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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18th Annual Autism Conference; Las Vegas, NV; 2024

Program by Day for Tuesday, March 19, 2024


 

Invited Paper Session #4
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA
Assessment and Treatment of Severe Behavior: Comments on the Past Four Decades, and the Decades to Come
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
8:10 AM–9:00 AM
Caesars Palace; Palace Ballroom 3
đź“ş   Streaming Status: recording available
Area: AUT; Domain: Applied Research
Chair: Joseph H. Cihon (Autism Partnership Foundation)
CE Instructor: Timothy Vollmer, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: TIMOTHY VOLLMER (University of Florida)
Abstract:

Over the past four decades, much has been learned about severe behavior disorders displayed by individuals with autism and/or intellectual disabilities. Dr. Vollmer will review some of the significant findings over the past four decades, and will reflect on contemporary issues related to these findings. In addition, he will recommend several directions for future research and clinical application. These directions include (in part): a) translating principles of reinforcement to everyday application, b) the next level of the “why” question related to functional analysis, c) unpacking the construct of automatic reinforcement as it relates to severe behavior disorders, d) consideration of antecedent events in the context of elicitation and response induction, and e) consideration of social validity in our verbal, experimental, and professional behavior as behavior analysts.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Behavioral analysts

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe at least two historical contributions of behavior analytic research on severe behavior disorders; (2) describe why “maintained by escape” is often an insufficient explanation for behavior; (3) describe how biting and aggression sometimes occur without influence of social consequences, yet not in an austere environment.
 
TIMOTHY VOLLMER (University of Florida)
Timothy R. Vollmer received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 1992. From 1992 until 1996 he was on the psychology faculty at Louisiana State University. From 1996 to 1998 he was on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. He returned to the University of Florida in 1998, where he has been ever since, and is now a Professor and Associate Chair of Psychology. His primary area of research is applied behavior analysis, with emphases in autism, intellectual disabilities, reinforcement schedules, and parenting. He has published over 200 articles and book chapters related to behavior analysis. He was the recipient of the 1996 B.F. Skinner New Researcher award from the American Psychological Association (APA). He received another APA award in August 2004, for significant contributions to applied behavior analysis, and received the Don Hake translational research award in 2022. He served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis from 2014-2016. He is a fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis (ABAI), and he received the ABAI mentoring award in 2017. More recently, he received the University of Florida Dissertation Advisor Mentoring Award in 2022.
 
 
Invited Paper Session #5
CE Offered: BACB
Ferster Was First in the Behavior Analysis of Autism
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
9:10 AM–10:00 AM
Caesars Palace; Palace Ballroom 3
đź“ş   Streaming Status: recording available
Area: AUT; Domain: Theory
Chair: Julia Ferguson (Autism Partnership Foundation)
CE Instructor: Edward K. Morris, Ph.D.
EDWARD K. MORRIS (University of Kansas), Charryse Fouquette Luckey (Optum)
Abstract:

In this presentation, I describe Charles B. Ferster’s (1922-1981) groundbreaking but largely overlooked contributions to behavior analysis in autism while he was a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry at Indiana University’s School of Medicine in Indianapolis. This was between 1957 and 1962, and briefly afterward. In five behavior-analytic publications (1961-1962), his contributions preceded all others in autism and were seminal to those that followed (e.g., Wolf, Risley, & Mees, 1964). I begin by introducing Ferster and his collaborator, the psychiatrist, Marian K. DeMeyer (1922-2021). Next, I review his theory and research in autism, specifically, his behavioral interpretation of autism, basic research in behavioral pharmacology, translational human operant research, and an program for teaching social behavior. Throughout, I consider Ferster’s contributions in the context of his day -- and today. This includes the etiology and diagnosis of autism; basic, translational, and applied behavior-analytic research; ethics in basic and applied behavior-analytic research; the journals in which the articles were published or not (e.g., the Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry); and the invisibility of women – DeMeyer -- in the history of applied behavior analysis. I conclude by summarizing his prescience in the behavior analysis of autism.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Behavior analysts, ABA professionals, Students

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) Describe one of Ferster’s five publications in the behavior analysis of autism; (3) Summarize Ferster’s contributions to the behavior analysis of autism; (3) Positively or negatively appraise Ferster’s contributions to the behavior analysis of autism.
 
EDWARD K. MORRIS (University of Kansas)
Edward K. Morris (University of Illinois, M.A 1974, Ph.D. 1976) is a professor in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science at the University of Kansas (1975-present). From 2000 to 2015, he was its chairperson. He has also been president of the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI), the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Division 25 for Behavior Analysis, APA’s Division 26 for the Society for the History of Psychology, the Kansas Association for Behavior Analysis (and its founder), and KU’s chapter of Sigma Xi. He has been editor of the The Behavior Analyst (now Perspectives in Behavior Science), The Interbehaviorist, and the APA Division 25 Recorder. Currently, he is the Review Editor for the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, president (and founder) of ABAI’s Special Interest Group for the History of Behavior Analysis, and the Director (and founder) of the Center for the History of Behavior Analysis at the University of Kansas. He is a Fellow in ABAI, APA Divisions 25 and 26, and the Association for Psychological Science. His research is on the historical and conceptual foundations of behavior analysis, behaviorism, and psychology and on complementarities between behavior analysis and other behavioral, cognitive, and social sciences. He teaches courses on the conceptual foundations of behavior analysis, principles of behavior analysis, history of behavior analysis, analysis of everyday human behavior, and analysis of verbal behavior. His professional interests include disseminating behavior analysis.
 
 
Invited Paper Session #6
CE Offered: PSY/BACB/QABA/NASP
Effective Teaching With Direct Instruction-Language for Learning for Children With Autism
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
10:30 AM–11:20 AM
Caesars Palace; Palace Ballroom 3
đź“ş   Streaming Status: recording available
Area: AUT; Domain: Service Delivery
Chair: Robert K. Ross (Ross Consultation LLC)
CE Instructor: Alice Shillingsburg, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: ALICE SHILLINGSBURG (Munroe-Meyer Institute, UNMC)
Abstract:

Direct Instruction (DI) isan evidence-based practice that has been demonstrated to improve skills in academic and language skill areas with a variety of student populations. DI entails an approach to instruction that emphasizes mastery of content skills before moving on and employs specific teaching procedures to build increasingly more complex skills. Several commercially available DI curricula have been developed and include a carefully designed scope and sequence and a manualized teacher’s guide for instructors. Recently DI has been shown to be effective in improving receptive and expressive language skills with children with autism, including those who use speech generating devices to communicate. This presentation will include an overview of DI, including the specific teaching procedures that are typically used, and a description of the evidence for its use with autistic individuals.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Behavior analysts, ABA professionals, students

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) Describe the teaching procedures used in Direct Instruction; (2) Describe the conceptual underpinnings for the way DI curricula are designed; (3) Describe the evidence for the use of DI with autistic individuals.
 
ALICE SHILLINGSBURG (Munroe-Meyer Institute, UNMC)
Alice Shillingsburg, PhD, BCBA-D, LP is the Yale Family Endowed Professor and Director of the integrated Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute. She received her PhD in child clinical psychology at Auburn University and completed her APA Accredited doctoral Internship at the Marcus Institute in Atlanta, GA. In prior roles, she has served as Sr. Vice President of Children’s Clinical Services and Training at May Institute, Director of the Language and Learning Clinic at Marcus Autism Center, and previously held an appointment as Associate Professor at Emory University School of Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Shillingsburg’s research and clinical interests involve the development and implementation of comprehensive and focused interventions to promote robust, meaningful skill development for children and adolescents diagnosed with autism. Her clinical interests focus heavily on increasing access to high quality, compassionate care serving autistic individuals and their families. Dr. Shillingsburg has published over 60 empirical research articles and book chapters, is current Editor-in-Chief of Operants Magazine, and is past Associate Editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and The Analysis of Verbal Behavior.
 
 
Invited Paper Session #7
CE Offered: BACB/QABA
How Drugs Work: Pharmacological and Behavioral Contributions to Drug Effects
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
1:30 PM–2:20 PM
Caesars Palace; Palace Ballroom 3
đź“ş   Streaming Status: recording available
Area: AUT; Domain: Basic Research
Chair: Joseph H. Cihon (Autism Partnership Foundation)
CE Instructor: Joseph H. Cihon, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: M. CHRISTOPHER NEWLAND (Auburn University)
Abstract:

Behavioral pharmacology has a long history of assigning equal importance to environmental/behavioral and pharmacological mechanisms by which drugs affect behavior. An understanding of these mechanisms is potentially applicable to drugs’ clinical actions. The role of dose, the time course of drug elimination, and the receptor in understanding drug actions are widely appreciated and pertinent to many clinical effects. These will be examined. The modification of drug actions through behavioral mechanisms is less well-appreciated but this crucial aspect of drug effects is important and will also be examined. Among behavioral mechanisms discussed will be how stimulus control modifies drug effects following an abrupt change of dosage, the impact of antipsychotic medication on behavior maintained by negative reinforcement, and the role of the baseline rate of behavior in modifying the actions of psychomotor stimulants.

Instruction Level: Advanced
Target Audience:

Researchers and practitioners. 

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) Understand that specific drug receptors are important in determine the effect of a drug; (2) Understand that environmental influences can also modify drug actions; (3) Appreciate that low- and high-baseline response rates can dramatically modify drug effects.
 
M. CHRISTOPHER NEWLAND (Auburn University)
Dr. Newland conducts research on the behavioral effects of drugs and environmental contaminants, including topics such as reinforcement processes, choice, the acquisition of new behavior and its persistence. A life-span development approach is threaded through his research, so he has examined early development, aging and, more recently, adolescence, all in experimental models. He draws from the experimental analysis of behavior, environmental health, psychopharmacology, and quantitative models of behavior, to explore how the neural consequences of drug and toxicant exposure are expressed behaviorally. He recently transitioned to modeling the impact of behavioral interventions in understudied human populations, including children in foster care and incarcerated juveniles. He is applying quantitative techniques to assess the impact of behavioral interventions on reducing the use of psychotropic medication. He teaches clinical psychopharmacology and behavior principles in the Auburn’s master’s program and basic neuroscience in the doctoral programs. His involvement with the applied behavior analysis program has given him an appreciation of how findings from the behavioral pharmacology laboratory might be applicable in the clinic. Dr. Newland earned his Ph.D. from Georgia Tech, did postdoctoral work in Environmental Health at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and is now a Professor of Psychology at Auburn University. He sits on the editorial board of behavioral and environmental health journals and has been Editor-in-Chief of Perspectives on Behavior Science and an Associate Editor of Neurotoxicology. He has served on numerous panels reviewing environmental policy and was a regular member of the Neurotoxicology and Alcohol (NAL) Study Section for the NIH. He is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and currently is a member of the ABAI Council. Dr. Newland is honored to have been awarded the APA’s Division 25 award for Distinguished Contributions to Behavior Analysis and Auburn’s Creative Scholarship Award.
 
 
Invited Paper Session #8
CE Offered: BACB/QABA
Effective Advocacy for Autism Services
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
2:30 PM–3:20 PM
Caesars Palace; Palace Ballroom 3
đź“ş   Streaming Status: recording available
Area: AUT; Domain: Service Delivery
Chair: Julia Ferguson (Autism Partnership Foundation)
CE Instructor: Julia Ferguson, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: MARIEL C. FERNANDEZ (Imago Learning Behavior Services)
Abstract:

Ensuring sustainability and quality of applied behavior analysis services requires ongoing, effective advocacy on the state and federal levels. Learn more about effective advocacy approaches and resources that will empower even the novice advocate to be effective.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Behavior analysts, ABA professionals, students

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) Identify legislative and regulatory activity that impacts the provision and funding of applied behavior analysis for people with autism; (2) locate and utilize easy-to-use resources that will help them effectively advocate for the funding and ongoing quality of applied behavior analysis; (3) describe effective advocacy approaches implemented by autism service providers in various states.
 
MARIEL C. FERNANDEZ (Imago Learning Behavior Services)

Mariel Fernandez is the Vice President of Government Affairs for The Council of Autism Service Providers. Mariel is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, BCBA, and a Licensed Behavior Analyst, LBA, in Texas.  She began working in the field of Behavior Analysis in 2001 and pursued her master’s degree in applied behavior analysis from Auburn University in 2004. Mariel has effectively advocated for improved access to care on the micro and macro levels, including supporting advocacy, public policy, and legislative initiatives across 19 states.

Mariel is also a member of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, TDLR, Behavior Analyst Advisory Board and President of the Texas Association of Behavior Analysis, TxABA, Public Policy Group, where she helped to pass behavior analyst licensure and the autism services benefit, including ABA, through Texas Medicaid. She also serves as a subject matter expert for the Policy Council on Children and Families.

 
 
Invited Paper Session #9
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA
Charting a New Path Forward for Repetitive Behavior Research in Autism
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
3:50 PM–4:40 PM
Caesars Palace; Palace Ballroom 3
đź“ş   Streaming Status: recording available
Area: AUT; Domain: Service Delivery
Chair: Robert K. Ross (Ross Consultation LLC)
CE Instructor: Brian Boyd, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: BRIAN BOYD (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Abstract:

Restricted, repetitive behaviors and interests are part of the core diagnostic criteria for autism. Yet, increasingly, autistic individuals are asking researchers and clinicians to reconsider their treatment approaches for these behaviors. We also know that there are varied perspectives on these behaviors, however, there is some agreement across stakeholder groups. There is also recent research demonstrating associations between repetitive behaviors and co-occurring conditions found in autism, such as executive functioning differences and sleep disturbances. This presentation represents a call to action for us, as researchers and clinicians, to potentially reconceptualize the assessment and treatment of repetitive behaviors in autism.

Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:

Behavior analysts, ABA professionals, researchers

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) understand first person and caregiver perspectives on repetitive behaviors in autism; (2) identify associated symptoms and conditions that co-occur with repetitive behaviors in autism; and (3) identify new tools and methods for the assessment and treatment of repetitive behaviors in autism.
 
BRIAN BOYD (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
Brian Boyd, Ph.D., is the William C. Friday Distinguished Professor in the School of Education and interim director of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was previously the director of the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project at the University of Kansas. Boyd is quite engaged in research that involves the most vulnerable, and often marginalized, populations. As a special educator by training, much of his research has involved the development and evaluation of evidence-based practices that could be implemented within school and home contexts. His more recent work has focused on how issues of implicit bias and race affect the outcomes of children with and without disabilities. Boyd’s research has been continuously funded by federal agencies such as the Institute of Education Sciences and National Institutes of Health. He is past vice president of the International Society for Autism Research. He also serves on multiple national boards that are dedicated to improving the outcomes of autistic persons and those from historically underserved communities.
 
 
Invited Paper Session #10
CE Offered: BACB/PSY/QABA
Science Over Cynicism: The Race to Preserve Best-Practice Applied Behavior Analysis
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
4:50 PM–5:40 PM
Caesars Palace; Palace Ballroom 3
đź“ş   Streaming Status: recording available
Area: AUT; Domain: Service Delivery
Chair: Joseph H. Cihon (Autism Partnership Foundation)
CE Instructor: Joseph H. Cihon, Ph.D.
Presenting Author: JULIE KORNACK (Center for Autism and Related Disorders)
Abstract:

Widespread insurance funding of applied behavior analysis (ABA) as a medically necessary mental health benefit in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has placed behavior analysts in the role of health care providers, and the race is on to see whether best-practice ABA will be defined by the insurance industry or behavior analysts. Behavior analysts who work with insurance and/or Medicaid have increasingly encountered payor guidelines that interfere with their efforts to implement treatment plans that reflect generally accepted standards of care. When these arbitrary limits are integrated into ABA practices, payors–not science–are shaping how ABA is implemented. Many common payor guidelines, such as location exclusions, caregiver participation requirements, and age and hour limits, violate the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). For the first time since MHPAEA became law, federal agencies are scrutinizing payor guidelines, practices, and rates through the lens of MHPAEA and working to increase compliance. In this new climate of MHPAEA enforcement, behavior analysts are uniquely positioned to identify, reject, and report improper guidelines that constrain their ABA practices and promote best practices to optimize patient outcomes. This presentation aims to equip behavior analysts with the tools to free their practices from improper limits.

Instruction Level: Basic
Target Audience:

Behavior analysts, ABA professionals, students,

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) Identify basic principles of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) and their relevance to applied behavior analysis; (2) Learn to identify improper insurance guidelines that interfere with best-practice ABA and how to prevent such guidelines from diluting best-practice ABA; (2) Learn about resources and organizations that support efforts to implement best-practice ABA.
 
JULIE KORNACK (Center for Autism and Related Disorders)
Julie Kornack is the chief strategy officer for the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD). Her work includes identifying, developing, and supporting federal and state initiatives that preserve or increase access to applied behavior analysis, as well as analyzing the impact of federal and state legislative and regulatory developments on access to mental health services. She is the ABAI representative on the ABA Billing Codes Commission. She is co-author of Reopening the Doors to Center-Based ABA Services: Clinical and Safety Protocols during COVID-19; The Diversity Is in the Details: Unintentional Language Discrimination in the Practice of Applied Behavior Analysis; and A Response to Papatola and Lustig’s Paper on Navigating a Managed Care Peer Review: Guidance for Clinicians Using Applied Behavior Analysis in the Treatment of Individuals on the Autism Spectrum, published in Behavior Analysis in Practice, and is the author of The History, Pitfalls, and Promise of Licensure in the Field of Behavior Analysis, published in Handbook of Treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Her analysis of the economics of autism treatment was published in the Handbook of Early Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders: Research, Policy, and Practice, and she was an editor of Evidence-Based Treatment for Children with Autism: The CARD Model. She co-founded and serves on the board of directors of the National Coalition for Access to Autism Services and participates in multiple state and national advisory committees and task forces. She was co-chair of Hillary for America’s Disability Policy Health Care Task Force and a co-author of the Democratic National Committee’s Disability Primer for Democratic Candidates.
 

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