Association for Behavior Analysis International

There are currently 19 states in the United States that have passed bills related to the licensure of behavior analysts. Establishing state licensure involves navigating a legislative system that may be unfamiliar to the practitioners and scientists who comprise our field. This process involves numerous steps, and requires behavior analysts to communicate effectively with legislators and professionals from other disciplines. Once state licensure is established, there are additional challenges as rules and procedures are established for the new credential. During this panel discussion we will learn about this process from three panelists who have been in the forefront of getting licensure bills passed. They will talk about strategies they found useful in achieving state licensure, and specific roadblocks they have come across in different states. The implications of their experiences for behavior analysts in other states considering licensure will also be discussed.

The Verbal Behavior Developmental Theory proposes a trajectory of behavioral cusps and capabilities acquired throughout an individuals development which form the foundations for learning. An emerging body of research indicates that problems in learning may indicate missing cusps and capabilities. Further, these cusps and capabilities can be induced to accelerate learning by methodologically providing empirically researched instructional histories called verbal developmental protocols. Schools in the Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling model apply principles of behavior analysis and Verbal Behavior Developmental Theory to learning and teaching. Children in these schools include individuals with disabilities, children from socially and economically disadvantaged homes, as well as typically developing children. Cusps and capabilities have been identified from foundational pre-speaker and pre-listener status, through independent reader and writer status. Panelists in this Professional Development Series event will discuss their expertise teaching students with varying levels of verbal behavior, including identifying missing cusps and capabilities and procedures for inducing them.