Social Validity and Safety as Key Features in the Treatment of Pediatric Feeding Difficulties
Hosted by the AzABA Feeding Sig

1.5 CEU will be available for attendance

Location: 
Zoom (Login will be emailed prior to the presentation)

Presenter: 
Dr. Kathryn Peterson

Summary:
It is critical to identify methods to enhance the social validity of behavior-analytic treatments and services. Recent trends in behavior-analytic research show that researchers and practitioners are interested in finding ways to improve the social validity of interventions (Ferguson et al., 2018). Currently, the most empirically supported intervention for pediatric feeding disorders is escape extinction (non-removal of the spoon), but there is a growing body of evidence to support the use of various antecedent- and reinforcement-based alternatives. Although escape extinction is well-established, some may view this intervention to be more intrusive, which can lead to questions and misconceptions related to its social validity. The purpose of this talk is to discuss social validity as it relates to various treatments for pediatric feeding disorders. More specific, I will review (a) various objective measures of social validity and how they have been applied to feeding-disorders treatments and (b) methods for maintaining a safe environment for comprehensive assessment and treatment.

Learning Objectives:

1. Attendees will identify the characteristics and etiology of a pediatric feeding disorder and how interdisciplinary team members can support comprehensive care.
2. Attendees will identify the primary components of social validity and how practitioners can include these measures into their services using objective measures.
3. Attendees will define ways to monitor a child’s safety during the assessment and treatment of feeding disorders.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Kathryn Peterson has specialized in the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders for over 15 years. She earned a PhD in behavior analysis in 2013 and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in 2014, both at the University of Nebraska Medical Center's (UNMC) feeding program, under the mentorship of Drs. Valerie Volkert and Cathleen Piazza. Since that time, she has served on the faculty for UNMC’s doctoral training in Behavior Analysis Program and for the Rutgers University Department of Pediatrics. For the past 5 years, she has been directing an intensive feeding program in New Jersey, but recently transitioned to Atlanta, GA, to join the multidisciplinary feeding program at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. She is currently an associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Peterson has published her research in numerous peer-reviewed journals, authored book chapters, and conducted trainings and presentations both nationally and internationally. Dr. Peterson currently serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and was the 2017 recipient of the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior’s Contribution of the Year award. She has secured numerous grant awards through UNMC’s Pediatrics, Diversity, and the Munroe-Meyer Institute’s guild funds to support her research. Dr. Peterson is passionate about furthering the state of the science through her research endeavors, providing high-quality clinical services, and conducting student training and mentorship in the area of pediatric feeding disorders.

Registration: 
AzABA  Members: Free
Non-Members: $15 or $20 for CEU credit