CEU Event: An Arizonan’s Guide: A How to for Expanding the Consumer Base of Behavior Analysts

3 CEUs will be offered. 

Presenters: Dr. Linda Leblanc, Dr. Dan Davidson, Dr. David Giles, and Dr. Adam Hahs

Summary:

Dr. Linda Leblanc will speak on the following topic:

 A growing workforce of behavior analysts provides services to individuals with autism and intellectual disabilities as legislative initiatives have spurred a growth of funding options to support these services.  These services represent the overwhelming proportion of efforts of practicing behavior analysts. Other consumer groups could, and have in the past, benefited from behavior analytic services, but typically have limited access to qualified providers. Examples of behavior analytic studies with Individuals with dementia, children in foster care, children with tics and Tourette’s, and dually diagnosed adults with be reviewed to illustrate the breadth of potential services and individuals with dementia will be used as an example to illustrate the necessary tasks for a behavior analyst to expand their scope of practice to a new population.

 Dr. Dan Davidson and Dr. David Giles will speak on the following topic:

 Since the mid 1960s behavior analysts have applied their model to meet a wide range of human needs. Individuals identified with developmental delays, learning disabilities, underdeveloped speech and language skills, physical rehabilitation needs, conduct disorders, substance usage disorders and therapeutic brain injuries have all been proven to benefit from ABA based programs. Basic systems of care including juvenile and adult corrections, public education, developmental disabilities, early childhood interventions, behavioral health and physical health offer opportunities for BCBAs to apply their training and knowledge.
Intermountain Centers for Human Development was  founded by the early leaders of ABA in the effort to deliver a wide range of services to diverse populations. The history of this organization's efforts to establish and maintain independent licensure, governing rules and billing codes appropriate for BCBAs will be discussed.

 Dr. Adam Hahs will speak on the following topic:

 To date, much of the behavior-analytic efforts in supporting individuals with and without disabilities has been couched from a Skinnerian perspective. Over the past 25 years, however, discourse concerning the scope of behavior analysis, a science of all human behavior, has garnered much attention and with merit. New theories and derivative interventions not specific to work with individuals with autism or closely related disabilities have amassed large amounts of empirical data supportive of the use of behavior-analytically-rooted interventions for myriad societally-significant challenges. The intent of this talk is multi-fold. We aim to expand attendees’ knowledge and shed light on the ways in which the BACB-task list items extend beyond the traditional populations with whom we work, discuss what many consider a branch of behavior analysis in clinical behavior analysis, while highlighting the underpinnings in contextual behavioral science via substantive and considerable implications of Relational Frame Theory (RFT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) within behavior analysis.