possible developmental origins of pointing, ranging from operant conditioning to species-typical behavior. It is important to entertain the possibility that simple and well-established learning mechanisms account for children’s early gestures.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Anyone interested in the early communication of typically developing infants and toddlers as well as practitioners interested in designing interventions with clinical communication-disordered populations.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) review the different developmental origins of communicative gestures most commonly considered among researchers; (2) articulate the differences between ontogenetic ritualization and operant conditioning; (3) explain why particular communicative gestures might have particular developmental origins.
 
ELENA NICOLADIS (University of Alberta)
Elena Nicoladis is a professor of psychology at the University of Alberta. Her research interests include first language acquisition (both among bilinguals and monolinguals), language and thought, and gestures in communication.
 
 
Invited Symposium #333
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Siegfried Engelmann’s Direct Instruction: Faultless Communication, Measurably Superior Learning, and the Quest for Widespread Adoption
Sunday, May 24, 2020
3:00 PM–4:50 PM
Marriott Marquis, Level M4, Independence A-C
Area: EDC; Domain: Theory
Chair: William L. Heward (Ohio State University)
Discussant: Patrick C. Friman (Boys Town)
CE Instructor: Patrick C. Friman, Ph.D.
Abstract:

Siegfried “Ziggy” Engelmann (1931-2019) dedicated his life to developing and refining Direct Instruction (DI), a powerful teaching system that combines logical selection and sequencing of examples and high rates of responding by students. Countless children and adults owe their literacy to teachers who skillfully presented DI programs developed by Engelmann and colleagues. This symposium will review Engelmann’s achievements as a pioneering scientist, examine the DI research base, show how DI's theory of instruction is harmonious with behavior analysis, and discuss factors that impede the widespread implementation of DI in schools.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe two examples of how Siegfried Engelmann was a pioneer in modern cognitive psychology and two examples of how he advanced the field of instructional design; (2) describe the overall findings of a recent meta-analysis of over 300 studies on Direct Instruction and two suggestions for extending and improving the research base; (3) describe three Direct Instruction components that combine to communicate one logical interpretation by the learner; (4) describe why modifying Direct Instruction programs often undermines its effectiveness; (5) describe three reasons why many educators find Direct Instruction aversive.
 

Science in the Service of Humanity: The Astonishing Contributions of Siegfried Engelmann

SHEPARD BARBASH (Author)
Abstract:

A pioneering scientist and educator for more than 50 years, Siegfried ‘Zig’ Engelmann was among the first to apply the scientific method to the design and delivery of instruction. He stood alone for his ability to create programs that accelerate learning in even the hardest to teach children and that most teachers can learn to use. He wrote more than 100 curricula, covering the major subjects from preschool to high school. As a professor of education at University of Oregon and founder of the National Institute for Direct Instruction, he attracted students from around the world. No one did more to help the underdog. Millions of poor children learned when taught by teachers trained in his methods, often when nothing else worked. He never gave up on a child or blamed children for the failings of adults. He lived by his motto: If the student hasn’t learned, the teacher hasn’t taught. More scientific evidence validates DI’s effectiveness than any other mode of teaching. I will present an overview of Zig’s life and achievements.

Shepard Barbash has been a writer for forty years. His work has appeared in The New York TimesWall Street JournalWashington PostSmithsonian MagazineCity JournalEducation Next and other publications. He is former bureau chief of the Houston Chronicle in Mexico City and is the author of five books, including Clear Teaching, published in 2012 by the Education Consumers Foundation. He and his wife, photographer Vicki Ragan, have published an alphabet book of limericks and three illustrated books (including one for children) on the folk-art wood carvers of Oaxaca, Mexico. He has advised the Georgia Governor’s Office and the Atlanta Public Schools (APS) on curricular issues and has organized teacher training programs and written grants for APS. He has also worked for E.D. Hirsch at the Core Knowledge Foundation. He is a graduate of Harvard University.

 

Factors in Education and ABA That Work Against Adoption and Maintenance of Direct Instruction

TIMOTHY SLOCUM (Utah State University)
Abstract:

A great deal of evidence demonstrates that Direct Instruction can be extremely effective for efficiently building academic repertoires in a wide variety of learners including those with disabilities. However, Direct Instruction is not widely implemented in schools or ABA service settings. This presentation explores the interaction of features of Direct Instruction and the resources and contingencies in potential implementation settings that account for the under-utilization of this powerful technology that addresses a high-priority need. First, Direct Instruction must be well-implemented to have the powerful effects it is capable of producing. Second, implementing Direct Instruction well requires a good deal of expertise, on-going support, and ongoing effort by educators. Third, few schools or ABA service providers understand how and why Direct Instruction is powerful; therefore, they often undermine its effectiveness when making modifications, fail to generalize its powerful features, and select less effective programs for reasons that are irrelevant to student achievement. Fourth, many educators find some features of Direct Instruction aversive because of verbal relations surrounding those features, in spite of the fact that Direct Instruction could help them achieve highly-valued outcomes.

Dr. Timothy A. Slocum earned his doctorate in Special Education at the University of Washington in 1991 and has been a faculty member at Utah State University (USU) in the Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation since that time. He has been involved in behavior analysis and reading research for more than 25 years. He has conducted research on phonological skills, vocabulary, and school-wide implementation of research-based reading instruction, and evidence-based practice. He teaches courses at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels on topics including evidence-based reading instruction, single-case research methods, statistics, advanced topics in behavior analysis, and verbal behavior. Dr. Slocum was recognized as 2011 Teacher of the Year by the USU College of Education; received the 2011 Fred S. Keller Behavioral Education award from Division 25 of the American Psychological Association; was inducted into the Direct Instruction Hall of Fame in 2013; and was named 2018 Mentor of the Year by UtABA.
 

What’s the Evidence for Direct Instruction?

JEAN STOCKARD (University of Oregon)
Abstract:

More than fifty years and 300 studies document DI’s effectiveness. A recent meta-analysis found that the average effect size for DI was over .50, substantially larger than the level typically found in studies of other programs. Estimated effects were similar across time, methodologies, student characteristics, settings, outcome variables, and comparison programs. However, they were larger when students were exposed for longer periods of time and with greater fidelity, surpassing the effect associated with the average achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students. Future research might most effectively focus on ways to improve implementation fidelity and understand resistance to the programs.

Jean Stockard has Bachelor of Arts degrees in mathematics and sociology, a Masters of Arts in Sociology, and a Ph.D. in Sociology. She taught at the University of Oregon from 1974 to 2011 and currently holds the rank of Professor Emerita. She has published eight books and over seven dozen articles in a wide variety of areas, including sociology of gender, urban sociology, sociology of education, sociology of health and demography. She has taught a variety of courses related to these areas as well as numerous classes on methodology and quantitative analysis. Professor Stockard was President of the Pacific Sociological Association in 2008, the regional association serving the western United States, Canada, and Mexico; served as co-editor of Sociological Perspectives, a general sociological journal; and was employed for nine years as Director of Research and Evaluation at the National Institute for Direct Instruction, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping schools in disadvantaged areas better serve their students.

 

Faultless Communication: The Heart and Soul of DI

JANET TWYMAN (blast)
Abstract:

Engelmann and colleagues realized that a scientific analysis of learning needed to control for one of two variables: either the learner or the instruction. As no two learners are alike, they focused on controlling instruction—in the form of logical, “faultless communication.” For most novice learners, normal instruction is riddled with confusion and ambiguity. To reduce misinterpretation and maximize learning, DI's instructional components (such as content analysis, explicit teaching, judicious example selection, and structured sequencing) are designed communicate one logical interpretation. The effects on the learner's performance are then observed, and the communication redesigned until faultless. DI's “Theory of Instruction” is harmonious with behavior analysis and beneficial to anyone interested in the heart and soul of good instruction.

Janet Twyman received her Ph.D. from Columbia University. She currently holds the positions of Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Director of Innovation and Technology for the Center on Innovations in Learning, having served previously as Vice President of Instructional Development, Research, and Implementation for Headsprout. Dr. Twyman is widely recognized as an authority on instructional design, fully informed by behavior analytic research and conceptualization. Her leadership contributions at Headsprout were pivotal in managing a project of more than $6 million, which reached more than a million children with effective reading instruction. Similarly impressive were her contributions and her leadership at the Fred S. Keller School, where she served as executive director for eight years, arranging a behavioral approach to every aspect of the school’s functioning and inspiring many students, staff members, and parents in doing so. Dr. Twyman has also provided significant service to the field, with leadership roles within the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Research and for ABAI, where she served as president, Executive Council member, and chair of several important boards and task forces.
 
 
B. F. Skinner Lecture Series Paper Session #343
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Bullying Among Youth in the Digital Era
Sunday, May 24, 2020
4:00 PM–4:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 2, Room 207A
Area: DDA; Domain: Service Delivery
Chair: Kelly M. Schieltz (University of Iowa)
CE Instructor: Kelly M. Schieltz, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: REBECCA ANG (National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
Abstract:

The advancement of technology has inevitably shaped social interactions for a large majority of adolescents in urbanized cities. This digital age is a time of positive growth, but also a time of considerable challenge. Bullying has extended its reach from the physical to the cyberspace. Most of what we now know about traditional bullying and cyberbullying comes from research conducted in Western societies. There have been a number of studies from Asian Pacific Rim societies, though it is acknowledged that there is a comparative lack of studies from South-East Asian countries. This talk will review key issues in this field such as the similarities, differences, and relationship between cyberbullying and traditional bullying, measurement issues in cyberbullying research as it relates to prevalence rates, and crucial cross-cultural considerations. This talk will also examine the risk and protective factors, and outcomes including mental health outcomes of traditional/cyberbullying victims and perpetrators. Finally, this talk will also include a review of prevention and intervention strategies targeting multiple levels and contexts/systems (individual, relationships such as parent-adolescent, teacher-student, peer-peer, school, community) which will be needed to more effectively address traditional and cyberbullying in an integrated manner.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) discuss the similarities, differences, and relationship between cyberbullying and traditional bullying; (2) discuss measurement issues in cyberbullying research and how these issues influence prevalence rates; (3) review the risk and protective factors, and outcomes of cyberbullying/traditional victims and perpetrators; (4) promote prevention and intervention strategies targeting multiple levels and contexts/systems in order to more effectively address cyberbullying and traditional bullying in an integrated manner.
 
REBECCA ANG (National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
Rebecca P. Ang is a Professor with the Psychological Studies Academic Group, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NIE NTU Singapore). She obtained her Ph.D. in School Psychology from Texas A&M University. She is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist in the USA, and a Registered Psychologist in Singapore. Dr. Ang’s research and professional interests include developmental child psychopathology, and in particular antisocial, aggressive behavior, and related prevention and intervention work. She is also interested in children’s relationships with their parents and teachers, and the impact these relationships have on children’s adjustment and functioning. Dr. Ang is a well-cited researcher whose scholarly work has been published in international peer reviewed journals. She serves on various advisory boards within NTU, government ministries, as well as voluntary welfare organizations. Some of her previous awards include the International Council of Psychologists Seisoh Sukemune/Bruce Bain Early Career Research Award, Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Singapore Foundation Education Award, the NTU Nanyang Education Award (College), and the Singapore National Day Award - The Public Administration Medal (Bronze).
 
 
Invited Panel #348
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA
Behavioral Economics: A Panel Discussion on Its Past, Present, and Future
Sunday, May 24, 2020
4:00 PM–4:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: SCI; Domain: Theory
Chair: Derek D. Reed (University of Kansas)
CE Instructor: Derek D. Reed, Ph.D.
Panelists: WARREN BICKEL (Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech), STEVEN HURSH (Institutes for Behavior Resources, Inc.), AMY ODUM (Utah State University)
Abstract:

Behavioral economics is the intersection of operant psychology and micro-economic principles. The subfield of behavioral economics began as a novel means of interpreting drug administration studies in behavioral pharmacology and the experimental analysis of behavior. Over time, the translational utility of behavioral economics—especially in the domains of delay discounting and operant demand—has become apparent in nearly all facets of behavior analysis (e.g., OBM, treatment of severe problem behavior, substance use, education). Decades of research on the topics of discounting and demand have thereby led to the development of efficient yet psychometrically sound measures that permit generality to nearly any setting or research question. Recent critiques of behavioral economics, however, suggest it is antithetical to the dimensions of behavior analysis due to the use of self-report and quantitative analyses. This panel discussion will feature three of the most impactful luminaries in behavioral economics; collectively, the group will discuss the behavior analytic origins of behavioral economics, contemporary applications in behavior analysis, and suggestions for future research and development.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Any behavior analyst.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) define behavioral economics in behavior analytic terms; (2) describe the behavior analytic origins of behavioral economics; (3) identify behavioral economic principles that are omnipresent in behavior analytic practices.
WARREN BICKEL (Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech)
Dr. Warren Bickel is a leading figure in behavioral pharmacology, with an outstanding record of scientific and professional contributions to experimental and applied behavior analysis. His work on the applications of behavioral economic principles derived from basic research with nonhuman organisms to drug abuse in humans has opened an exciting and productive new approach to this area with implications for treatments and science-based drug abuse policies. Dr. Bickel's work has contributed to the expanded use of methadone for the treatment of opioid dependence and the development and approval of buprenorphine, the newest agent for opioid-dependent treatment. He has received numerous awards and positions for his accomplishments, including a MERIT Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, University Scholar Award from the University of Vermont, editor of Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, president of Division 28 of the American Psychological Association, and president of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence. He has published four books and more than 200 journal articles and book chapters.
STEVEN HURSH (Institutes for Behavior Resources, Inc.)
Dr. Steven R. Hursh received his BA from Wake Forest University in 1968 and his Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego in 1972. He is the president of the Institutes for Behavior Resources and adjunct professor of Behavioral Biology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Hursh has over 40 years' experience as a researcher and is author of over 80 articles, book chapters, and books. He is a former associate editor of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. His seminal article on economic concepts for the analysis of behavior is considered one of the most significant articles in the history of the journal. Dr. Hursh has been a key figure in the establishment of behavioral economics as a major conceptual area. His research papers have introduced into the behavioral vocabulary a number of "household terms" in behavioral psychology: open and closed economies, demand curves and demand elasticity, unit price, substitution and complementarity, Pmax, Omax, and recently essential value based on exponential demand that has broad generality across species and reinforcers. His extensions to drug abuse and the framing of drug abuse policy have had a major impact on the direction of research on substance use disorders. 
AMY ODUM (Utah State University)

Amy Odum is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Utah State University. Her research interests are in basic behavioral phenomena, such as response persistence, sensitivity to delayed outcomes, conditional discriminations, and environmental influences on drug effects. Her work has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Mental Health. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Vermont’s Human Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory after earning her Ph.D. and M.A. in Psychology, specializing in Behavior Analysis, from West Virginia University. She received a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Florida. Dr. Odum served as Editor in Chief of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. She has been President of the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and President of Division 25 (Behavior Analysis) of the American Psychological Association. She is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International.

 
 
Invited Paper Session #361
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
The Interaction Between Development and Instruction
Sunday, May 24, 2020
5:00 PM–5:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 1, Salon C
Area: DEV; Domain: Basic Research
Chair: Jessica Singer-Dudek (Teachers College, Columbia University)
CE Instructor: Kieva Hranchuk, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: KIEVA HRANCHUK (St. Lawrence College)
Abstract:

The difference between curricula and pedagogy is highlighted best when we consider what we teach versus how we teach it. There exists an interaction between development and instruction such that instruction can only be effective if the educator considers the learner’s level of verbal development. The ways in which we teach must cater to the current verbal developmental cusps found within the learner’s repertoire. While the progression of instructional objectives targeted within a curriculum will change as the learner acquires the necessary prerequisite skills to move forward, attention should be placed on modifying the ways in which we teach those subsequent objectives. Research in the field of verbal behavior development has proven time and time again that the acquisition of skills can be accelerated if the method of teaching is consistent with the capabilities that the learner exhibits, i.e. the presence of verbal developmental cusps within their repertoire.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Educators, Practitioners, and Researchers

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) discuss verbal developmental cusps; (2) identify how verbal development relates to pedagogy; (3) modify instruction to better suit the learner.
 
KIEVA HRANCHUK (St. Lawrence College)

Kieva is both a certified special education teacher and a doctoral-level board certified behavior analyst. She specializes in teacher training as well as in supervision of evidence-based service delivery to students with and without disabilities. Her interests include effective delivery of instruction, analyzing rates of learning in young children, inclusion/integration, kindergarten readiness, verbal behavior development, and the CABAS® model. Her research focuses on how teaching procedures can be effectively modified to accelerate student learning. Kieva received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and a Behavioural Science Technician post-graduate certificate from George Brown College in Toronto, Ontario. She then worked at both Surrey Place Centre in Toronto and at the CHEO Autism Program in Ottawa before making the big move to New York City. There, she earned her M.A. in Teaching as Applied Behavior Analysis and her Ph.D. in Applied Behavior Analysis at Columbia University. She has taught at both Columbia University and Arizona State University as an Adjunct Assistant Professor. Additionally, Kieva helped to pioneer the Scottsdale Children’s Institute, an integrated kindergarten readiness program in Arizona where she then served as the Clinical Director for two years before moving back to Canada to begin her career as a full-time Professor at St. Lawrence College.

 
 
B. F. Skinner Lecture Series Paper Session #366
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Leveraging Technology for Health Behavior Change
Sunday, May 24, 2020
5:00 PM–5:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: SCI; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Stephanie M. Peterson (Western Michigan University)
CE Instructor: Stephanie M. Peterson, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: SHERRY PAGOTO (University of Massachusetts Medical School)
Abstract:

The digital health industry, estimated to be worth $206 billion by 2020, has produced countless mobile apps, wearable devices, and other technologies to help users develop healthy lifestyles to manage and prevent physical and mental illness. An open question is whether behavioral science is being applied to these innovations which reach millions of users each day. In this talk, Dr. Pagoto will first discuss her work examining the degree to which the work of behavioral scientists is represented in popular commercial health technologies, and then she will present her research applying behavioral principles via mobile technology and social media. Finally, she will discuss ways that technology can provide novel sources of data to enhance our understanding of behavior as well as the efficacy and reach of behavioral interventions.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) understand the important role that behavioral science can and should play in informing digital health innovations; (2) understand ways that behavioral strategies, including stimulus control, self-monitoring, and others, can be applied using mobile technology; (3) understand ways that social media can be leveraged to reduce the burden of behavioral interventions while enhancing the impact of behavioral strategies.
 
SHERRY PAGOTO (University of Massachusetts Medical School)
Dr. Pagoto earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Western Michigan University in 2000. She is now a Professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut and Director of the UConn Center for mHealth and Social Media. Her research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, focuses on leveraging technology in the development and delivery of behavioral interventions designed to reduce risk for the top two causes of death in the US: cardiovascular disease and cancer. She has published nearly 200 papers on these topics. Devoted to communicating behavioral science to the public, she has >25K followers on Twitter and has written for the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Salon, US News and World Report, Chronicle of Higher Education, and Psychology Today. Her work has been featured in major news outlets including CNN, NPR, NBC News, ABC News, and Good Morning America. As a lifelong devoted behavior analyst, she keeps a first edition signed copy of B. F. Skinner’s autobiography displayed in her office.
 
 
Invited Paper Session #382
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Designing Instruction for All Learners: How Verbal Development Informs Curriculum
Sunday, May 24, 2020
6:00 PM–6:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 1, Salon C
Area: DEV; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Jo Ann Pereira Delgado (Teachers College, Columbia University)
CE Instructor: Jennifer Weber, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: JENNIFER WEBER (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Abstract:

Research findings from our CABAS® and Accelerated Independent Learner (AIL) schools and laboratories have demonstrated that instruction for all learners is best arranged with a focus on verbal development. The Early Learner Curriculum and Achievement Record (ELCAR, previously known as the C-PIRK) provides an inventory of repertoires and verbal developmental cusps that are the foundation for children to excel in Kindergarten. Our AIL objectives and new STEM curricula serve more advanced learners. However, knowing what to teach is only half the battle. Instruction must take place within the context of the learner’s verbal development. Once students have the necessary foundational repertoires and verbal behavior developmental cusps that will allow learning to occur, it is crucial to identify the proper instructional objectives. In this talk, I will provide academic teaching sequences aligned to both State and Common Core standards to instruct all students. I will also provide an overview of how to arrange instruction for all learners, from students at the pre-foundational level to those who are independent readers and writers.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Individuals interested in verbal behavior, or verbal behavior developmental theory in relation to instructional design.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) discuss the foundational verbal behavior developmental cusps that allows for learning to occur; (2) describe how to arrange academic instruction based on verbal behavior developmental cusps; (3) provide detailed descriptions of academic teaching sequences for students at different levels of verbal behavior; (4) discuss best instructional practices to accelerate learning for all learners.
 
JENNIFER WEBER (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Dr. Jennifer Weber is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at both Teachers College, Columbia University and Nicholls State University. She received her Master’s, M.Phill, and Ph.D., in Applied Behavior Analysis from Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Weber is a doctoral level-board certified behavior analyst and holds a CABAS® Senior Behavior Analyst rank. She specializes in training teachers to utilize a Strategic Science of Teaching in both Special Education and General Education settings. Her research interests include verbal behavior development, instructional design, and teacher training.
 
 
Invited Paper Session #383
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA
What Your Future Self Wants You to Know Now
Sunday, May 24, 2020
6:00 PM–6:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: EAB; Domain: Theory
Chair: Erik Arntzen (Oslo Metropolitan University)
CE Instructor: Amy Odum, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: AMY ODUM (Utah State University)
Abstract:

Although the behavior of humans and other animals can show exquisite sensitivity to consequences, under some circumstances, we act as if important variables are irrelevant. Why is that? How can we learn to act now, to avoid regret later? I will discuss common end-of-life regrets and work backwards to the present, reverse engineering the path we will wish we had taken. Delay discounting, the decline in the present value of temporally remote rewards, can contribute to the understanding and thus prevention of regret. I will discuss the factors that give rise to our disregard of our future preferences. These include the shape of discounting curves, aspects of the rewards in consideration, and organismic influences. I will discuss research from the basic laboratory to the clinic, and apply it to individual, societal, and global decision-making levels. Within these factors are the keys to changing our own decision making now to prevent regret later.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Practitioners, basic, applied, and clinical behavior analysts.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) define delay discounting; (2) discuss how delay discounting contributes to regret; (3) describe the shape of delay discounting curves and how this contributes to impulsivity; (4) describe the contribution of reward type to delay discounting; (5) describe the organismic contribution to delay discounting.
 
AMY ODUM (Utah State University)

Amy Odum is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Utah State University. Her research interests are in basic behavioral phenomena, such as response persistence, sensitivity to delayed outcomes, conditional discriminations, and environmental influences on drug effects. Her work has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Mental Health. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Vermont’s Human Behavioral Pharmacology Laboratory after earning her Ph.D. and M.A. in Psychology, specializing in Behavior Analysis, from West Virginia University. She received a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Florida. Dr. Odum served as Editor in Chief of the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. She has been President of the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and President of Division 25 (Behavior Analysis) of the American Psychological Association. She is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International.

 
 
Invited Paper Session #431
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Expanding Behavior Analysis to Promote Better Outcomes for Persons With Disabilities
Monday, May 25, 2020
8:00 AM–8:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 1, Salon C
Area: CBM; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Michele R. Traub (St. Cloud State University)
CE Instructor: Alison Cox, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: ALISON COX (Brock University)
Abstract:

Objectivity, accountability, replicability, verifiability: these are a sample of the cornerstones of the science of behaviour analysis. As a field, we emphasize developing direct measurement systems to promote accountability. These systems may add value across client services and service delivery models that may not always incorporate direct measurement protocols. For example, my co-investigator and I developed a program evaluation tool, guided by behavior analytic measurement practices, to examine how well services align with respective best-practice recommendations in a government-funded service supporting adults with acquired brain injury. Direct measurement systems may also add substantial value to psychopharmacology in treating challenging behavior in individuals with disabilities (e.g., intellectual and developmental disabilities; acquired brain injury). In fact, recent literature has concluded medication monitoring processes in this context are poor or non-existent. Clients often receive concurrent, but separate, psychopharmacological and behavioural interventions. In some cases, psychiatry and behaviour analysts working together. These relatively rare arrangements present behavior analysts with an opportunity to promote systematic data collection to efficiently identify medication impact on behavior (e.g., adaptive, maladaptive), including side effects. Unfortunately, behavior analysts do not often receive formal training relevant to psychotropic medications. Promoting behavior analysis as a valuable component in the context of psychopharmacological intervention means having behavior analysts well-trained in this area. One step towards this goal may be to establish an evidence-based training protocol enabling behavior analysts to perform effectively when collaboration opportunities arises. I will describe a research project exploring the clinical utility and feasibility of a Medications Guidelines Tool and training for behavior analysts.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Behavioral practitioners; applied researchers

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) summarize the current status of the intersection between applied behavior analysis and psychotropic medication; (2) discuss how and where to start in developing program evaluation systems, guided by behavior analytic principles, in a treatment context; (3) discuss how and where to start in developing data collection systems in relation to psychotropic medication effects in the context of medication monitoring.
 
ALISON COX (Brock University)

Dr. Alison Cox received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Manitoba. She is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst – Doctoral. Throughout her Ph.D., Dr. Cox was involved in a variety of research initiatives ranging from developing measures to reliably identify preference in individuals with profound multiple disabilities to teaching children and adolescents with autism to successfully undergo MRI procedures. As an Assistant Professor in the Applied Disability Studies program at Brock University her research interests continue to be diverse. However, her primary interests lay in behavioral medicine, including examining the effects of psychotropic medication on behaviour. Through her current and past research and clinical experiences Dr. Cox has developed specific expertise in assessing and treating severe challenging behaviour in individuals with dual diagnosis and acquired brain injury, supporting skill acquisition in individuals with dual diagnosis and autism, and supervising early intensive behavioural intervention programs. Dr. Cox has presented her work at international and national conferences, is published in several prominent behaviour analytic journals, and serves as a peer-reviewer across a range of journals in the disabilities field. Finally, Dr. Cox currently serves on the Ontario Association for Behaviour Analysis (ONTABA) Adult Task Force and recently co-authored a best-practice guidelines document entitled Evidence-based Practices for Individuals with Challenging Behaviour: Recommendations for Caregiver, Practitioners, and Policy Makers.

 
 
B. F. Skinner Lecture Series Paper Session #435
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Improving Observed Parenting and Enhancing Well-Being in Parents of Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Monday, May 25, 2020
8:00 AM–8:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: DEV; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Jessica Singer-Dudek (Teachers College, Columbia University)
CE Instructor: Jessica Singer-Dudek, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: MARLA BRASSARD (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Abstract:

Research has shown that parents of children with ASD are among the most stressed as compared to all other parents, including those who have children with other psychiatric conditions and developmental disabilities (Hayes & Watson, 2013). Parents of children with ASD are chronically stressed because the demands of the family environment often exceed the parent’s ability to cope. There are few evidence-based interventions available for professionals to use with parents of a child with ASD: some use cognitive therapies, such as meditation, some use social support to reduce stress and mental health problems, and others use implement parent training to improve child behavior. Few if any combine both mental health and behavioral approaches, and none of these are designed for implementation by school personnel. This presentation describes findings from a multi-year transdisciplinary investigation into the most common stressors for parents of preschool children with ASD attending a CABAS® model school. Specifically, in two studies we surveyed parents to determine their reported levels of stress and common stressors, as well as parents’ mental and physical wellbeing, self-care, and self-efficacy skills. In the first study we also examined mother-child interactions during free-play and demand situations in order to determine possible target behaviors for intervention. Implications of the findings and suggestions for interventions will be discussed.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Those interested in parent education and interventions to help parents cope with the stresses of parenting a child with ASD. These may include practitioners, educators, researchers, or parents themselves.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe the evidence as to whether a child’s negative behaviors are manipulative (and thus should be ignored) OR important signals of a child’s needs (and thus should be attended to); (2) describe how child characteristics (e.g., temperament, verbal behavior developmental level, rate of learning in the ABA school, co-morbid diagnoses, severity of ASD) relate to the quality of observed parenting and the implications of these findings for interventions; (3) describe the stressors and mental health of mothers and fathers and the implications for intervention; (4) list the self-care practices that are related to lower stress and better observed quality of parenting.
 
MARLA BRASSARD (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Marla R. Brassard, Ph.D., is a Professor in the School Psychology Program at Teachers College, Columbia University. For 37 years her research has focused on parenting, especially psychological maltreatment (PM) of children by parents, a non-physical form of abuse and neglect, that research shows is the equivalent in adverse causal impact to other forms of maltreatment and the most related to depression and suicidal behavior. Recently her work has expanded to include parenting in other high stress contexts, specifically parenting a young child with autistic spectrum disorder, with a focus on interventions that enhance parental wellbeing and increase quality of parenting. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association and past president of the Council of Directors of School Psychology Programs.
 
 
Invited Paper Session #437
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
A Behavior Analytic Theory of Complex Behavior
Monday, May 25, 2020
8:00 AM–8:50 AM
Marriott Marquis, Level M2, Marquis Ballroom 6
Area: PCH; Domain: Theory
Chair: Michael D. Hixson (Central Michigan University)
CE Instructor: Henry Schlinger, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: HENRY SCHLINGER (California State University, LA)
Abstract:

In 1950, Skinner published an article titled “Are Theories of Learning Necessary?” which was widely misunderstood and misrepresented as arguing that theories in science were not necessary. In fact, he was arguing that explanations of behavior consisting of explanatory fictions were not only not necessary, but faulty. Skinner’s choice of the term “theory” in that context was unfortunate. Elsewhere (e.g., Skinner, 1957), Skinner has used the term “interpretation” to refer to his extrapolation of the basic principles of operant behavior from the experimental laboratory to the understanding of complex behavior, including behavior he called verbal. This was also an unfortunate choice because what he called interpretation was nothing less than a theoretical analysis. In this instance, the standard term “theory” would have been more appropriate. In the present talk, I offer one view of what theories in science are and how they originate, and then I discuss what a behavior-analytic theory is and how it has been, and continues to be, applied to understanding complex human behavior. As with theories in the natural sciences, behavior-analytic theory does not posit circular explanations, does not commit the nominal fallacy or the reification fallacy, and is parsimonious. In other words, the statements comprising the theory point to observable or potentially observable and testable events.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) define and describe theory in the natural sciences and in behavior analysis; (2) define and describe with examples the critical thinking strategies of nominal fallacy, reification, circular reasoning (explanatory fictions), and parsimony; (3) describe what the basic unit of analysis in behavior analysis is and how behavior-analytic theory can be used to explain some examples of complex human behavior; (4) describe how a behavior-analytic theory of complex behavior is parsimonious.
 
HENRY SCHLINGER (California State University, LA)

Henry D. (Hank) Schlinger Jr. received his Ph.D. in psychology (applied behavior analysis) from Western Michigan University (WMU) under the supervision of Jack Michael. He then completed a two-year National Institutes of Health-funded post-doctoral fellowship in behavioral pharmacology also at WMU with Alan Poling. Dr. Schlinger was a full tenured professor of psychology at Western New England University in Springfield, MA, before moving to Los Angeles in 1998. He is now professor of psychology and former director of the M. S. Program in Applied Behavior Analysis in the Department of Psychology at California State University, Los Angeles. Dr. Schlinger has published 80 scholarly articles, chapters, and commentaries in more than 30 different journals. He also has authored or co-authored three books, Psychology: A Behavioral Overview (1990), A Behavior-Analytic View of Child Development (1995) (which was translated into Japanese), and Introduction to Scientific Psychology (1998). He is past editor of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior and The Behavior Analyst and sits on the editorial boards of several other journals. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies and on the Advisory Board of The Venus Project (https://www.resourcebasedeconomy.org/advisory-board/). He received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Psychology at Western Michigan University in 2012, and the Jack Michael Award for Outstanding Contributions in Verbal Behavior from the Verbal Behavior Special Interest Group of the Association for Behavior Analysis International in 2015.

 
 
B. F. Skinner Lecture Series Paper Session #452
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Neurobehavioral Biomarkers of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Monday, May 25, 2020
9:00 AM–9:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 2, Room 207A
Area: AUT; Domain: Basic Research
Chair: Tiffany Kodak (Marquette University)
CE Instructor: Tiffany Kodak, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: GABRIELA ROSENBLAU (George Washington University)
Abstract:

Advances in genetics, molecular biology, and cognitive neuroscience offer hope for personalized treatment and improved outcomes in those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the promise of precision medicine is limited by a lack of mechanistic models that explain phenotypic and etiological heterogeneity; instead of using such models to identify subgroups likely to respond to specific treatments, the field relies on service availability, trial-and-error, and clinical judgment to make treatment decisions. In line with the computational psychiatry objective, my research integrates mathematical models of behavior and brain activity to establish neurocognitive models that can successfully predict individual social and nonsocial learning profiles. Specifically, I am formally comparing the suitability of various computational models to capture selective deficits in social learning of individuals with ASD, as well as variability in both social and nonsocial learning across typically developing youth and those with ASD. Identifying how these model-based predictions are implemented in the brain will allow us to identify neural architecture underlying learning in therapeutically relevant contexts. The long-term goal of this research line is to apply these computational models to inform, refine, and individualize diagnosis, education, and treatment of youth with ASD.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: PENDING
 
GABRIELA ROSENBLAU (George Washington University)

I am an Assistant Professor of cognitive neuroscience in the Psychology department at George Washington University (GWU). I am also affiliated with the Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute at GWU. My research combines computational and neuroscientific methods to understand the neurobiological mechanisms underlying learning in neurotypical and clinical populations, especially autism spectrum disorder. I have expertise in designing naturalistic tasks to assess social decision making in behavior and brain function, conducting longitudinal clinical studies, computational modeling and developmental cognitive neuroscience. I have recently been awarded the Bridge to Independence Award by the Simons Foundation for Autism Research to study learning in autism with a computational neuroscientific approach and its implications for treatment.

 
 
B. F. Skinner Lecture Series Paper Session #459
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
The Influence of Social Synchrony and Social and Motor Context on Social Communication, Social Interaction, and Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors in Autism
Monday, May 25, 2020
9:00 AM–9:50 AM
Marriott Marquis, Level M2, Marquis Ballroom 6
Area: EAB; Domain: Basic Research
Chair: Karen M. Lionello-DeNolf (Assumption College)
CE Instructor: Karen M. Lionello-DeNolf, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: PAULA FITZPATRICK (Assumption College)
Abstract:

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is marked by social communication and interaction impairments and restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs), yet little is understood about the etiology of these impairments and there are few successful treatment interventions. The expression and severity of social impairments can vary widely across individuals, so more objective bio-behavioral markers that measure the process of how interactions unfold over time will greatly enhance our understanding and could lead to targeting of interventions to particular subgroups of patients. Engagement in restrictive and repetitive behaviors can compound the social communication and interaction difficulties, so a fuller understanding of the contextual factors that influence the expression of RRBs is also need. In this talk, I argue that social synchrony may be a useful dynamic bio-marker of social ability in children and adolescents with ASD. The relevance of social synchrony and coupled oscillator-based modeling of synchronization for understanding social impairment in ASD will be discussed and synchronization ability for spontaneous and intentional interpersonal coordination in children and adolescents with and without ASD will be compared. In addition, I will present data that evaluates the relationship between synchronization ability and more traditional clinical and social cognitive measures of social ability and evaluate the influence of social and motor context on the presentation of RRBs and language production during conversation. Finally, the promise of social synchronization ability for providing a measure with heightened resolution to identify the essential qualities of social performance in naturalistic situations and isolate underlying neural mechanisms that may be disrupted in ASD will be discussed and directions for future research and potential interventions outlined.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) illustrate the relevance of social synchrony and coupled oscillator-based modeling of synchronization for understanding social communication and interaction impairment in autism spectrum disorder; (2) Compare synchronization ability for spontaneous, intentional, interpersonal coordination during social-motor tasks and during conversation in children and adolescents with and without ASD using both behavioral and neural measures; (3) Explain the relationship between synchronization ability and traditional measures of social cognition; (4) Demonstrate the importance of social and motor context in influencing RRB presentation and language production and discuss its use for interventions; (5) Describe the application of social synchronization as a potential early biobehavioral marker and treatment intervention for ASD.
 
PAULA FITZPATRICK (Assumption College)
My research focuses on understanding how bodily movement tunes psychological development by exploring the impact of motor behavior on social, cognitive, and emotional developmental outcomes from infancy through adolescence. In particular, current projects focus on understanding the relationship between motor coordination and social skills, the contribution of social coordination to social problems in autism, the factors (at the level of the child and family) that influence the development of motor skill, and the relationship between motor skill and early learning and academic success. My research derives from dynamical systems theory that emphasizes self-organizing principles of stability, instability, and behavioral transitions to understand the emergence and progression of behavior. My approach involves measuring behavior across multiple domains (motor, social, cognitive, emotional) and at a number of scales—observable behavioral coding, micro-dynamical time-series measures, and, more recently, neurobiological measures. My research employs innovative, multi-method research designs and the formation of collaborative research teams with diverse backgrounds that cut across disciplinary expertise—developmental psychology, clinical psychology, social psychology, movement science, neuroscience, and education—and has important implications for translating new knowledge about social, cognitive, and motor development into treatments and interventions to help struggling children and families. 
 
 
B. F. Skinner Lecture Series Paper Session #461
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA
Experimental and Behavioral Psychology at Harvard From William James to B. F. Skinner
Monday, May 25, 2020
9:00 AM–9:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: PCH; Domain: Theory
Chair: Darlene E. Crone-Todd (Salem State University)
CE Instructor: Darlene E. Crone-Todd, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: SARA SCHECHNER (Harvard University)
Abstract:

In 1892, William James brought Hugo Münsterberg from Freiburg to direct the new, Harvard Psychological Laboratory that James had created in the Philosophy Department. Münsterberg had trained under William Wundt in Leipzig, who had pioneered an experimental method to explore the relationship between mental events and physical experience. The New Psychology banished the old method of introspection. Instead, it relied on highly controlled experiments with equipment borrowed from the domains of physics and physiology. Researchers studied the psychology of the senses, the timing of mental acts, judgement, memory, and attention. Starting with these “prism, pendulum, and chronograph philosophers,” as James called them, this talk will conclude with B. F. Skinner and his experiments on operant conditioning, reinforcement, and learning. Special attention will be paid to early apparatus such as reaction keys, prototype operant chambers, cumulative recorders, and teaching machines. The apparatus, laboratory records, memoranda, and correspondence of James, Munsterberg, and Skinner survive at Harvard University and can be accessed by scholars interested in the development of their thought.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe the history of experimental psychology at Harvard University between 1875 and 1965; (2) list the types of research and teaching apparatus used by experimental psychologists William James, Hugo Munsterberg; BF Skinner, and others; (3) state how to gain access to historical scientific instruments and documents in the Harvard Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments and Harvard University Archives.
 
SARA SCHECHNER (Harvard University)

Sara Schechner, Ph.D. is the David P. Wheatland Curator of the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments at Harvard University, where she is also on the faculty of the History of Science Department.  She has served as Secretary of the Scientific Instrument Commission of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology.  She has published widely on the history of astronomy, scientific instruments, and material culture and has curated numerous exhibitions, including several on the history of psychology.

Schechner earned degrees in physics and the history and philosophy of science from Harvard and Cambridge.  Before returning to Harvard, she was chief curator at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, and curated exhibits for the Smithsonian Institution, the American Astronomical Society, and the American Physical Society.  Schechner’s research, teaching, and exhibition work has earned her many awards.  She is the 2019 recipient of the Paul Bunge Prize from the German Chemical Society and the German Bunsen Society for Physical Chemistry, which is regarded worldwide as the most important honor in the history of scientific instruments.  She has also received the prestigious LeRoy E. Doggett Prize for Historical Astronomy from the American Astronomical Society, the Joseph H. Hazen Education Prize of the History of Science Society, and the Great Exhibitions Award of the British Society for the History of Science.

 
 
B. F. Skinner Lecture Series Paper Session #472
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA
Scaling Up Behavioral Therapy for Public Health: The Case of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Stopping Cigarette Smoking
Monday, May 25, 2020
10:00 AM–10:50 AM
Marriott Marquis, Level M4, Liberty I-L
Area: CSS; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Thomas G. Szabo (Florida Institute of Technology)
CE Instructor: Thomas G. Szabo, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: JONATHAN BRICKER (University of Washington)
Abstract:

Despite the rise of nicotine vaping and its recent public scares, cigarette smoking remains the single most preventable cause of premature death in the USA and for many other parts of the world. Smoking kills over 7 million people a year. Smoking fits well with the principles of applied behavior analysis because it is a highly repetitious behavior maintained by its consequences. Early applications of functional analysis and conditioning led to promising treatments for helping people stop smoking but as group and individual face-to-face therapies they were hampered high intensity, cost, and low scalability. Fortunately, the rise of digital technologies and telehealth has a recreated the ability for provide behavioral therapies for smoking cessation on a broad scale at lower cost. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a contemporary form of clinical behavior analysis based on Skinner’s philosophy of Radical Behaviorism, is becoming a prominent therapeutic approach to digital and telehealth delivered smoking cessation. ACT teaches functional analysis, present moment awareness, and values-based living to help people cope with urges and stay committed to living smoke free. I will show how my research team translates ACT principles into concrete and highly accessible treatment programs on platforms including telephone-delivered behaviorial coaching, websites, smartphone apps, and chatbots for smoking cessation. This translational research is an iterative process of expert clinician input, user testing, and rapid prototyping. Once developed, we test each of these delivery platforms in both small and large-scale randomized controlled trials comparing the ACT program with standard cognitive behavioral programs. I will share the latest results of these trials and how our interventions have already reached over 50,000 people. I will close with highlighting the future directions of our research, including applications to treatment of obesity.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe how Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is scaled up as a broad reaching public health technology intervention; (2) apply certain ACT and contextual behavioral principles for tobacco cessation and other addictive behaviors; (3) discuss latest research findings on ACT for tobacco cessation, and their impact on Washington State-level tobacco policy.
 
JONATHAN BRICKER (University of Washington)

Dr. Jonathan Bricker’s passion is to scale up behavioral therapies into high reach public health intervention programs.  He is an internationally recognized scientific leader in the behavioral therapy called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). He focuses ACT on skills for self-control, particularly for quitting smoking and other addictions. His programs have been developed and tested on many platforms, including apps, chatbots, websites, and telephone coaching that reach thousands of people daily. Rather than encouraging people to ignore cravings, his approach to ACT is to focus on becoming aware of triggers for cravings and choosing not to act on them. His smoking cessation programs have achieved success rates that are double that of other programs—cutting cigarette use by 75 percent. Dr. Bricker has over 85 scientific publication and has received $14 million in US Government NIH grants, predominantly for WebQuit, iCanQuit and the TALK study of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for smoking cessation. His research and expert testimony was instrumental in Washington State passing a law to increase the minimum age of tobacco sales to 21.

He founded and leads the Health And Behavioral Innovations in Technology lab (which goes by the apt acronym: HABIT), which is part of the Public Health Sciences Division, at the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Bricker’s expertise in his field has led him to his current role of senior editor of the journal, Addiction. His TEDx talk, “The Secret to Self-Control” has been viewed nearly 5 million times, and has been translated into ten languages.

 
 
Invited Paper Session #478
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA — 
Ethics
Countering Countability Culture: A Behavioral Systems Perspective on the Replication Crisis
Monday, May 25, 2020
10:00 AM–10:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: OBM; Domain: Theory
Chair: Byron J. Wine (The Faison Center)
CE Instructor: Donald Hantula, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: DONALD HANTULA (Temple University)
Abstract:

In 2005 Ioannidis proclaimed “Why Most Published Research Findings Are False.” RetractionWatch has cataloged over 20,000 scientific papers that have been withdrawn since 2010. The “replication crisis” is not the result of a few bad actors but rather is a systems problem. This presentation reviews “replication crisis” from a behavioral systems analysis perspective, identifies the metatcontogencies of the “countability culture” in academia and research that maintain the problem, and proposes solutions based on open science practices, ethical standards and methodological pluralism, noting that OBM research has been a leader in this regard.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Researchers, scholars, scientists, and graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) identify the metacontingecies and system variables that contribute to the replication crisis; (2) create a plan for complying with Open Science recommendations in their own research; (3) identify characteristics of poorly reported behavioral research; (4) analyze published behavioral articles for signs of inappropriate reporting; (5) describe the advantages and disadvantages and ethical implications of several current online archiving tools.
 
DONALD HANTULA (Temple University)

Donald Hantula earned undergraduate degrees from Emory University and graduate degrees from University of Notre Dame and is currently with the Department of Psychology, Decision making Laboratory, and Interdisciplinary Program in Applied Behavior Analysis at Temple University. He has previously held academic positions in Occupational Health Promotion at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Human Resource Management at King’s College and Management Information Systems at St. Joseph’s University, and also as Director of Decision, Risk and Management Sciences at the National Science Foundation. He is the immediate past editor of Perspectives on Behavior Science and presently serves as Coordinator of the ABAI Publications Board and on the ABAI VCS board. He has published over 100 articles and chapters and his research interests include finding rational explanations for seemingly irrational decisions, quantitative analysis of behavior, consumer choices for sustainable products and practices, integrating behavioral and digital technology and ethical implications of OBM.

 
 
Invited Tutorial #480
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/NASP
Designing Effective Game-Based Instruction: A Tutorial
Monday, May 25, 2020
10:00 AM–10:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 2, Room 207A
Area: PRA; Domain: Service Delivery
PSY/BACB/NASP CE Offered. CE Instructor: Linda LeBlanc, Ph.D.
Chair: Susan Wilczynski (Ball State University)
Presenting Author: LINDA LEBLANC (LeBlanc Behavioral Consulting LLC)
Abstract:

Naturalistic teaching strategies involve incorporation of natural environments, natural change agents, and naturally occurring stimulus conditions and teaching contexts into instruction. One way to do this is to create instructional programs that are more game-like in design. These game-based programs can help to establish important social repertoires (e.g., taking turns, hiding eyes and waiting, being a good sport) as well as the primary skills that are targeted. This tutorial will review examples of game-based instruction and recommendations for modifying structured teaching to be more game-like and naturalistic.

Instruction Level: Advanced
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) identify two characteristics of naturalistic teaching strategies; (2) describe the skill targeted in the game-based examples provided in the tutorial; (3) complete an activity that guides them through designing a game-based program.
 
LINDA LEBLANC (LeBlanc Behavioral Consulting LLC)

Linda A. LeBlanc, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Licensed Psychologist is the President of LeBlanc Behavioral Consulting. She is the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and is a former Associated Editor of Behavior Analysis in Practice, The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, and Education and Treatment of Children. She previously served as a professor at Claremont McKenna College, Western Michigan University and Auburn University and as the Executive Director of Trumpet Behavioral Health, leading the creation of large-scale systems for clinical standards, quality assurance, and research. She has over 110 publications in the areas of behavioral treatment of autism, technology-based behavioral interventions, supervision and mentorship, leadership, and systems development in human services. She is the 2016 recipient of the American Psychological Association Nathan H. Azrin Award for Distinguished Contribution in Applied Behavior Analysis.

 
 
Invited Tutorial #481
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA
The Nurture Consilience: Evolving Societies That Work for Everyone
Monday, May 25, 2020
10:00 AM–10:50 AM
Marriott Marquis, Level M2, Marquis Ballroom 6
Area: SCI; Domain: Theory
BACB/PSY/QABA CE Offered. CE Instructor: Anthony Biglan, Ph.D.
Chair: Cynthia J. Pietras (Western Michigan University)
Presenting Author: ANTHONY BIGLAN (Oregon Research Institute)
Abstract:

This presentation will argue that what might be called “The Nurture Consilience” provides a framework for guiding the further evolution of our societies. E. O. Wilson describes consilience as “the linking of facts and fact-based theory across disciplines to create a common groundwork of explanation.” I will prevent evidence from evolutionary biology, behavior analysis, development, clinical, and social psychology, and medicine about the nurturing conditions that humans need to thrive and the toxic conditions that undermine wellbeing and promote the development of a constellation of psychological, behavioral, and health problems. Research has identified programs, policies, and practices that replace toxic conditions with environments that limit opportunities and influences for problem behavior, richly reinforce diverse forms of prosocial behavior, and cultivate psychological flexibility. However, advocacy for free market economics has corrupted virtually every sector of society; practices in business, health care, education, criminal justice, media, and government have been selected by their contribution to the wealth of a small segment of the population; the majority of people have been harmed. I will describe how we can evolve societies that foster general wellbeing, by creating contingencies that select practices that minimize harm and contribute to the general wellbeing.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) state the four key features of nurturing environments; (2) describe the consilience among the evidence from evolutionary theory and behavior analysis, including the role of selection by consequences in the development of prosocial and antisocial behavior; (3) describe at least three evidence-based school and/or family interventions that can prevent multiple psychological and behavioral problems; (4) describe the evolution of corporate practices and the way in which we might evolve a political and economic system that does a better job of ensuring the wellbeing of every person; (5) describe a public health framework for the regulation of business practices.
 
ANTHONY BIGLAN (Oregon Research Institute)
Anthony Biglan, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist at Oregon Research Institute. He is the author of The Nurture Effect: How the Science of Human Behavior Can Improve our Lives and Our World.   Dr. Biglan has been conducting research on the development and prevention of child and adolescent problem behavior for the past 30 years. His work has included studies of the risk and protective factors associated with tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use; high-risk sexual behavior; and antisocial behavior. He has conducted numerous experimental evaluations of interventions to prevent tobacco use both through school-based programs and community-wide interventions. And, he has evaluated interventions to prevent high-risk sexual behavior, antisocial behavior, and reading failure.   In recent years, his work has shifted to more comprehensive interventions that have the potential to prevent the entire range of child and adolescent problems. He and colleagues at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences published a book summarizing the epidemiology, cost, etiology, prevention, and treatment of youth with multiple problems (Biglan et al., 2004). He is a former president of the Society for Prevention Research. He was a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Prevention, which released its report in 2009 documenting numerous evidence-based preventive interventions that can prevent multiple problems. As a member of Oregon’s Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission, he is helping to develop a strategic plan for implementing comprehensive evidence-based interventions throughout Oregon.   Information about Dr. Biglan’s publications can be found at http://www.ori.org/scientists/anthony_biglan.
 
 
Invited Paper Session #491
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP — 
Ethics
Diversity submission Cultural Responsiveness, Social Justice, and Behavior Analysis
Monday, May 25, 2020
11:00 AM–11:50 AM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: DEI/CSS; Domain: Service Delivery
Chair: Carol Pilgrim (University of North Carolina Wilmington)
CE Instructor: Shahla Ala'i, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: SHAHLA ALA'I (University of North Texas)
Abstract:

The voice and inclusion of people of diverse cultural identities is expanding within the world and within our discipline. This expansion presents both tensions and possibilities. Ideally, applied behavior analysts should be developing increasingly more cultural responsiveness in all aspects of research and practice. That is not the case. Cultural responsiveness is closely yoked with lived experience, social justice, and the kyriarchy. The purpose of this presentation is to explore worldviews in the context of coloniality and to then relate this to our disciplinary and personal responses to power and efforts to contribute to a more socially just world. This includes consideration of global trends, the aims and history of our discipline, womanist and determinist worldviews, and ethics. The presentation will close with a discussion of pathways to cultural responsiveness and social justice.

Instruction Level: Advanced
Target Audience:

Behavior analysts interested in culture, social justice, applied research, practice

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) identify the critical features of cultural responsiveness; (2) briefly identify the context for cultural responsiveness (global trends, coloniality, aims and history of our discipline, womanist and determinist worldviews, and ethics); (3) discuss pathways for advancement of cultural responsiveness in behavior analytic research and practice.
 
SHAHLA ALA'I (University of North Texas)
Shahla Ala’i received her B.S. from Southern Illinois University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Behavior Analysis at the University of North Texas (UNT) and the director of the North Texas Autism Project (NTAP). NTAP is a service, training and research program working in cooperation with several global partners, with applied anthropologists, and with Easter Seals North Texas. Shahla is also a member of a social justice collective at UNT. This is an interdisciplinary effort designed to create a space for applied research and activism in social justice and includes faculty and students from Woman’s and Gender Studies, Applied Anthropology and Behavior Analysis. Shahla teaches classes on ethics, autism intervention, parent training, applied research methods, and behavior change techniques. Shahla served on the governing board of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB) and as a subject matter expert on supervision and on ethics. Shahla currently serves on the ABAI Practice Board and the APBA Diversity Ad Hoc Task Force. She has published and presented research on ethics in early intervention, play and social skills, family harmony, change agent training, and evidence-based practice. Her research is applied and grounded in a commitment to love and science. She has trained hundreds of master’s level behavior analysts who have gone on to serve families and communities with honor. Shahla has over four decades of experience working with families, particularly those from non-dominant cultural backgrounds. She travels and presents her work nationally and internationally to both professional and lay audiences. She was awarded an Onassis Foundation Fellowship for her work with families, was the recipient of UNT’s prestigious student selected “Fessor Graham" teaching award, and received the Texas Association for Behavior Analysis Career Contributions Award in 2019.
 
 
Invited Paper Session #499
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Skill Acquisition Learning Arrangements: How the Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Monday, May 25, 2020
11:00 AM–11:50 AM
Marriott Marquis, Level M4, Independence A-C
Area: TBA; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: R. Douglas Greer (Columbia University Teachers College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences)
CE Instructor: Daniel Fienup, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: DANIEL FIENUP (Teachers College, Columbia University)
Abstract:

This talk will discuss learning arrangements – or the combination of instructional components that affect skill acquisition. Often, skill acquisition programming is developed and evaluated by comparing some instructional package to no instructional package (baseline responding). This is useful toward developing technologies that are likely to produce the intended outcomes. Many years of such research has produced a large “toolbox” of applied behavior analysis intervention approaches. But, for an instructor working with a specific learner, what combination of instructional components should the instructor choose? This talk will discuss the comparative effectiveness of different learning arrangements and instructional components that promote both effective and efficient learning. Research that will be discussed includes components such as trial arrangements and mastery criterioa and how these components differentially affect skill acquisition.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: PENDING
 
DANIEL FIENUP (Teachers College, Columbia University)

Daniel M. Fienup is an Associate Professor of Applied Behavior Analysis at Teachers College, Columbia University. He received his Master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis from Southern Illinois University and his Ph.D. in School Psychology from Illinois State University. Dr. Fienup and his students conduct research on instructional design and educational performance. Dr. Fienup is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Behavioral Education and The Analysis of Verbal Behavior. He also serves on the editorial board for Behavior Analysis in Practice, the Psychological Record, Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, and Behavior Development. He serves on the Licensed Behavior Analyst New York state board and is a past board member of the New York State Association for Behavior Analysis.

 
 
Invited Tutorial #510
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Building Independence and Complex Social Play in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders Using Photographic Activity Schedules and Social Scripts
Monday, May 25, 2020
11:00 AM–12:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 2, Room 207A
Area: PRA; Domain: Service Delivery
PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP CE Offered. CE Instructor: Thomas Higbee, Ph.D.
Chair: Sarah Frampton (May Institute, Inc. )
Presenting Author: THOMAS HIGBEE (Utah State University)
Abstract:

Many students with autism and other developmental disabilities have difficulty sequencing their own behavior during free-choice situations. Rather, they rely on adults to prompt them to engage in particular activities. Many do not interact appropriately with play materials or may select one activity and engage in it for an extended period of time. Photographic activity schedules have been shown to be an effective tool to teach children to sequence their own behavior and transition smoothly between multiple activities. Children learn to follow the visual cues in the activity schedule to make transitions instead of relying on adult-provided prompts. Activity schedules also provide a context for teaching basic and complex choice-making behavior. As children develop verbal behavior, social scripts can also be added and then later faded to promote social interaction. Activity schedules have been used successfully in a variety of settings with both children and adults with various disabilities. They are easy to use and can be adapted to most environments. In the present tutorial, participants will learn how to use activity schedules with clients/students as well as learn about recent research on using these techniques to promote complex social play.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Practitioners and applied researchers.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe the prerequisite skills for using photographic activity schedules; (2) describe how to use photographic activity schedules to promote independent behavior; (3) describe how to use photographic activity schedules to promote choice making; (4) describe how to use social scripting and script fading to promote spontaneous language; (5) describe how to use photographic activity schedules and script fading to promote complex social play.
 
THOMAS HIGBEE (Utah State University)

Dr. Thomas S. Higbee is a Professor and Interim Department Head in the Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation at Utah State University and Executive Director of the Autism Support Services: Education, Research, and Training (ASSERT) program, an early intensive behavioral intervention program for children with autism that he founded in 2003. He is a doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D) and a Licensed Behavior Analyst in the state of Utah. He is also chair of the Disability Disciplines doctoral program at Utah State University. His research focuses on the development of effective educational and behavioral interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders and related disabilities as well as the development of effective training strategies for teaching parents and professionals to implement effective interventions. He is a former associate editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) and the European Journal of Behavior Analysis. Dr. Higbee is committed to the dissemination of effective behavioral interventions and has helped to create intensive behavior analytic preschool and school programs for children with autism and related disorders in Brazil, Russia, Portugal, and throughout his home state of Utah. He is the past president of the Utah Association for Behavior Analysis (UtABA) and has served as a member of the Practice Board of the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) and the Psychologist Licensing Board of the state of Utah.

 
 
Invited Paper Session #511
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA — 
Ethics
Diversity submission Management of Well-Being in Organizations and Beyond
Monday, May 25, 2020
12:00 PM–12:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: DEI; Domain: Service Delivery
Chair: Carol Pilgrim (University of North Carolina Wilmington)
CE Instructor: Ramona Houmanfar, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: RAMONA HOUMANFAR (University of Nevada, Reno)
Abstract: A growing body of scientific evidence suggests implicit biases influence ways our actions may affect others to the extent that may favor some and detract from others. Biases can be deleterious and throw decisions off course just enough to harm others (e.g., women and minorities) or unjustifiably protect special interests. Moreover, the numerous examples of ways diversity can promote organizational success and quality of healthcare have generated interests of organizational leadership in relation to bias and diversity across industries. In many ways, leaders’ communication and decision-making shape the interlocking behavioral contingencies, aggregate products (i.e. metacontingency), and the behavior topographies of consumers (i.e., cultural practices). Simply stated, leaders’ design and implementation of contingencies can bear positive or negative influences on the wellbeing of the organizational members plus the external environment (including the physical and social environment). This presentation provides an overview of ways behavior science can contribute to the design of healthy environments that promote well-being of workers and consumers in human service industry.
Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Leaders, managers, organizational members, and consumers in human service industry.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe the foundation (concepts, principles, methodology) underlying contingency analysis at the cultural level of selection; (2) discuss the behavior analytic account of implicit bias as related to emerging socio-cultural issues; (3) list behaviors and associated outcomes that align with a behavior analytic discussion of wellbeing.
 
RAMONA HOUMANFAR (University of Nevada, Reno)
Dr. Ramona A. Houmanfar is Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Behavior Analysis Program at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). She currently serves as the trustee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, Chair of the Organizational Behavior Management Section of Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, and editorial board members of the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, and Behavior & Social Issues. Dr. Houmanfar recently completed her seven-year term as the editor of Journal of Organizational Behavior Management. She has served as the former senior co-chair of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, Director of the Organizational Behavior Management Network and President of the Nevada Association for Behavior Analysis.
Dr. Houmanfar has published over seventy peer reviewed articles and chapters, delivered more than 100 presentations at regional, national, and international conferences in the areas of behavioral systems analysis, cultural behavior analysis, leadership in organizations, rule governance, communication networks, instructional design, and bilingual repertoire analysis and learning. Her expertise in behavioral systems analysis and cultural behavior analysis have also guided her research associated with implicit bias, cooperation, situational awareness, decision making, and value based governance. Dr. Houmanfar has published three co-edited books titled “Organizational Change” (Context Press), "Understanding Complexity in Organizations", and “Leadership & Cultural Change (Taylor & Francis Group).
 
 
B. F. Skinner Lecture Series Paper Session #521
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Understanding Process Behavior Using Lean Six Sigma Techniques
Monday, May 25, 2020
12:00 PM–12:50 PM
Marriott Marquis, Level M4, Liberty I-L
Area: OBM; Domain: Service Delivery
Chair: Byron J. Wine (The Faison Center)
CE Instructor: Byron J. Wine, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: JENNIFER HOOKS (Medical University of South Carolina)
Abstract:

Behavior can be defined as anything a person does. Understanding everyday processes and why we do things the way we do is often not analyzed but is taken for granted as this is just how we do it. Lean Six Sigma can be intimidating to those who are just learning about the concept due to the overwhelming amount of information on this topic. But it doesn’t have to be! Lean Six Sigma is a process improvement methodology designed to eliminate problems, remove waste and inefficiency, and improve working conditions to provide a better response to customers' needs. Currently healthcare, finance, manufacturing, IT and other field are using Lean Six Sigma. Even complete strangers to Lean Six Sigma can gain a working knowledge of how the methodology works. They need only develop a basic Lean Six Sigma literacy by becoming acquainted with the fundamentals. This session will help start your journey towards becoming successful using Lean Six Sigma with easy-to-understand methods and tools that can be applied to behavior analytic principles for overall business process improvement, quality management and healthy behavior change.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Anyone interested in learning about Lean Six Sigma and how to apply it to their practice.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) define Lean principles; (2) identify the eight wastes in work processes; (3) discuss the five-step DMAIC model as a framework to organize process improvement activities.
 
JENNIFER HOOKS (Medical University of South Carolina)

Jennifer is the Director of the Performance Improvement Department at the Medical University of South Carolina and a retired Air Force E9 Chief Master Sergeant with 32 years of clinical, administrative, and performance improvement experience in hospital, ambulatory care, and dental facilities in a variety of settings worldwide.

Jennifer is an accomplished trainer and her practical experience has taken her into many types of industries including healthcare, supply chain, service organizations, aerospace, and manufacturing. She is an invited speaker to numerous conferences, webinars, and symposiums.

She supports MUSC’s executive leadership in the deployment of Lean Six Sigma throughout the organization. Jennifer manages Six Sigma Black and Green Belts, develops and teaches curriculum for Lean Six Sigma education, drives system-wide projects, and customizes Lean Six Sigma methodology to best suit MUSC’s needs.

She is an adjunct faculty member in MUSC College of Health Professions and College of Nursing. She has an MBA in Human Resources and BS in Occupational Education Health Administration. Jennifer is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt and also holds a LEAN Sensei Certification from Villanova University. Jennifer is a member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ), the Institute of Industrial and System Engineers (IISE), Society of Health Systems (SHS), Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and Project Management Institute (PMI). She also serves on the American Quality Institute Green Belt International Standard Technical Committee.

 
 
Invited Paper Session #552
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA
There’s a Time and a Place for Everything
Monday, May 25, 2020
3:00 PM–3:50 PM
Marriott Marquis, Level M2, Marquis Ballroom 6
Area: EAB; Domain: Basic Research
Chair: Karen M. Lionello-DeNolf (Assumption College)
CE Instructor: Sarah Cowie, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: SARAH COWIE (University of Auckland, New Zealand)
Abstract: When the environment around us changes with regularity, certain events come to predict others; the sign at the café tells me coffee will be forthcoming, whereas the line of people outside the café suggests coffee will not occur in the immediate future. These signpost events come to exert control over behavior, at least when they point to currently important events: In the morning, we follow signposts to coffee, but at dinnertime, we follow signposts to food. In a complex world, signposts are crucial for adaptation to our environment, and for choice of a future that might contain maximal pleasure and minimal pain—that is, signposts help us to behave appropriately. Yet some signposts fail to control our behavior, even when they predict favorable future conditions more reliably than do other signposts. Why do some events come to exert stimulus control over behavior, while others do not? This talk explores basic research that highlights the importance of experience, affordances—the ability to discriminate order, time, and location—and dispositions—the wants and needs of the organism that may be satisfied by the environment—in the development of effective signposts. We discuss how imperfect discrimination causes signposts lose predictive power, and exert weaker control over behavior. Finally, we turn to misbehavior and bad habits, and consider how these basic research findings might help us to understand—and perhaps even change—apparently surprising, sometimes maladaptive control by signposts in the natural world.
Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Basic and applied behavior analysts with an interest in stimulus control.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) discuss the impact of discrimination and generalization processes and the degree to which current environmental events exert stimulus control over behavior; (2) discuss hypotheses about how phylogenetic and personal history determine the degree to which stimuli exert control over behavior; (3) understand how the likely future, as extrapolated from the past, determines the division of control among signposts.
 
SARAH COWIE (University of Auckland, New Zealand)
Sarah Cowie obtained her Ph.D. in 2014 at the University of Auckland, under the supervision of Professor Michael Davison and Professor Doug Elliffe. Sarah’s research explores how our behavior depends on past, present, and potential events.
 
 
Invited Paper Session #561
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Bidirectional Naming and Problem Solving
Monday, May 25, 2020
3:00 PM–3:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: VRB; Domain: Basic Research
Chair: Sarah A. Lechago (University of Houston-Clear Lake)
CE Instructor: Caio F. Miguel, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: CAIO F. MIGUEL (California State University, Sacramento)
Abstract: We often solve problems by engaging in mediating strategies such as talking to ourselves. In order to accurately use and respond to these strategies, we must understand what we are saying. The term bidirectional naming (BiN) has been used to describe the integration of both listener and speaker behaviors that leads to speaking with understanding. In this talk, I will describe a series of studies showing that in the absence of either speaker or listener behaviors, participants often fail to solve problems in the form of matching-to-sample and categorization tasks. These results suggest that to solve complex tasks participants must be verbal. Thus, I will propose that the BiN repertoire is one of the most important skills learned during language development and must be prioritized in early intensive behavioral intervention.
Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Basic and applied researchers, clinicians.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) distinguish between tasting and naming; (2) explain how bidirectional naming is developed through typical child-caregiver interaction; (3) discuss how derived stimulus relations research conducted with adults may be influenced by BiN.
 
CAIO F. MIGUEL (California State University, Sacramento)
 
 
Invited Paper Session #588
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Small Steps Toward a Complex and Integrated Reading and Writing Repertoire
Monday, May 25, 2020
4:00 PM–4:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 2, Room 207A
Area: VRB; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Einar T. Ingvarsson (Virginia Institute of Autism)
CE Instructor: Einar T. Ingvarsson, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: DEISY DE SOUZA (Universidade Federal de São Carlos)
Abstract:

Reading and writing skills refer to a network of equivalence relations between stimuli (e.g., printed words, dictated words, and pictures) and between stimuli and responses (e.g., picture naming, textual responding, writing, etc.). This conceptual framework has served as a foundation to the development of assessment tools and teaching procedures. Concerning the assessment of repertoires, this presentation will describe empirical data on the network of S-S and R-S relations, as measured by an online instrument, comprised of 15 tasks assessing auditory-visual and visual-visual matching-to-sample, picture naming, reading and writing skills. The goal was to characterize the performance of beginning readers. The instrument was administered to approximately 2300 students (6- to 12-year-olds), and results suggest that the matching skills were significantly correlated with textual behavior and dictation-taking. An "integration" index showed, as predicted by the stimulus equivalence paradigm, that accuracy increased as the entire repertoire developed. The integration index may be a useful tool for the prediction and evaluation of the effects of teaching programs for establishing this repertoire in non-readers. The presentation will also summarize the main results of two procedures designed to teach arbitrary relations between dictated words and printed words, namely, the exclusion procedure and the stimulus-pairing with orientation response procedure. Both procedures can be easily implemented via computers, and the results have shown that they can be effectively used for the systematic teaching of a large set of the target relations.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Learning Objectives: PENDING
 
DEISY DE SOUZA (Universidade Federal de São Carlos)

Deisy de Souza is Full Professor at the Psychology Department, Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), Brazil, where she teaches behavior analysis in graduate and undergraduate courses in Psychology, and in Special Education. She obtained her Ph.D. in experimental psychology at Universidade de São Paulo (USP), under the direction of Carolina Bori, and held a post-doctoral position at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, working with Charlie Catania. She has published articles and book chapters on non-human and human relational learning, including studies applying the stimulus equivalence paradigm to investigate the acquisition of symbolic relations involved in reading and writing, and in developing curricula to teach those skills. She is past-Editor of the Brazilian Journal of Behavior Analysis (BJBA), past-Associate Editor of Acta Comportamentalia, and she is currently a member of the Board of Editors of JEAB. She was designated as ABAI Fellow (2018) and is the recipient of the 2015 Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior by the Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Special Interest Group.

 
 
Invited Tutorial #590
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA — 
Ethics
Introduction to a Behavioral Analysis of Cognitive Loss and Functional Decline
Monday, May 25, 2020
4:00 PM–5:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Area: PRA; Domain: Service Delivery
BACB/PSY/QABA CE Offered. CE Instructor: Claudia Drossel, Ph.D.
Chair: Cynthia M. Anderson (May Institute)
Presenting Author: CLAUDIA DROSSEL (Eastern Michigan University)
Abstract:

Cognitive loss and associated functional decline can reflect many different physiological processes, some of which are progressive and neurodegenerative, others stable or even reversible. Behavior analysts, through their measurement-based practice, are uniquely positioned to detect fluctuations in proficiencies and skill levels that are potentially indicative of decline, and to implement assessment and intervention. The goals of this tutorial are twofold: (1) to provide an overview of neurocognitive disorders, such as those from Alzheimer’s, Lewy body disease, or stroke, and prominent risk factors, such as age and an already compromised nervous system due to prior traumatic brain injury, chronic disease, lifestyle factors, or particular preexisting neurodevelopmental disorders; and (2) to offer a practical step-by-step guide to ruling out reversible conditions, ascertain the appropriate level of social and physical support, and address potential behavioral and emotional changes. Video and audio examples will be provided for training purposes, to illustrate the heterogeneity of individuals’ reactions to functional decline, the difficulties of family members to follow behavioral plans or adapt to their loved one’s loss of skills or repertoires, and the need for medical care navigation. The tutorial will introduce cognitive loss and functional decline as a high-need specialty practice area, amenable to workforce development in behavior analysis.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Students; behavior analysts interested in an introduction to the specialty area or in expanding their practice; behavior analysts encountering individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders and decline; and family care partners.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) differentiate major neurocognitive disorders and their characteristics; (2) list two risk factors for the development of neurocognitive disorders; (3) broadly conceptualize behavioral changes in the context of cognitive decline from a behavior analytic perspective; (4) name one document that describes training benchmarks; (5) list three general steps involved in best practices for the assessment and management of behavioral changes and preventing/reducing excess disability.
 
CLAUDIA DROSSEL (Eastern Michigan University)
 
 
Invited Paper Session #594
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Operant Conditioning to Address Poverty and Substance Use Disorders
Monday, May 25, 2020
5:00 PM–5:50 PM
Marriott Marquis, Level M2, Marquis Ballroom 6
Area: BPN; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Sally L. Huskinson (University of Mississippi Medical Center)
CE Instructor: August Holtyn, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: AUGUST HOLTYN (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)
Abstract:

Substance use disorders, like many health problems, are concentrated in people who live in poverty. This presentation will review research on the application of operant conditioning to address the interrelated problems of poverty and substance use disorders. Our research has clearly shown that operant reinforcement using financial incentives can promote abstinence from heroin and cocaine in low-income adults with substance use disorders. The use of operant conditioning to reduce poverty is less well-established. However, our research on an employment-based intervention called the therapeutic workplace suggests that operant conditioning could promote behaviors that may facilitate the transition out of poverty. In the therapeutic workplace, unemployed adults with substance use disorders are paid to work but must provide drug-negative urine samples or take prescribed medication to maximize pay. The therapeutic workplace offers a job-skills training phase and an employment phase through which participants progress sequentially. Our research has shown that employment-based reinforcement within the therapeutic workplace can promote drug abstinence, medication adherence, job seeking, and employment. The therapeutic workplace could provide an effective framework for broader anti-poverty programs, but more research is needed to determine whether such interventions consistently reduce poverty, and how best to implement these at scale.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe how operant conditioning can be used to promote drug abstinence and adherence to medications; (2) describe the main features of the therapeutic workplace; (3) describe how the therapeutic workplace uses contingent access to employment (i.e., employment-based reinforcement) to promote drug abstinence, medication adherence, job seeking, and work.
 
AUGUST HOLTYN (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)
August Holtyn is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Associate Director of the Center for Learning and Health at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Holtyn earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology at West Virginia University under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Perone. In 2015, she joined the faculty in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine after completing a post-doctoral fellowship there in behavioral pharmacology under the mentorship of Dr. Kenneth Silverman. Dr. Holtyn’s work is focused on the development of contingency management interventions for the treatment of opioid, cocaine, and alcohol use disorders. Her primary lines of research have focused on development and evaluation of remotely-delivered financial incentive interventions to promote drug abstinence and medication adherence in substance use disorder treatment, and the therapeutic workplace intervention to promote drug abstinence and employment in adults living in poverty. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.
 
 
Special Event #610
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Diversity submission Presidential Address: Compassionate Behaviorism
Monday, May 25, 2020
6:00 PM–6:50 PM
Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Level 3, Ballroom AB
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Chair: Peter R. Killeen (Arizona State University)
CE Instructor: Peter R. Killeen, Ph.D.
 
Diversity submission 

Presidential Address: Compassionate Behaviorism

Abstract:

Many are concerned about the state of the world. The effects of climate change, political polarization, and backlash to social movements that cultivate equality threaten our future. Even outside and within our own discipline, conflict continues. Many of us joined ABAI because we support the vision that the problems of the world can be solved through the principles of behavior analysis. Can they?

Perhaps. Many of the answers to the world’s problems still reside within the discipline; indeed, our own community of behavior scientists and behavior analysts have continued to generate some of the solutions. However, seeking perspective outside of the discipline to understand the complex contingencies of social groups, networks, and organizations is also critical. An integration of these viewpoints is the foundation for a compassionate behaviorism—a philosophy that includes the action and verbal behavior of humility, behavioral flexibility, self-control, perspective taking, and empathy. These terms will be carefully defined and their functions discussed. Compassionate behavioral action can be and should be practiced at multiple levels: toward our earth, towards outsiders of our verbal communities, to those within our verbal communities, and even towards ourselves.

 
ERIN RASMUSSEN (Idaho State University)
 
Dr. Erin B. Rasmussen received her Ph.D. in the Experimental Analysis of Behavior with a minor in behavioral pharmacology and toxicology from Auburn University under the direction of Dr. Christopher Newland. She is currently a professor of psychology at Idaho State University. The work from her animal and human laboratories has generated over 50 peer-reviewed publications. Most recently, she conducts research on the behavioral economics of food reinforcement in the context of obesity. Her latest series of studies, funded by the NIH, examines delay discounting in food insecure populations. She has served on the Science Board of the ABAI and is a past Associate Editor of Perspectives on Behavior Science (formerly The Behavior Analyst).
 
Target Audience:

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students. 

 
 

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