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WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 2, 2019: THE BEHAVIOR ANALYST MASTER SERIES

Time Room12:30 PM- 3:30 PM

Meeting Room A

Workshop: Working with Staff to Overcome Challenging Behavior among Adults with Severe Disabilities: Strategies and Pitfalls. (3.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH) DENNIS REID (Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center).

This workshop will describe evidence-based ways of working with staff to overcome challenging behavior among adults with severe disabilities, with a particular focus on ensuring quality implementation of behavior support plans (BSPs). Topics to be covered include assessing and structuring environments that reduce the likelihood of problem behavior, initiating and maintaining staff "buy in" for carrying out BSPs, preparing BSPs that facilitate staff implementation, effectively and efficiently training staff in BSP implementation, monitoring staff implementation of BSPs in a manner acceptable to staff, and practical strategies to support and correct implementation performance of staff. Additionally, common pitfalls that impede effectively working with staff will be described, with an emphasis on how to avoid the pitfalls using alternative strategies. Cost:

12:30 PM-3:30 PM

Meeting Room B Workshop: The Evolution of a Science: A Brief History of Behavior Analysis in the Twentieth Century. (3.0 CEUs:

BACB) A CHARLES CATANIA (Professor Emeritus, UMBC); NANCY NEEF (Professor Emerita, The Ohio State University).

This history of our science reviews its origins and the co-evolution of its basic and applied research. Major events include: Precursors through the 19th century: Darwin, Thorndike and others; The 1900s: Behavior emerges as a subject matter; The 1910s: Watson's *Behaviorist Manifesto*; World War I; The 1920s: Learning theorists; the Great Depression; The 1930s: Skinner joins Keller at Harvard and later writes *The Behavior of Organisms*; The 1940s: World War II leads to shaping, Walden Two, the Aircrib, other innovations; The 1950s: The Cold War and Sputnik provide context for *Science and Human Behavior*, *Verbal Behavior*, *Schedules of Reinforcement*; SEAB and JEAB are founded; The 1960s: The science grows despite cognitive-behavioral culture wars; JABA is founded; we develop our own organizations; applications grow alongside basic work (“psychotic children,” time out, teaching machines); The 1970s: Various applications aid in the founding of programs; international extensions grow; the field, with roots in psychology, sees a viable future outside it; The 1980s: Treatments of autism and other developmental issues establish conditions for credentialing and other professional extensions; The 1990s: Behavior analysis thrives only in cultural niches, but an explosion of applications brings increasing recognition; The 21st Century: Where do we go from here?

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12:30 PM-3:30 PM

Meeting Room C

Workshop: Understanding the Basics of RFT & ACT, and How-to Apply Them As a Behavior Analyst. (3.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH) MARK DIXON (Southern Illinois University).

This workshop is designed for the practicing behavior analyst in a wide range of clinical settings that is looking for a better understanding of Relational Frame Theory and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. The presenter will be move from the origins, the research, and the implications these post-Skinnerian approaches have on everyday practice. Benefits include a more comprehensive account of language, how that language can be taught to persons with disabilities, as well as the troubles language can get clients into as they begin to move from pure contingency control towards rule governed dominance. By the end of this workshop the attendee will be able to: Describe how RFT and ACT originated, the key research findings, and the overlap and uniqueness with prior behavioral accounts of language. Describe the key elements of what a relational frame is and the six processes used in ACT. Provide examples of tools that behavior analysts can use to enhance their practice based on RFT and ACT.

12:30 PM-3:30 PM

Meeting Room E Workshop: An Overview of Assessment and Treatment Options to Address Problem Behavior Maintained by

Automatic Reinforcement. (3.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH) JOEL RINGDAHL (University of Georgia).

The functional analysis of self-injurious behavior (SIB) developed by Iwata and colleagues provided researchers, clinicians, and practitioners a basis for developing treatments based on the reinforcers demonstrated to maintain SIB, and other challenging behavior. Based on epidemiological data, automatic reinforcement maintains SIB for roughly one-quarter of individuals for whom data are reported, highlighting the importance this category of challenging behavior, even before considering non-injurious, disruptive behavior also maintained by automatic reinforcement. Thus, the assessment and treatment of problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement represents important endeavors, likely to be undertaken in clinical practice for those behavior analysts who engage in programs designed to reduce behavioral excesses. The current workshop will provide a comprehensive overview of the assessment and treatment process, related to problem behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement. As this process differs in some respects when compared to assessment and treatment of problem behavior maintained by socially mediated reinforcers, particular attention will be paid to additional steps taken during the functional analysis process, additional assessments that are used to inform treatment, and how the collective information obtained during the assessment process can help identify the most likely-to-be-effective intervention.

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12:30 PM-3:30 PM

Meeting Room D (PPS)

Workshop: Creating Sustainable Business Practices for ABA Organizations through the Analysis of Key Performance Indicators. (3.0 CEUs: BACB) CHARNA MINTZ (Caravel Autism Health).

As behavior analysts operating in a clinical world, we rely on the use of objective data to evaluate the success of our interventions and to drive our decision making. However, when it comes to the development of private practices and agencies, it is too common for leaders to bypass proper operational data collection and analysis, leaving them vulnerable to subjective or poorly formulated decisions. This workshop will present a series of metrics that can be used to objectively evaluate the operational health of your agency with the specific goal of establishing data based decision making. At the conclusion of the workshop you will be able to identify relevant metrics, methods for collecting and analyzing these data and some potential strategic solutions specific to data based decision making and contingency alignment.

12:30 PM-3:30 PM

North Ballroom

Workshop: Conversations: The Only OBM Intervention You Will Ever Need. (3.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH) JOHN AUSTIN (Reaching Results).

In this interactive workshop, attendees will learn how to effectively lead and manage employees through regular conversations. In short conversations, leaders have the opportunity to develop rapport, agree on expectations, sample work, assess, and deliver feedback and reinforcement. Getting better at having effective and strategic conversations can reduce the need for add-on intervention plans. During the workshop, attendees will explore the facets of effective conversations and how they enable behavior change and employee development. Research and case study data will be shared to support each facet. Attendees should bring 2-3 examples of recent conversations with employees as well as one business result they wish to change. Attendees will leave with an action plan for having better conversations with employees and for improving their selected business result.

4:00 PM-7:00 PM

Meeting Room A Workshop: Using an Evidence-Based Practice Model to Teach Behavior Analytic-Supervisees Advanced, Problem-

Solving and Decision-Making Skills. (3.0 CEUs: BACB SUPERVISION) LAURA TURNER (University of Saint Joseph).

Board Certified Behavior Analysts supervising those pursuing certification by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board

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(BACB) are required to develop and maintain competency in evidence-based supervisory skills (BACB, 2018). Supervisors are responsible for developing supervisees who are competent, flexible, and independent in their practice abilities. The purpose of this workshop is to provide considerations for teaching the skills needed to practice independently, such as advanced skills (e.g., writing clear behavior intervention plans), subjective skills (e.g., collaboration), problem solving skills (e.g., conducting risk-benefit analysis), and decision making skills (e.g., identifying the most appropriate intervention when several may be effective). Considerations include, but are not limited to, developing appropriate assignments and practice opportunities, selecting measurable learning outcomes, and individualizing feedback for advanced supervisees, etc. These skills will be discussed within a practice model (e.g., Turner, 2017) based on empirical research, the BACB Supervisor Training Curriculum Outline 2.0 (BACB, 2018), and the BACB Ethical and Professional Compliance Code (BACB, 2014). Participants will be exposed to a variety of learning modalities, including lecture, structured discussion, and group activities.

4:00 PM-7:00 PM

Meeting Room B Workshop: The VB-MAPP and Generative Learning Repertoires. (3.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH) MARK

SUNDBERG (Sundberg and Associates).

A typically developing child acquires several different generative repertoires that allow for the seemingly effortless acquisition of more advanced language. Children with autism often fail to acquire these specific skills. The VB-MAPP is a criterion-referenced language, learning, and social skills assessment that contains a number of milestones that can be identified as measures of generative learning. Following a brief overview of the VB-MAPP, these measures will be described, along with ways to read a child’s existing VB-MAPP in terms of generative verbal learning scores. Suggestions will be offered for how and when to establish the various missing generative repertoires identified for a child with autism.

4:00 PM-7:00 PM

Meeting Room C Workshop: Ensuring Cultural Competence and Sensitivity among Behavior Analysts: Integrating Multiculturalism

and Diversity into Service Provision. (3.0 CEUs: BACB ETHICS and PSYCH) MARY JANE WEISS (Endicott College).

Behavior analysts are just beginning to operationally define cultural competence and sensitivity in service provision. It is important for behavior analysts to understand the ways in which cultural variables broadly and specifically impact the development of collaborative relationships with families. In this talk, we will review how the Professional and Ethical

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and Compliance Code for Behavior Analysts guides practitioners in this important realm. In addition, the skills needed for successfully navigating these challenges will be discussed. Implications for teaching, training, and supervision will be highlighted. Resources from multiple disciplines will be reviewed for content and to review how behavior analysts might identify, define, and measure the demonstration of these skills. Sample scenarios will be reviewed to highlight decision making issues and core skills needed to navigate these contexts.

4:00 PM-7:00 PM

Meeting Room E

Workshop: Abstraction and Articulation of the Problem Behavior Treatment Process. (3.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH) JASON BOURRET (The New England Center for Children).

In this workshop, we will cover the design and implementation of problem behavior treatment programming. Treating problem behavior entails arranging an environment that will select more appropriate response patterns. We will discuss the process by which the information needed to generate those programs can be obtained, the design of the program including fading steps, the implementation of the program across staff, methods for monitoring the client’s progression through treatment, and problem solving when challenges arise. The published literature contains empirical demonstrations of methods for parts of this process; this workshop focuses on combining them into a coherent treatment strategy. Attendees are encouraged to bring examples of existing programs that we will work on during the meeting.

4:00 PM-7:00 PM

Meeting Room D (PPS)

Workshop: Using the Performance Diagnostic Checklist – Human Services to Address Issues Related to Interpersonal and Communication Skills. (3.0 CEUs: BACB SUPERVISION) TYRA SELLERS (Behavior Analyst Certification Board).

Supervisors and leaders are responsible for evaluating the performance of individuals with whom they work. Despite our best efforts to provide high quality training and supervision, individuals in supervisory positions are likely to encounter some staff who exhibit persistent performance issues. Supervisors might struggle when attempting to address performance issues related to more complex skills, such as interpersonal and communication skills. This workshop focuses on applying the Performance Diagnostic Checklist – Human Services, an evidence-based functional assessment tool to identify functional barriers to desired performance and function-matched performance management interventions, to these complex performance issues. Attendees will practice using the PDC-HS with provided and self-generated scenarios.

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4:00 PM-7:00 PM

North Ballroom Workshop: Incorporating Observational Learning into Autism Treatment: From Conceptual Analysis to Applied

Practice. (3.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH) BRIDGET TAYLOR (Alpine Learning Group); JAMIE DEQUINZIO (Alpine Learning Group).

It is commonly recognized that children with autism present with significant deficits in imitation and observational learning. Most contemporary curricula for children with autism incorporate instruction in a variety of imitative response topographies. Less common in applied research and practice, however, are procedures to ensure that children with autism learn to acquire novel responses through observational learning. Observational learning encompasses generalized imitation, yet exceeds it, requiring subtle discriminations about observed actions and their outcomes. To shift from learning in a one-on-one context to a group setting, for example, a child must identify contingencies as applied to another, and then incorporate into their own repertoire novel responses related to that contingency without directly contacting it themselves. While complex, observational learning is essential for the child with autism to learn more intricate social and academic repertoires. This workshop will outline empirical research in the area of observational learning and instructional programs that move beyond direct imitation to the skills essential for observational learning. Specific procedures to increase observational learning in children with autism across a variety of responses will be reviewed.

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THURSDAY OCTOBER 3rd, 2019Time Room8:30 AM -9:00AM

Exhibition Hall

Opening Remarks: Stacie Bancroft (BABAT President)

9:00 AM - 9:50AM

Exhibition Hall

Invited Address: Training and Treating Wholeheartedly: Compassion Practices in the Profession of Behavior Analysis. (1.0 CEU: BACB ETHICS and PSYCH) BRIDGET TAYLOR (Alpine Learning Group).

Within certain areas of healthcare it has been documented that treating patients with compassion and empathy can have important benefits, such as increasing patient satisfaction, enhancing adherence to treatment, and improving clinical outcomes (e.g., Beach, et al., 2006; Hojat et al., 2011; Weiss et al., 2017). The field of behavior analysis has only recently begun identifying compassion practices which might have applications in our work. Taylor, LeBlanc and Nosik (2018) for example, proposed that clinical outcomes of clients may be enhanced by improving relationships with their caregivers. This presentation reviews survey data documenting parent perception of compassionate care by behavior analysts, as well as behavior analysts’ impressions of training in this area. Behavioral responses that may comprise compassionate care will be presented along with considerations for how compassionate care of our clients and ourselves can enhance our work as behavior analysts, and potentially improve clinical outcomes.

10:00 AM - 10:50AM

Exhibition Hall

Invited Address: An Update on the BACB’s Activities. (1.0 CEU: BACB) JAMES CARR (BACB).

The presenter will discuss recent developments at the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). The most current data on the BACB’s certification programs will be provided: Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst, and Registered Behavior Technician. In addition, a number of recent and impending developments at the BACB will be described, including revisions to certification standards, development of new resources, and outcome data and new functions from the BACB’s Ethics Department. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the state of the profession.

10:00 AM - 10:50PM

Ballroom South

Invited Address: A Comprehensive Approach to Preventing and Treating Challenging Behavior: Practical Strategies for Autism Services Providers. (1.0 CEU: BACB and PSYCH) EINAR INGVARSSON (Virgina Institute of Autism).

While outcomes vary, severe problem behavior is disproportionately common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Problem behavior can place a strain on families, limit community participation, and serve as a barrier to a happy and healthy life. Therefore, it is imperative for autism service providers to implement comprehensive proactive and reactive strategies to minimize challenging behavior. Preventative and proactive strategies include (a) curricula (e.g., “life skills”) aimed at teaching specific skills that reduce risk of problem behavior, (b) environmental

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arrangements, (b) healthy contingencies and general behavior management strategies, and (c) building adaptive repertoires of social and leisure skills. Reactive strategies include practical functional assessment (e.g., IISCA) and skill-based intervention. This talk will outline a comprehensive approach to prevention and intervention, as well as selected examples of research and application. Although the focus is on the ASD population, the core strategies are applicable to other populations, including typically developing children.

10:00 AM - 10:50AM

Ballroom Center

Invited Address: Compliance as a Behavioral Cusp in Young Children with Autism. (1.0 CEU: BACB and PSYCH) DAVID WILDER (Florida Institute of Technology).

Compliance with a variety of instructions is a crucial skill for young children to learn. Compliance is necessary to progress both academically and socially (Wehby & Lane, 2009) and is negatively correlated with problem behavior such as aggression, property destruction, and self-injury (Russo, Cataldo, & Cushing, 1981). In fact, compliance is arguably one of the most important behavioral cusps (Bosch & Fuqua, 2001; Rosales-Ruiz & Baer, 1997) in early development, as it opens the door to learning a variety of other skills. This presentation will focus on compliance as a behavioral cusp, and will provide an overview of methods to increase compliance among young children. Data from the author's recent research on compliance will be highlighted. This research includes work on common antecedent manipulations to increase compliance, as well as more complex procedures such as guided compliance and the high-probability instructional sequence.

10:00 AM - 10:50AM

Ballroom North

Invited Address: A Simple OBM Approach to Addressing People Challenges in Your Organization. (1.0 CEU: BACB and PSYCH) JOHN AUSTIN (Reaching Results).

Management consultants are known for developing new techniques and many of these techniques are beyond the grasp of most people in the working world. Oftentimes these techniques require a massive amount of behavior change in order to use them in the first place. “Don’t fear conflict”; “Hold people accountable”; “Deliver honest feedback”; “Create a safe space” and other such lofty advice often sound very good in the moment from an intellectual perspective but for someone who is struggling with an actual problem, the techniques often don’t get enacted because the advice is too vague, because there are barriers to following it, and even if the actions needed were very clear, it would require monumental behavior change on behalf of the leader. An evidence-based approach would suggest that we deliver clear expectations, engage in shaping steps from the current baseline, measure, and reinforce improvement. Furthermore, when it comes to leadership and management at work, “simpler” is better, and starting with basics or fundamentals usually produces larger and quicker behavior change. This presentation will describe such an approach, using a case example in manufacturing and extending the practice into human services applications.

10:00 AM – 11:20AM

Junior Ballroom

Symposium: An Evaluation of Training Behavior Analytic Skills for Practitioners and Parents and Professionalism for Undergraduates. (1.5 CEUs: BACB)

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Chair: TANYA MOUZAKES (Crossroads School, Western New England University)

Discussant: ALICE SHILLINGSBURG (The May Institute)

E-mail Professionalism for Undergraduates. THOMAS G. FARNSWORTH (Western New England University); Rachel H. Thompson (Western New England University); Sabrina Minic (Western New England University); Joseph Van Allen (Western New England University); Tylynn Kuralt (Western New England University).

An Evaluation of a Home-Based, Parent Training Program Addressing Emergent Problem Behavior. KELSEY W. RUPPEL (FTF Behavioral Consulting, Western New England University); Gregory P. Hanley (FTF Behavioral Consulting); Robin K. Landa (The May Institute, Western New England University); Adithyan Rajaraman (Western New England University).

Evaluating the Short and Long-term Effects of Training Practitioners to Conduct the IISCA: An RCT. CORY J. WHELAN (The Autism Community Therapists, Western New England University); Gregory P. Hanley (FTF Behavioral Consulting); Robin K. Landa (The May Institute, Western New England University); Emily Sullivan (The May Institute, Western New England University); Rachel Metras (Western New England University); Kara Lacroix (The Autism Community Therapists, Western New England University).

10:00 AM - 11:20AM

Meeting Room A

Panel: An Overview for Advanced Practitioners on Consultative Processes: Building Systems with a Sustainable Future. (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: AMANDA LAPRIME (The Center for Children with Special Needs)

Panelists: MARY JANE WEISS (Endicott College and Melmark); COURTNEY COTTER (The Center for Children with Special Needs); HEATHER FLYNN (The Center for Children with Special Needs).

The development of effective programs for complex learners in educational settings is of paramount importance. Maintaining learners in their community schools supports the mission of increasing opportunities for individuals and their families to participate as members of their public-school community. This has far reaching benefits both for the families of individuals with exceptional learning needs, as well as the individuals who then have the opportunity to learn in conjunction with students with exceptionalities. There are a number of elements that are necessary for these programs to meet the needs of the multiple stakeholders involved. In order to achieve these goals, thoughtfully planned, evidenced-based approaches to system level consultation are imperative in public schools. The panelists will each address a specific area of system level program development in educational settings (e.g., program evaluation, the

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framework of educational environments, motivating systems to change, and collaboration with public school team members in a compassionate way), as well as address barriers to achieving progress across each of these areas. At the end, specific recommendations for increasing ones' capacity to provide behavioral consultation in this manner will be discussed.

10:00 AM - 11:20AM

Meeting Room B

Symposium: Self-management, Environmental Cuing, and Performance Monitoring Approaches to Care Provider Training. (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: JAMES LUISELLI (Melmark New England)

Application of a Self-Management Intervention to Improve Data Recording of Educational Care Providers. KAITLIN MACKEY (Melmark New England); Deanna Gerald (Melmark New England); Laura Keeler (Melmark New England); Rebecca Merrill (Melmark New England); James Luiselli (Melmark New England).

Effects of Environmental Cuing and Performance Monitoring on Activity Completion-Data Recording of Educational Care Providers. EMILY GRASSO (Melmark New England); Priyanka Mishra (Melmark New England); Joyce Essien (Melmark New England); James Luiselli (Melmark New England).

Training Care Providers to Safely Store Hazardous Materials Through Environmental Cuing and Performance Feedback. JULIAN GIANOTTI (Melmark New England); Tyler Kahl (Melmark New England); Jill Harper (Melmark New England).

10:00 AM - 10:50AM

Meeting Room C

Tutorial: Towards a Technology to teach social behavior. (1.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH) MARIELA VARGAS-IRWIN (Applied Behavioral Learning Services); ANN FILER (Applied Behavioral Learning Services); TIMOTHY PISKURA (Applied Behavioral Learning Services).

Social skills are the behaviors we use to communicate and interact with each other, both verbally and non-verbally, through gestures, body language and our personal appearance. Given the importance of social skills deficits in the presentation of individuals with Autism, the fields of psychology, speech and language therapy, and applied behavior analysis have developed numerous programs or curricula to teach social behavior. In this presentation, social skills will be classified into Foundational Social Behavior and Complex Social Behavior and defined in operational terms. Research in technological interventions such as discrete trials, video modeling, and teaching interactions, will be described. Systems for data collection in group settings will be discussed along with case studies of social skills interventions and data collected on “Adherence to a Group Plan,” a complex social behavior. Lastly, objectives to be used in treatment plans and Individualized Education Programs will be developed.

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10:00 AM - 11:20AM

Meeting Room E

Symposium: Treating Dangerous Problem Behavior without Physical Management: Extensions of the Enhanced Choice Model. (1.5 CEUs: BACB)

Chair: HOLLY GOVER (Western New England University)

Procedures, Outcomes, and Implications of the Enhanced-Choice Model of Skill-Based Treatment within a Public-School Setting. MARNEY POLLACK (Vanderbilt University); Johanna Staubitz (Vanderbilt University); John Staubitz (Vanderbilt University Medical Center); Michelle Hopton (Vanderbilt University Medical Center); Rachel Haws (Vanderbilt University).

Distance-Based Collaborations for Assessing and Treating Problem Behavior. RACHEL METRAS (Western New England University); Gregory Hanley (Western New England University).

Small-Group Implementation of Functional Analyses and Skill-Based Treatment. ROBIN LANDA (The May Institute); Amy Rosenblum (The May Institute).

On the Generality of the Preference for Contingent Reinforcement. HOLLY GOVER (Western New England University); Gregory Hanley (Western New England University).

10:00 AM -11:20AM

Meeting Room D(PPS)

Workshop: Updates on Licensure and Legislation for Applied Behavior Analysts. (1.5 CEUs: BACB ETHICS) WILLIAM H AHEARN (The New England Center for Children).

This workshop will describe the status of licensure and oversight of applied behavior analysts in MA. Currently, applied behavior analysts are licensed and overseen by the Allied Mental Health and Human Services Professions Board of Registry. Licensure application processing has been a stated concern by many behavior analytic service providers. Application are currently being processed in approximately one month for qualified applicants who submit a complete application. The process from submission of the application to approval or rejection will be reviewed. Licensed Applied Behavior Analysts (LABAs) are also subject to oversight. This workshop will also review the disciplinary process from the submission of a complaint against a licensee to a board decision on a complaint. Ethical considerations relative to the behavior of LABAs will be discussed. Finally, legislation that may affect the practice of applied behavior analysis will be discussed. Currently there are at least 5 bills in the MA state legislature that LABAs should be aware of and these will be discussed as well as their current status. One piece of federal legislation, the "Keep All Students Safe Act" could also have a significant impact on the practice of behavior analysis and will be reviewed.

10:00 AM- Hilton Workshop: Outside the Box and Across the Spectrum: Strategies for Obtaining Employment for Individuals with ASD.

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12:50AM Perennials B (3.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH) JULIE WEISS (The New England Center for Children), Julie LeBlanc (The New England Center for Children), Christine Pellerin (The New England Center for Children).

Inclusion in the workplace continues to be an important topic for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, caregivers, and employers. Individuals with severe deficits and needs may have difficulty obtaining or maintaining employment due to a limited repertoire of vocational skills and interfering behaviors. Presenters will discuss successful outcomes and creative strategies used when developing new job placements, representing job-seeker’s abilities, and how to assess skills and preferences to ensure an appropriate job match. Job-seeker profiles will be discussed, including the steps that were taken to obtain employment for the specific individual. Samples of interview presentations and resumes that have been used in obtaining employment will be shown. Many employers have limited experience working with a diverse population or understand accommodations that can be made to include individuals across the spectrum in their workplace. Examples of how to communicate with employers about an individual and needed supports will be given. On-going assessment is critical to maintaining employment. Presenters will discuss how to build an individual’s repertoire of vocational skills to increase job responsibilities, duration of work, and independence in the workplace.

11:00 AM – 11:50AM

Exhibition Hall

Invited Address: Disruptions in FCT: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. (1.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH) JOEL RINGDAHL (University of Georgia).

Functional communication training (FCT) is a long-standing and effective approach for treating problem behavior exhibited by individuals with developmental disabilities. In the last decade, researchers have shifted their focus from demonstrating the efficacy and effectiveness of FCT to evaluating what happens when FCT encounters disruptions, such as exposures to extinction and concurrent schedules of reinforcement. The current presentation describes some of the results of a long-standing research project. This project has identified three outcomes of disruption to FCT, including: initial increases in response rate and variability of appropriate behavior (targeted and nontargeted), reductions in previously reinforced alternative behavior, and resurgence of previously reinforced problem behavior. In addition, the current presentation focuses on how the negative outcomes (reductions of alternative behavior and resurgence of problem behavior) can be mitigated, and the positive outcome (increased appropriate response rate and variability) capitalized on. Findings from the research project will be discussed relative to their conceptual and practical implications.

11:00 AM– 11:50AM

Ballroom South

Invited Address: What Behavior Analysis has to say about Discrimination and Prejudice: Social and Ethical Implications. (1.0 CEUs: BACB ETHICS) A. CHARLES CATANIA (Professor Emeritus, UMBC).

Behavior analysis cannot solve the pervasive problem of discrimination and prejudice within and across communities, but it can clarify how they arise and can point to hopeful directions for change. Discrimination, in both its technical and its social senses, is based on actual contact with contingencies of stimulus-control. It differs fundamentally from prejudice, which is based primarily on verbal histories and verbal governance. Discrimination and prejudice in human

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social environments can be interpreted in terms of basic behavioral processes, including but not limited to conditional discrimination, attention, equivalence classes, and the distinction between contingency-shaped and verbally governed behavior. One common feature of many social instances of discrimination and prejudice, with regard to race, gender, ethnicity and other human dimensions, is the reduction of continua to discrete classes. A behavior analytic approach to these issues has ethical implications and supports a crucial role for diversity within human cultures.

11:00 AM- 11:50AM

Ballroom Center

Invited Address: Thinking Outside the Skinner Box. (1.0 CEUs: BACB) NANCY NEEF (The Ohio State University).

I will present examples of highly successful efforts to effect behavior change that are notable because of the size or nature of their impact. It is perhaps notable also that members of the behavior analytic community did not design them. Although we have much to contribute to teaching others about behavior analysis, these examples illustrate what we might also gain by partnering with others who are outside the Skinner box.

11:00 AM- 11:50AM

Ballroom North

Invited Address: The Importance of Derived Relational Responding for Persons with Autism. (1.0 CEUs: BACB) MARK DIXON (Southern Illinois University).

For over 30 years and 100s of empirical studies have shown that directly training verbal behavior to persons with disabilities has been successful. However, within that same time period, another language training approach began to emerge which relied on procedural modifications allowing for deriving language skills instead of directly teaching them. This latter approach has recently yielded impressive data that suggests more efficiency and generality of ABA language training techniques than what is commonly implemented by clinicians working with children with autism. Mark Dixon will showcase a variety of empirical demonstrations that reveal what sorts of differences in verbal repertoires might occur if clinicians adopt a teaching approach rooted in Relational Frame Theory and derived relational responding in addition to or in place of traditional verbal operant training.

11:30AM – 12:50PM

Junior Ballroom

Symposium: Variables Affecting the Formation of Stimulus Equivalence Classes: Recent Research and Implications. (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: KENNETH REEVE (Caldwell University)

Discussant: KAREN LIONELLO-DENOLF (Assumption College)

Inclusion of Prompts in Equivalence Classes. SIMONE PALMER (Simmons University); Russell Maguire (Simmons University); Karen Lionello-DeNolf (Assumption College); Paula Braga-Kenyon (Kadiant)

Effects of Using “Both” and “Neither” Response Options to Establish Equivalence Classes with College Students.

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Stephanie Bendush (Caldwell University); ADRIENNE JENNINGS (Caldwell University); Kenneth Reeve (Caldwell University); Sharon Reeve (Caldwell University); Tina Sidener (Caldwell University); Leif Albright (Caldwell University).

Comparing Compound Stimuli to Single Samples and Comparisons during Equivalence Class Formation. CHRISTOPHER COLASURDO (Caldwell University); Kenneth Reeve (Caldwell University); Adrienne Jennings (Caldwell University); Sharon Reeve (Caldwell University); Jason Vladescu (Caldwell University); Leif Albright (Caldwell University)

11:30AM- 12:50PM

Meeting Room A

Symposium: Autism Knows No Borders: The Why and How of World-wide Dissemination of ABA (1.5 CEUs: BACB ETHICS)

Chair: KIMBERLY MADAR (Easterseals of Massachusetts, New England ABA, The Global Autism Project)

Discussant: CASSONDRA GAYMAN (TTi Health Research and Economics)

The Need for Sustainable Worldwide Dissemination of ABA. SAMANTHA FOWLER (Futures Behavior Therapy Center).

The Ethical Challenges of Worldwide Dissemination of ABA. CHERELLE WILLIAMS (RCG Behavioral Health Network).

A Model for Sustainable ABA Training Where It is Needed Most. KRYSTINA GIHULY (Creative Interventions).

11:30AM- 12:50PM

Meeting Room B

Symposium: Evaluating Health-Wellness Interventions Among Individuals with Neurological and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: JAMES LUISELLI (Melmark New England)

Reducing Weight-BMI of Students with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Through a Residential Health and Wellness Intervention. KIMBERLY DUHANYAN (Melmark New England); Andrew Shlesinger (Melmark New England); Frank Bird (Melmark New England); Jill Harper (Melmark New England); James Luiselli (Melmark New England).

Assessing Implementation Integrity and Social Validity of Automated Sleep Monitoring Among Residential Care Providers. ANDREW SHLESINGER (Melmark New England); Kimberly Duhanyan (Melmark New England); Frank Bird (Melmark New England); Jill Harper (Melmark New England); James Luiselli (Melmark New England).

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Re-establishing Food Consumption Following Brain Injury with Extended Food Refusal Using a Multi-Component Behavioral Intervention. Joseph Ricciardi (Seven Hills Foundation); James Luiselli (Melmark New England); Jodi Tretheway (Seven Hills Foundation).

11:30AM- 12:50PM

Meeting Room C

Tutorial: BCBAs as Change Agents in Addressing Chronic Absenteeism and School Refusal Behavior. ERIN DUNN (EASTCONN Regional Education Service Center); RAVIT STEIN (EASTCONN Regional Education Service Center). (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Child-motivated refusal to attend school or difficulty remaining in classes affects between 5-28% of students, and has a significant correlation with a variety of negative outcomes including incarceration, drop out, poverty, and reduced social functioning, among other issues (Kearney, 2002). Behavior analysts, who are experts in both utilizing the principles of applied behavior analysis to change behavior and using data to guide decision making, are in a unique position to promote improved outcomes for the more than 1 in 10 students in the United States (Chang, Bauer, & Byrnes, 2018) who are chronically absent. The purpose of this session is to familiarize behavior analysts with tools to proactively address a significant issue affecting our nation’s public schools. In this session, participants will learn about the risk and protective factors associated with school refusal behavior and gain skills in identifying patterns and trends in attendance data to guide function-based interventions. Armed with this data, attendees will gain fluency in assessment of function of school refusal behavior (using specific tools and strategies) and implementation of targeted function-based interventions for students who are at-risk, to improve student outcomes.

11:30AM- 12:30PM

Meeting Room D (PPS)

Invited Address: When Bad Things Happen to Good Providers. AMY WEINSTOCK (UMass Medical School/Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center); Nan Leonard (Nashoba Learning Group). (1.0 CEUs: BACB ETHICS)

Insurance coverage for ABA therapy has dramatically expanded access to therapy over the last decade. It has also required behavior analysts who work with public and private insurers to adapt their practices, and acquire many new skills. This presentation will discuss potential issues and problems that can affect Behavior Analysts, drawing from the presenters’ experiences and observations.

11:30AM- 12:50PM

Meeting Room E

Symposium: Evaluating Consequences and Their Effects During Instruction with Individuals with Special Needs. (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: CAMMARIE JOHNSON (New England Center for Children and Western New England University)

Examining the Effects of Behavioral Skills Training on Social Praise Delivery in Four Malaysian Classes. IRENE LOOI (New England Center for Children and Western New England University); Cammarie Johnson (New England Center for

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Children and Western New England University).

Evaluating a Pictorially-Based Paired-Stimulus Preference Assessment for Identifying Social Reinforcers for Skill Acquisition. ALISON SCHAEFER (New England Center for Children and Western New England University); Eileen Roscoe (New England Center for Children and Western New England University).

Brief and Continuous Conditioned Reinforcers: A Comparative Analysis. JOSHUA JACKSON (New England Center for Children and Western New England University); MaKenzie Hough (New England Center for Children and Western New England University); Sarah Malagodi (New England Center for Children and Western New England University); Jason Bourret (New England Center for Children and Western New England University).

Evaluating the Effects of Outcome-Specific Consequences in Teaching Categories to Individuals with Autism. DANIELA P. SILVA (New England Center for Children and Western New England University); Cammarie Johnson (New England Center for Children and Western New England University).

11:30 AM- 12:50PM

Hilton Perennials A

Symposium: A Technology of Teaching: Behavior Analytic Applications in the Online Classroom. (1.5 CEUs: BACB)

Chair: THOMAS ZANE (University of Kansas)

You’re Not Skyping Your Uncle Buck on Saturday Night. Thomas Zane (University of Kansas); Mary Jane Weiss (Endicott College); SAMANTHA VOLPE (Elwyn, Endicott College).

An Evaluation of Supplemental Assignment Techniques for Online Courses. LAUREN LANIER (CARE LLC, Endicott College); Jennifer Hilton (Endicott College); Mary Jane Weiss (Endicott College).

Effects of Measured Practice and Fluency-Based Instruction on the Acquisition and Maintenance of Vocabulary Terms. JENNIFER HILTON (Endicott College); Thomas Zane (University of Kansas); Lauren Lanier (CARE LLC, Endicott College); Mary Jane Weiss (Endicott College).

12:00 PM - 12:50PM

Exhibition Hall

Invited Address & Sidman Award Presentation. Explicating Skinner: A Personal Odyssey. (1.0 CEUs: BACB) DAVID PALMER (Smith College).

I have devoted my 50 post-baccalaureate years to tweaking Skinner’s interpretations of human behavior, testing for weak spots, filling in cracks, rounding off rough edges, and clarifying obscure bits. In this presentation, I allude to some of the heterogeneous topics that have emerged in this enterprise: memory, selectionist units of analysis, automatic reinforcement, grammar, joint control, the additivity of stimulus control, multiple control, response competition, and

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atomic repertoires. Occasionally I have been misled into believing that I had said something new, but a rereading of Skinner invariably disabused me of that illusion. Nevertheless I will briefly discuss two topics where I think Skinner’s texts are not sufficiently developed: Recall and the role of atomic repertoires. Recall is commonly thought of as a topic in memory, but its proper domain is problem solving. Atomic repertoires lie at the heart of our explanations of one-trial learning and observational learning. Skinner’s treatment of these topics was characteristically accurate, but it was scattered diffusely throughout his papers and books and is easily overlooked.

1:00 PM - 1:50PM

Junior Ballroom

Tutorial: A District-Wide Approach to Educating Teachers about Behavior: The Longmeadow Behavior Guidebook. JENNIFER BOGAN (Fields Center); Catherine Beavis (Longmeadow Public Schools); Cate O'Dell (Longmeadow Public Schools); Trish Ripton (Longmeadow Public Schools); SUSANNA LAPRISE (Longmeadow Public Schools).

With the ever growing need for qualified Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA)s in Public School settings it is more important than ever to streamline district procedures and create systems of support for teachers, staff and students. This tutorial, presented by four district-based and one consulting BCBAs will walk the audience through the ‘Behavior Guidebook’ created to serve the children with behavioral challenges in a large public school district. The process for identifying Evidence-Based Practices and translating research to practice will be discussed as well as the justification for the project as a whole. Each BCBA will discuss their piece of the Guide and the Consulting BCBA will tie it all together and discuss how a product of this type could be developed and utilized in other public school districts. Participants will walk away with ideas on how to apply this strategy in their district or a district they consult to.

1:30 PM - 2:50PM

Meeting Room A

Symposium: Analyses and Tips for Consulting: How to be Ethical and Likeable. (1.5 CEUs: BACB ETHICS)

Chair: JUDAH B. AXE (Simmons University)

Discussant: Dennis H. Reid (Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center)

Scope of Competence in Behavior Analytic Consultation: Ethical Considerations. SARAH E. FRAMPTON (Simmons University, May Institute); Judah B. Axe (Simmons University).

How to Win Friends and Influence…Consultees: A Behavior Analytic Conceptualization of Dale Carnegie’s Work. RENEE HARTZ (Simmons University, Melmark New England); Judah B. Axe (Simmons University).

A Conceptual Analysis of Rapport in the Consultative Relationship. KENDRA E. GUINNESS (Simmons University, TACT); Judah B. Axe (Simmons University).

1:30 PM - Meeting Symposium: Preference Assessment Modifications for Increasing Leisure Item Engagement in Individuals with

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2:50PM Room B Autism. (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: Eileen M. Roscoe (New England Center for Children and Western New England University)

Discussant: Joel Ringdahl (University of Georgia)

Relative Predictive Validity of Preference Assessment Types for Leisure Engagement. PAIGE R. MARQUIS (New England Center for Children and Western New England University); Stacie L. Bancroft (New England Center for Children and Western New England University); Taylor E. Collins (New England Center for Children and Western New England University).

Increasing Leisure Item Engagement in Individuals with Restricted Interests. VALERIE A. HALL (New England Center for Children and Western New England University); Eileen M. Roscoe (New England Center for Children and Western New England University); Abigail E. McVarish (New England Center for Children and Western New England University).

Examining Procedural Variations of Delivering Competing Stimuli in the Treatment of Stereotypy. JULIA L. TOUHEY (New England Center for Children and Western New England University); Catlyn A. LiVolsi (New England Center for Children and Western New England University); Willam H. Ahearn (New England Center for Children and Western New England University).

1:30 PM - 2:50PM

Meeting Room E

Panel Discussion: Going Home Again: A Discussion on Discharging Individuals with Complex Needs Back to Their Homes from Higher Levels of Care. (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: AMANDA LAPRIME (Center for Children with Special Needs)

Panelists: MARK PALMIERI (Center for Children with Special Needs); NICOLE HAUSMAN (Kennedy Krieger); SILVA ORCHANIAN (Melmark New England).

For some individuals with autism spectrum disorders, severe behavior at home and in the community results in lengthy inpatient or residential placements. While these settings have well established systems and procedures for decreasing challenging behavior transitioning a child back home to their family is often a lengthy process that involves a number of barriers. Preventing recidivism back to higher levels of care requires a comprehensive approach to care coordination, teaming, family training, and establishing a network of trained providers in the community. Each of the panelists will discuss barriers to discharge, and potential solutions which drive clinical treatment while the patient resides in their setting. In addition, panelists will address behavior stabilization methods, discharge planning, care coordination, and

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training initiatives which comprise the work they do. Recommendation for clinicians who do this work, as well as the teams that receive these individuals upon discharge will be made throughout the course of the discussion.

1:30 PM -2:50 PM

Meeting Room C

Workshop. Providing Effective Training and Oversight: A review of Evidence Based Supervision Practices. CHRISTINA KING (RCS Learning Center); TIFFANY REMY (RCS Behavioral & Educational Consulting); MEGAN BREAULT (RCS Learning Center); COLLEEN YORLETS (RCS Behavioral & Educational Consulting). (1.5 CEUs: BACB SUPERVISION)

The majority of BCBAs provide consultative, rather than direct behavior analytic services. As a result, the person developing intervention procedures must transfer this technology to others who are implementing the protocol, often requiring these individuals to acquire new instructional skills. Effective training of Behavior Technicians is critical and an ethical responsibility. Despite evidence based training protocols being documented in the literature, application of these procedures is often lacking, with BCBAs often resorting to verbal trainings. Once a Behavior Technician meets training competency or is determined to be trained to implement a protocol, there is the challenge of assessing and maintaining the integrity of the application of the intervention. BCBAs are then challenged with assessing procedural drift and remedying. Behavior Analysts may find themselves in a cycle of training, observing, assessing integrity, and re-training the same skills to Behavior Technicians, taking valuable time from client progress. This workshop will provide a review of recent literature in the areas of evidence based training, the characteristics, types, and effect of performance feedback, as well as, the challenges to maintaining procedural integrity and strategies for overcoming such barriers.

1:00 PM -3:50 PM

Hilton Perennials A

Workshop. Trauma Informed ABA. SAUNDRA BISHOP (BASICS ABA Therapy, LLC). (3.0 CEUs: BACB)

Applied Behavior Analysis is an effective science to target behaviors in many populations. However, as a field, ABA does not meet the clinical needs of the children we support that also have a history of "trauma events". Because ABA does not target thoughts or emotions, best practices around Trauma Informed Care have been difficult for our field to adopt. However, by looking at trauma events as a setting event, we can create interventions that are Trauma Informed and can better support our clients who may be in foster care, in family preservation programs, and who have experienced other trauma events. In this advanced workshop, we will learn to recognize what a trauma event is, how trauma events can function as a setting event, and what interventions can be put in place to address these events.

1:00 PM -3:50 PM

Hilton Perennials B

Workshop. Clinical Understanding, Assessment, and Behavioral Intervention for Neurobehavioral Challenges Following Brain Injury. JOSEPH RICCIARDI (Seven Hills NeuroCare). (3.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Neurobehavioral challenges are one of the late-emerging complications of an acquired brain injury (ABI) that impede

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rehabilitation and are a source of stress for survivors and their families. Additionally, challenging behaviors place limits on community integration, increase the risk for care in restrictive settings, and directly interfere with quality of life. Behavior analysis has much to contribute toward alleviating these problems by developing effective treatment and support of individuals with an ABI. This workshop will provide an introduction to functional neuroanatomy, brain-behavior relationships, the basics of ABI (including TBI) for behavior analysts, and a review of research on the prevalence and forms of challenging behaviors observed in people with ABI, and the behavioral interventions that are most effective. Participants will learn how behavioral and neuropsychological data are integrated into a neurobehavioral formulation and functional behavior assessment. Participants will learn principles of multicomponent intervention design, identifying individualized rehabilitation goals, and the role of behavior analysts in rehabilitation. Examples of comprehensive behavior support plans, goals selection, skills development, and outcomes monitoring with this population will be reviewed as well.

2:00 PM - 2:50PM

Exhibition Hall

Invited Address: Next Year is Now. WILLIAM HEWARD (Ohio State University). (1.0 CEUs: BACB)

Educating children with disabilities is a team game. The goals: improved quality of life now and maximum independence in the future. The clock is running and all involved—teachers, family members, and especially the child—have limited resources to contribute. The most pragmatic and ethical way forward requires targeting only learning outcomes most likely to yield optimal benefit to the child. This presentation will explore the meaning of meaningful behavior change and suggest actions behavior analysts, educators, and parents can take to ensure that their hard work translates into higher quality of life for the children they serve.

2:00 PM - 2:50PM

Ballroom South

Invited Address: Establishing Generative Verbal Learning for Children with Autism. MARK SUNDBERG (Sundberg and Associates). (1.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Typically developing children demonstrate an explosion of language skills between the ages of 2 and 3 (Hart & Risley, 1995). A child acquires new speaker and listener skills daily, often without direct training or reinforcement. However, many children with autism struggle with, or fail to make this critical linguistic leap. This learning barrier could be related to a child’s inability to benefit from generative verbal learning. Generative verbal learning occurs when existing verbal skills enable or accelerate the acquisition of other verbal skills, without direct teaching or reinforcement (Rosales-Ruiz & Baer, 1997). An account of generative learning based on Skinner’s (1957) analysis of verbal behavior will be described (e.g., Horne & Lowe, 1996; Greer & Ross, 2008; Jennings & Miguel, 2017; Staats, 1996). Children with autism may fail to benefit from the powerful effects of generative learning because, in part, they may lack the

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necessary prerequisites or component repertoires. Suggestions will be offered for how and when to establish missing generative repertoires for a child with autism.

2:00 PM -2:50PM

Ballroom Center

Invited Address: Teaching Compassionate Care Skills to Behavior Analysts: Identifying Essential Skills and Ensuring Significant Outcomes. (1.0 CEUs: BACB) MARY-JANE WEISS (Endicott College).

Compassion and empathic care are commonly noted values in human service provision. The extent to which a care provider is seen as compassionate impacts the interpersonal relationship with the provider, the adherence of the client, and the long-term outcomes of intervention. In medicine and nursing, these skills have been emphasized and taught. Social work, psychology, and other fields have also emphasized the need for such skills among providers. In behavior analysis, recent surveys have noted weaknesses and inconsistencies in the extent to which parents of children with autism feel supported by interventionists. Areas for improvement include dialoging when there is disagreement, inquiring about the whole family, and demonstrating patience. Several models for developing skills in compassionate care will be reviewed, along with rubrics to assess the extent to which they are demonstrated. In addition, attention will be paid to ways in which such training can be embedded in coursework, supervision, and training.

2:00 PM - 2:50PM

Ballroom North

Invited Address: Teaching and Disseminating Behavior Analysis: Here, There, and Everywhere. (1.0 CEUs: BACB) TRACI CIHON (University of North Texas).

Starting with Skinner’s (1968) Technology of Teaching and Keller’s (1968) Personalized System of Instruction, behavior analysis has a long history in education. Whether you are working in Early Intensive Behavior Intervention, problem behavior reduction, organizational settings, or universities, you have probably encountered situations in which you have needed to establish new repertoires; strengthen, maintain, or generalize current repertoires; or promote the recombination of existing repertoires. Applications of behavior analysis to education are also opportunities to disseminate behavior analysis. Our instruction, grounded in the concepts and principles of behavior analysis, provides the opportunity to teach others about behavior analysis. We help teachers to develop effective instructional strategies. We help families to access more shared reinforcers. We help supervisors to manage more effectively. And, we build environments to support cooperation within and across systems, cultures, and communities. The purpose of this presentation is to describe four efforts to disseminate behavior analysis while teaching behavior analysis in diverse educational settings – a public school special education program, undergraduate introduction to behavior analysis courses at a state university, a collaboration with a social cooperative (non-profit) and public university in Italy, and a consumer science class at a local public high school.

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2:00 PM - 2:50PM

Junior Ballroom Invited Address: Translational Evaluations of Factors Impacting Recurrence of Behavior: Renewal and Reinstatement.

(1.0 CEU: BACB) TERRY FALCOMATA (University of Texas, Austin).

2:00 PM -3:20PM

Meeting Room D (PPS)

Invited Panel Discussion: Making the Leap From Graduate School to Clinical Practice. JACQUELYN MACDONALD (Regis College); KEVIN SCHLICHENMEYER (The Autism Community Therapists); GREGORY HANLEY (FTF Behavioral Consulting); TYRA SELLERS (Behavior Analysts Certification Board); JAMIE DEQUINZIO (Alpine Learning Group).

A prominent focus of a rigorous ABA graduate program is to establish a broad array of behavior analytic skills such that graduate students are prepared not only for the minimal standards of the field but also to be effective practitioners. This is established through structured assignments and practicum experiences. One defining feature of a graduate school education is providing a lot of structure and support for students while they master material (i.e., syllabus and structured assignments), however, there are multiple facets of the clinical practice that are not touched upon in the educational setting. Such areas may include basic business management, billing, dealing with difficult parents, supporting colleagues, and interacting with non-behavior analytic colleagues. This round table discussion will identify gaps between course content and launching into your career. Round table presenters will provide perspective on how graduate schools and practicum placements may better prepare students to make this leap.

3:00 PM - 3:50PM

Exhibition Hall

Invited Address: Early Identification and Treatment of Autism Symptomatology in Infant Siblings. (1.0 CEUs: BACB) REBECCA MACDONALD (The New England Center for Children).

Infant siblings of children diagnosed with ASD have a 19% recurrence risk at 3 years old (Ozonoff et al., 2011). The point at which symptoms emerge is documented in the literature as occurring within 6-12 months. Graupner and Sallows (2017), in a sample of 67 infant siblings, reported symptoms in children under 3 months old. Using weekly developmental assessments and an ABA early intervention, they were able to remediate symptoms in 13 of 14 symptomatic siblings. The purpose of this presentation is to describe our current work toward replicating these findings.

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We hypothesize that if treatment begins at or before 6 months, with a high intensity, outcomes will be better. Currently 27 siblings under 6 months of age have been recruited and are receiving bi- weekly screenings focusing on identifying symptoms. Five of those babies have shown some symptoms and ABA therapy and/or parent coaching is being provided. All babies receive standardized assessment at 3-month intervals. Data to date reveal that earlier age and greater intensity of treatment results in best outcomes. These findings have implication for service delivery and long term financial obligations.

3:00 PM - 3:50PM

Ballroom South

Invited Address: School-Based Interventions for Children with Autism: Progressing from Single Case Research to Randomized Controlled Trials. (1.0 CEU: BACB and PSYCH) CYNTHIA ANDERSON (May Institute).

Behavior analytic interventions addressing the core and associated features of ASD are well supported by empirical literature. Generally speaking, interventions can be categorized as focused or comprehensive. Focused interventions, which comprise the bulk of behavior analytic research using single-case designs and address a small range of targets using very specific procedures. In contrast, comprehensive interventions (such as EIBI) address most or all features of ASD and use many different procedures. Comprehensive interventions tend to be evaluated using RCTs. While the empirical literature supporting behavior analytic interventions for children with ASD is impressive, the bulk of this research has been conducted in clinical settings and there are no comprehensive interventions with documented efficacy in school settings. This is unfortunate as research consistently shows that evidence-based interventions for students with ASD are used only rarely in school settings. In this presentation, barriers to implementation of evidence-based practice will be discussed, as will strategies for addressing barriers. I will argue that effective and sustainable interventions for educators will be developed only through a comprehensive research agenda focusing on both effectiveness and feasibility and that this will require a combination of qualitative, single-case, and group design methodologies.

3:00 PM - 3:50PM

Ballroom Center

Invited Address: Reinforced Variability: Research, Theories, and Applications. (1.0 CEU: BACB and PSYCH) ALLEN NEURINGER (Reed College).

This talk will discuss reinforced variability and its relationship to the class nature of operant behavior. I will consider recent research on reinforced variability; theoretical debates concerning reinforced variability; application of reinforced variability to behavioral training and behavioral therapies; and the relationship of reinforced variability to other areas of psychology and biology.

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3:00 PM - 3:50PM

Ballroom North

Invited Address: From Research to Practice or Practice to Research? (1.0 CEUs: BACB) MICHELE WALLACE (California State University, Los Angeles).

One of the tenants of Applied Behavior Analysis is that our practice should be conceptuallysystematic and evidence-based (Baer, Wolf, & Risely, 1968; BACB, 2018). Therefore, mostbehavior analysts base their practice off of published research (or at least we think they shouldand hope they do). But given the sterilized nature of the environment in which most researchin ABA is occurring (e.g., university based research labs or inpatient clinics), should this researchbe influencing practice or should our practice be influencing our research? This presentationwill discuss some of the issues related to the current state of research in ABA and its influenceon practice (or lack thereof) as well as discuss how the everyday practice of ABA can and shouldbe influencing research. Examples of incongruencies between research and practice as well aspractice based needs assessments with respect to functional behavioral assessment and the useof extinction as treatment for problem behavior will be presented. Moreover, future researchto address this dilemma (research to practice or practice to research) will be presented.

3:00 PM - 3:50PM

Junior Ballroom

Tutorial: To Treat or Not to Treat: Stereotypy is Not Self-Injury. (1.0 CEUs: BACB ETHICS and PSYCH) WILLIAM H AHEARN (The New England Center for Children).

This tutorial will examine questions of how, when, and whether stereotypic behavior should be treated. It is well established that automatically reinforced problem behavior like stereotypy and self-injury can be difficult to treat. Self-injury is problem behavior that poses the risk of significant and, in some cases, life threatening harm. However, stereotypy rarely leads to injury, and if it is a preferred activity there should be times in which it is available. Ethical considerations for clinicians will be discussed and the risks and benefits of both treating and not treating stereotypy will be explored. Some applied research on evaluating and treating stereotypic behavior will also be reviewed, with a focus on effective interventions for building core adaptive living and social skills.

3:00 PM- Meeting Tutorial: Using Web-Based Learning Tools to Develop and Implement Simple Emergent Responding Training

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3:50PM Room A Systems. BRYAN BLAIR (Long Island University - Brooklyn). (1.0 CEUs: BACB)

Emergent responding training protocols have been demonstrated to be an effective instructional tool for teaching a variety of skills to typically developing learners (e.g., college students). However, teaching protocols based on emergent responding have yet to be widely adopted by BCBAs, teachers, and/or trainers and are often not used in college classrooms of training settings. Proponents of the use of emergent responding training protocols have asserted that this failure might be because these protocols require substantial resources to develop and there are no known manuals or guidelines to assist BCBAs with the development and implementation of training systems. As such, the purpose of this tutorial is to teach attendees how to develop training systems using low-cost and easily accessible computer-based learning tools and web applications. This tutorial will briefly review recent publications, theoretical and conceptual interpretations of emergent responding, advantages of emergent responding training, and practical applications of simple and easy-to-create training systems. A web-based training “application” will be demonstrated, and participants will be provided with simple digital resources necessary to create their own training applications. *Note: this tutorial includes updated information from previous presentations.*

3:00 PM- 3:50PM

Meeting Room B

Tutorial: Now or Never: Creating sustainable practices through ABA. (1.0 CEUs: BACB)

Chair: MEGHAN MARTINEAU (New England Behavior Analysts for Sustainability and Newton Public Schools)

Discussant: WANETA TRABERT (City of Newton Sustainable Materials Management)

Climate change is one of the most problematic behavioral challenges facing our world today. Recent analysis indicates that we have 15 years to change our behavioral pattern with respect to green house gas emissions before we reach a 1.5-centigrade change in the average Earth’s temperature (Usher, 2017). Significant changes to multiple topographies of human behavior must occur to reduce the emission of green house gases. Treating behavior that is socially important is an essential criterion of applied behavior analysis (Baer, Wolf and Risley 1968), which makes it a perfect match for the field of climate change work. This talk will review previous research within behavior analysis on promoting sustainable behavior, review a case study completed at a local public school, and describe steps for how any behavior analyst can address this issue.

3:00 PM- 3:50PM

Meeting Room C

Tutorial: The Development of an Alternative PBS Model for Individuals with Severe and Profound Intellectual Disability. KRISTAL MARSHALL-SHORE (Crystal Springs, Inc.). (1.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

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Developing a Positive Behavior Supports model for an entire agency can be a daunting task. Positive Behavior Supports development for students and adults functioning in the moderate to mild ranges of Intellectual Disability include matrixes of expectations to guide positive behavior. When developing these models for individuals with severe to profound Intellectual Disabilities this approach did not seem feasible. As a result, an alternative approach was taken to use a “behavior plan” format instead of the matrixes of expectations. This allowed for some flexibility in terms of providing more individualized procedures within the universal supports. It also provided for the ability to use least restrictive procedures. The approach permitted for expanding the inclusion of the principles of applied behavior analysis. This presentation discusses the challenges and successes that a small agency serving children and adults with severe to profound Intellectual Disabilities faced while developing an alternative Positive Behavior Supports model.

3:00 PM- 3:50PM

Meeting Room E

Paper Session: Behavior Analysis in Application (1.0 CEUs: BACB)

Application of Applied Behavior Analysis to the Juvenile Justice Population. VANESSA BETHEA-MILLER (Bethea-Miller Behavioral Consulting).

Using the Performance Diagnostic Checklist: An Effective Tool for Increasing Fidelity of Behavior Support Plans. LISA SANETTI (University of Connecticut); Melissa Collier-Meek (University of Massachusetts - Boston).

Approaches to Online Teaching and Learning: Behavior Analysis and Beyond. NICOLE DAVIS (Northeastern University); Laura Dudley (Northeastern University)

4:00 PM- 4:50PM

Exhibition Hall

Invited Address: Establishing and Maintaining Good Rapport in Behavior Analytic Consulting. (1.0 CEUs: BACB) GREGORY HANLEY (FTF Behavioral Consulting).

Armed with proper assumptions and assessment-based interventions, behavior analytic practitioners and consultants can bring much joy to families of children and adolescents with behavioral challenges. There is however considerable variability in the extent to which these outcomes occur given the same assessment processes and interventions. When ideal outcomes are not achieved, practitioner’s often observe parents as they implement the interventions, measure implementation integrity and then attempt to improve it, hoping then that with proper implementation the behavioral challenge will be adequately addressed. This last step in the consultative process may be circumvented altogether or at least eased when strong rapport has been established between the consultant and the parents. Despite the lack of

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empiricism regarding this concept, I will join others in emphasizing its importance, and describe the assumptions, actions, procedures, and policies within behavior-analytic consulting practices that seem establish or weaken rapport between parents and consultants.

5:00 PM-5:20 PM

Exhibition Hall AWARD CEREMONY

5:30PM-7:00 PM

Grand Ballroom BABAT POSTER SESSION

BABAT OPEN BOARD MEETINGBABAT 40th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION – Join us for a cupcake and a toast!

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Friday, OCTOBER 4, 2019Time Room

8:30AM-8:50 AM

Exhibition Hall

Opening Remarks

9:00 AM-9:50 AM

Exhibition Hall

Invited Address: Six Metaphysical Sources of Reinforcement. (1.0 CEUs: BACB) PATRICK FRIMAN (Boys Town).

The word metaphysics has several definitions. The earliest and simplest is after or beyond physics. Aristotle wrote his noted treatise “Physics” first and subsequently wrote “The Metaphysics.” The definition that best fits this talk is “lacking form or substance.” It is no exaggeration to say that behavior analysts have given metaphysics, no matter how you define it, a wide berth. In this talk, I advocate a reconsideration. I describe six sources of reinforcement that lack form and readily apprehensible substance. Describing their form and substance is not impossible, but at present operational definitions are not available. The purpose of this talk is not to provide the definitions, although it will provide some movement towards them. The purpose of the talk is to demonstrate that behavior analysts can and will consider subject matter that affects all human beings even though it does not lend itself readily to observation and measurement. The six sources are: 1) sense of certainty and control: 2) sense of uncertainty and lack of control; 3) sense of importance or significance; 4) the experience of love, connection, and intimacy; 5) the experience of growth; 6) acts of giving beyond oneself.

10:00 AM-10:50 AM

Exhibition Hall Invited Address: Five secrets to effective parent training: Examining underappreciated process and content variables.

(1.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH) KEITH ALLEN (Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation).

There are numerous child behavior management and instructional techniques, derived from ABA, that have been proven effective and can be taught to parents for improving child outcomes. However, evidence-based practice requires knowledge of more than just effective treatment. Accumulated evidence across clinical disciplines suggests that the process of delivering a treatment matters as well and perhaps more than you think. We will review five nearly secret content and process variables important to being an effective parent trainer and discuss implications for applied behavior analysis in practice.

10:00 AM-10:50 AM

Ballroom South Invited Address: Social economics: Can pro-social behavior be explained in cost-benefit terms? (1.0 CEUs: BACB)

TIM HACKENBERG (Reed College).

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Social behavior is a topic of enormous scientific importance that spans disciplines from neuroscience to anthropology. One type of social behavior that has received a good deal of recent attention is pro-social, defined as behavior that produces benefits for another. To the extent that behaving for the good of another incurs costs to the individual, such behavior poses important theoretical challenges to behavioral and economic models based on cost-benefit tradeoffs for individuals. In this talk, I will share some recent work from our lab in two areas of pro-social behavior in rats: cooperation, in which mutual benefits require the coordinated actions of two rats; and social release, in which the behavior of one rat releases a second rat from a restraint. While both types of behavior have been offered as examples of phenomena not reducible to individual-level mechanisms, our research suggests instead that pro-social behavior can be conceptualized and studied in standard behavioral-economic terms. Moreover, such methods suggest new and improved methods for exploring the mechanisms of pro-social behavior more generally.

10:00 AM-10:50 AM

Ballroom Center

Invited Address: Behavioral processes underlying fear responses in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Implications for practice. (1.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH) LAURA TURNER (University of Saint Joseph).

Approximately 64% of youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) exhibit clinically significant fears and phobias (e.g., dentist, loud noises) that disrupt daily living. Despite the high prevalence, the behavioral processes underlying fear responses in individuals with ASD are not well understood. The purpose of this talk is to provide a comprehensive overview of the phenomenology and behavioral conceptualization of fears and phobias in individuals with ASD. Utilizing both the experimental psychopathology and behavioral-analytic literatures, this talk will focus on how a better understanding of direct (operant and respondent) and indirect (e.g., vicarious) learning pathways can inform several current issues related to assessment and treatment of fear responses (e.g., measurement of multiple modalities of avoidance and escape). This talk will also highlight the importance of teaching a generalized functional alternative as a prevention/mitigation strategy for relapse of fears and phobias.

10:00 AM-10:50 AM

Ballroom North

Invited Address: Unethical Me. (1.0 CEUs: BACB) MANUEL “MANNY” RODRIGUEZ (Bueno Ventures, Behavior Leader, OBM Alliance).

When it comes to ethics and unethical behavior, there is much written about for people to consume. Philosophy and theory, concepts and principles, qualitative research, and of course professional codes of conduct to name a few. However, little is written about ethics from the perspective of individuals who have been alleged as unethical and those who admitted to unethical behavior. This presentation provides a unique perspective into unethical behavior. The presentation will focus on experiences from the presenter’s own experience, experiences from executives of small and large, and related literature on unethical behavior in the workplace. A behavior analysis on various unethical behaviors supported by an organizational behavior management analysis will be offered to stimulate thinking around how to further prevent and avoid such unethical behavior. To close, the presentation will offer some perspective on potential professional avenues for behavior analysts to support individuals who need help when working through such matters.

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10:00 AM-11:20 AM

Junior Ballroom

Symposium: Treating Automatically Maintained Vocal Stereotypy: Benefits Beyond Decreases in Stereotypy. (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: CANDICE COLON (Behavioral Concepts (BCI)

Discussant: WILLIAM AHEARN (The New England Center for Children (NECC)

Evaluating the Effects of Access to Music on Vocal Stereotypy and Skill Acquisition. Joel Greenbaum (University of South Florida); Catia Cividini-Motta (University of South Florida); NATALIE MANDEL (University of South Florida).

Further Analysis of Motor versus Vocal Response Interruption and Redirection when Treating Automatically Maintained Vocal StereotypyCandice Colon (Behavioral Concepts); William Ahearn (The New England Center for Children); MEAGAN CANNON (Behavioral Concepts); Kathy Clark (The New England Center for Children).

Examining Stereotypy When Promoting Appropriate Behavior: Reinforcement and RIRD. HALEY STEINHAUSSER (The New England Center for Children); Rebecca Foster (The New England Center for Children); Mariah Jacobs (The New England Center for Children); Riley Fergus (The New England Center for Children); Cassidy Doggett (The New England Center for Children); William Ahearn (The New England Center for Children).

10:00 AM-11:20 AM

Meeting Room A

Symposium: Improving Health and Wellness: A Sampling of Research in Behavioral Medicine. (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: GRETCHEN A. DITTRICH (Simmons University)

Effects of Behavioral Coaching on Exercise Behavior and Adherence. JESSICA R. MIAS (Simmons University); Gretchen A. Dittrich (Simmons University); Russel W. Maguire (Simmons University).

The Effects of Feedback Schedules on the Acquisition and Maintenance of Proper Sitting Posture. BRIAN JADRO (Simmons University); Gretchen A. Dittrich (Simmons University); Ronald F. Allen (Simmons University).

Modified Bedtime Routine and Graduated Extinction to Treat Sleep Problems in a Child with Autism. KYLAN TURNER (Simmons University).

10:00 AM- Meeting Symposium: Novel Methods for Improving the Validity and Quality of Data Collection and Behavioral Interventions.

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11:20 AM Room B (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: JENNIFER ZARCONE (May Institute)

Discussant: MICHAEL DORSEY (Amego INC.)

Establishing Validity of Parent Report: Can Parents Detect Effective Treatments for Severe Problem Behavior? Michael Cataldo (Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine); JESSICA BECRAFT (Kennedy Krieger Institute); Patricia Kurtz (Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine); Helen Yu-Lefler (Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health); Usai Bah (Kennedy Krieger Institute).

The Use of Computerized Prompts to Improve Behavioral Data Collection in a Medical Setting. GREGORY YOUNG (Franciscan Children's); Mary Laurette Hughes (Franciscan Children's); Aimee Lyons (Franciscan Children's).

Evaluating Quality of Behavior Support Plans. URIAH HEDRICH (The May Institute); Sarah Frampton (The May Institute); Clare Liddon (The May Institute); Yannick Schenk (The May Institute); Michael Mullane (The May Institute); Kelsey Ventura (The May Institute); Cynthia Anderson (The May Institute).

10:00 AM-11:20 AM

Meeting Room D (PPS)

Tutorial: Dotting the I’s and Crossing the T’s: Documentation Compliance. AMY WEINSTOCK (Autism Insurance Resource Center); THEA DAVIS (Autism Bridges & MassCAP); EILEEN MENDES (Italian Home for Children & MassCAP). (1.5 CEUs: BACB)

Providing insurance funded services to individuals with autism requires more than just assessing the individual, developing the treatment plan, and providing direct instruction. Understanding state and federal laws related to service delivery, documentation, and billing; as well as understanding contract terms and distinctions in medical necessity criteria across payers can be challenging to navigate. Missing one small but critical regulation, policy, or sentence in a contract can make or break a business. This tutorial will offer guidelines on ethical documentation practices, retention schedules for medical records, conformance to documentation expectations with respect to medical necessity criteria, preparing for an external audit, conducting internal audits, and how to navigate the back of the house needs.

10:00 AM-11:20 AM

Meeting Room E

Panel: Behavioral Sustainability: How Our Science Can Save Our Species. (1.5 CEUs: BACB)

Chair: BRIAN JADRO (New England Behavior Analysts for Sustainability)

A Review of Recent Sustainability Research. BRIAN JADRO (New England Behavior Analysts for Sustainability).

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The Role of Behavior Analysts in Public Policy Regarding Sustainability. MOLLY BENSON (Behaviorists for Social Responsibility and New England Behavior Analysts for Sustainability).

The Importance of Local Outreach and Effective Means to Solicit Collaborative Opportunities. KATIE DAPONTE (New England Behavior Analysts for Sustainability).

Round Table Discussion: Small- and Large-Scale Methods of Promoting Behavioral Sustainability. BRIAN JADRO (New England Behavior Analysts for Sustainability); MOLLY BENSON (Behaviorists for Social Responsibility and New England Behavior Analysts for Sustainability); JONATHAN KIMBALL (New England Behavior Analysts for Sustainability).

10:00 AM -12:50 PM

Hilton Perennials A

Workshop: Using Organizational Behavior Management to Maximize Leadership and Performance. CRESSE MORRELL (Milestones Behavioral Services); Suzanne Letso (Milestones Behavioral Services); Nicholas Weatherly (Milestones Performance Innovations). (3.0 CEUs: BACB)

The role of a practicing behavior analyst often starts in the direct provision of services. Once a practitioner gets so good at this service provision s/he will often get promoted, responsible now for supervising others. However, specific training and support in becoming an effective and efficient leader is often not provided for early career behavior analysts as they advance into roles of management, senior leadership, and into business operations. These roles offer unique challenges to those practitioners and to the field of behavior analysis that are often not formally addressed. The science that can impact the behaviors that make an exemplary leader is the same science behind the exemplar front-line practitioner. This workshop will provide a rationale for the use of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) and illustrate the great value in using this science to maximize performance as well as offer strategies for the development and implementation of tools to aid behavior analysts in their use of OBM in their respective organizations.

10:00 AM-12:50 PM

Hilton Garden B Workshop: Teaching Complex Verbal Behavior under Multiple Control: Theory and Application

OLGA MELESHKEVICH (Simmons University, ABA Consulting); JUDAH B. AXE (Simmons University). (3.0 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

With early learners, behavior analysts often teach the basic verbal behavior operants, such as mands, tacts, echoics, and intraverbals. Once these repertoires are developed, programming should incorporate multiply controlled verbal behavior, such as answering questions about pictures and answering multi-part questions. Sundberg and Sundberg (2011) defined a verbal conditional discrimination (VCD) as: “two or more components of a verbal stimulus where one

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verbal stimulus alters the evocative effect of another verbal stimulus (or vice versa) in the same antecedent event” (p. 26). The presenters will define and provide examples of two types of VCD: (1) auditory–visual (i.e., answering questions about pictures [tact-intraverbals]) and (2) auditory–auditory (i.e., multiply controlled intraverbals). They will describe and illustrate research-based strategies to teach each type of VCD and overcome restricted stimulus control (Axe, 2008; Grow & LeBlanc, 2013; Kisamore et al., 2013; Lowenkron, 2006; Sundberg & Sundberg, 2011). The presenters will discuss how procedures based on multiple control may produce generalization within verbal operants. Finally, the presenters will integrate the concepts of joint control, naming, echoic/self-echoic behavior, and autoclitic frames into the workshop.

10:00 AM-12:50 PM

Hilton Perennials B

Workshop: Creating Systemic Change Through the use of Drivers. TAMARA SHOOK (IPPI Learning Academy); Victoria Gomez (IPPI Learning Academy). (3.0 CEUs: BACB)

Drivers are commonly used by businesses to improve outcomes such as profits and output. This workshop will expose participants to these strategies & how they can be applied in a private special education setting to improve client and staff outcomes. The example highlighted specifies (a) how drivers were chosen, (b) how teams were formed and (c) progress was monitored over time. Data were collected and analyzed in the areas of (a) on-boarding procedures, (b) data-based decision making and (c) staff performance assessment and feedback.

11:00 AM- 11:50 AM

Exhibition Hall

Invited Address: When Values and Codes Collide: Making the Case for an Ethical Decision Making Process BCBAs. (1.0 CEU: BACB ETHICS) ILENE SCHWARTZ (University of Washington).

Professional ethical compliance codes have several purposes but their primary purpose should arguably be the guidance of ethical behavior when members of a profession are faced with a dilemma. For Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), the Professional and Ethical Compliance Code (PECC) identifies ethical and unethical behavior while practicing the science of applied behavior analysis in various settings such as homes, clinics, and schools. While the PECC is likely well intentioned its effort to ensure that BCBAs act professionally and ethically, its emphasis on compliance may prevent practitioners from openly discussing sensitive ethical dilemmas. Additionally, the ethical codes that BCBAs must operate under to remain in compliance with the PECC may sometimes be incompatible with the values and ethics of other professionals in school settings. When members of two or more disciplines operate under different ethical assumptions and codes, conflict is likely to occur, leading to a breakdown in teaming and collaboration. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss different approaches that professionals use to develop and implement ethical codes and to make decisions when ethical dilemmas arise in practice.

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11:00 AM- 11:50 AM

Ballroom South

Invited Address: The Validity of Functional Analysis using Isolated- and Synthesized-Contingency Tests. (1.0 CEU: BACB and PSYCH) JEFFREY TIGER (Marquette University).

Functional analyses are intended to identify the reinforcers maintaining problem behavior in order to inform clinicians selection of interventions. Traditionally, these analyses have tested the sensitivity to isolated reinforcement contingencies and in doing so have ruled in and ruled out potential sources of reinforcement. Recently, some functional-analysis models have forgone testing individual reinforcement contingencies and instead test problem behavior’s sensitivity to two or more reinforcers simultaneously in a synthesized reinforcement contingency. This talk analyzes these approaches in terms of their sensitivity, specificity, divergent validity, and predictive validity to yield best-practice recommendations and to nominate areas of future research.

11:00 AM- 11:50 AM

Ballroom Center

Invited Address: The role of multiple verbal control in curriculum development: Beyond primary operants. (1.0 CEU: BACB and PSYCH) FRANCESCA DEGLI ESPINOSA (ABA Clinic, UK).

In recent years, research on teaching language skills to children with autism has demonstrated the usefulness of Skinner’s (1957) analysis of verbal behaviour, with the majority of studies focusing on the establishment of primary operants at the single-word level. Nevertheless, from two to three years of age, typically developing children naturally demonstrate generalised and multiply-controlled verbal behaviour, including autoclitics: They are, for example, able to provide full-sentence answers to novel questions about ongoing and past events and to describe their own experiences. One of the greatest challenges currently facing applied behaviour analysts remains, therefore, how to teach such complex generative verbal behaviour under the relevant sources of stimulus control. This presentation will propose that a Skinnerian analysis of multiple verbal control offers not only a conceptually coherent practical basis for the development and curricular organisation of procedures but is also both sufficient and necessary to meet this challenge. A curricular framework will be presented in which language objectives are organised along a continuum of increasingly complex stimulus control. Special emphasis will be placed throughout on the role of autoclitic frames and intraverbal control in establishing generalised question answering and descriptive skills as examples of convergent and divergent verbal stimulus control.

11:00 AM- 11:50 AM

Ballroom North

Invited Address: Utility of Translational Research for Informing Practice. (1.0 CEU: BACB) MICHAEL KELLEY (Scott Center for Autism Treatment at Florida Institute of Technology).

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Translational Research is sometimes defined as collaborative lines of basic and applied research or innovation as a function of the synthesis of basic and applied research. The goals of translational research might include "proof of concept" generality of basic principles (e.g., application of basic principles in the form of non-human animal to human generality), conducting laboratory studies in pursuit of new applied interventions, or improving existing methodologies. In this presentation, I will review some of the recent discussions on translational research, basic research that seems ready-made for translation, and applied problems that are currently being solved due to the recent trends towards integration of basic and applied research.

11:30 AM- 12:50 PM

Junior Ballroom

Symposium: The Application of Behavior Analytic Technology across Multiple Areas of Public Education. (1.5 CEUs: BACB)

Chair: JENNIFER HILTON (Endicott College)

Using Behavior Skills Training to Train Teachers to Implement Functional Analyses and Subsequent Interventions. Jennifer Hilton (Endicott College); Samantha Volpe (Elwyn, Endicott College); KAREN JEWETT (ACCEPT Collaborative).

Using Rules Paired with Discriminative Stimuli to Reduce Disruption and Noise in an Elementary Cafeteria. ALYSSA PELOQUIN (Hopkinton Public Schools); Jennifer Hilton (Endicott College).

The use of a Multi-Component Treatment Package to Increase Reading Fluency in Young Children. JENNIFER HILTON (Endicott College); Mary Jane Weiss (Endicott College); Thomas Zane (University of Kansas); Justin Leaf (Autism Partnership, Endicott College).

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11:30 AM- 12:50 PM

Meeting Room A

Symposium: Recent Advances in Extending Emergent Responding Training Protocols and Research Designs. (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: BRYAN BLAIR (Long Island University - Brooklyn)

Evaluating the Emergence of Untrained Academic and Applied Skills After Training with Video Vignettes. BRYAN BLAIR (Long Island University - Brooklyn); Lesley Shawler (Endicott College); Leif Albright (The Manhattan Children’s Center); Daniel Ferman (The Manhattan Children’s Center).

Using Equivalence Based Instruction to Improve Discrimination Between Discriminative Stimuli and Motivating Operations. SHANNON SHEA MCDONALD (Endicott College and The Vinfen Corporation); Mary Jane Weiss (Endicott College); Michael Weinberg (Amego, Inc.); Bryan Blair (Long Island University - Brooklyn).

The “Air Gap” Research Design: Participant Isolation and Experimental Control in Within-Subjects Research Designs. Bryan Blair (Long Island University - Brooklyn); PAUL MAHONEY (Amego, Inc.).

11:30 AM- 12:50 PM

Meeting Room B

Symposium: Mainstream Applications in ABA. (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: JACQUELYN MACDONALD (Regis College)

Discussant: ALAN HARCHIK (Independent Monitor and Consultant)

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Using Reinforcement and Feedback to Attempt Reduced Energy Consumption in Commercial Printers. JESSICA DAY WATKINS (Drexel University); Lauren Schnell (Hunter College); Jason Vladescu (Caldwell University).

Sleeping Beauties: Teaching Adults to Arrange Safe Infant Sleep Environments. SAMANTHA BREEMAN (Caldwell University); Jacqueline Carrow (Caldwell University); Jason Vladescu (Caldwell University); April Kisamore (Hunter College); Sharon Reeves (Caldwell University).

Effects of a Contingency Manipulation Within a Personalized System of Instruction with Undergraduate Students. KENDRA GUINNESS (Regis College); Jacquelyn MacDonald (Regis College); Diana Parry-Cruwys (Regis College); Ryan Atkinson (Regis College).

11:30 AM- 12:50 PM

Meeting Room C

Workshop: Utilizing Behavior Contracts in a Private Special Education Setting. CATHERINE TRANQUILLO (IPPI Learning Academy); KRYSTAL JACKSON (IPPI Learning Academy); APRIL RIBAS (IPPI Learning Academy); Tamara Shook (IPPI Learning Academy). (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Behavior Contracts are a tool that can be used in most any classroom, home, or other environment, and are effective behavior change tools for clients of all ages. These binding agreements use the Premack Principle and rule governed behavior principles to shape behavior, increase motivation, provide structure, and promote responsibility and accountability. This workshop will show participants how using Behavior Contracts in their environment can significantly change a range of client behavior. Real case examples will be explored, and step by step development procedures will be shared with participants.

11:30 AM-12:30 PM

Meeting Room D (PPS)

Invited Address: Tim Courtney (Little Star Center)

11:30 AM- Meeting Single Paper Session: Advances in Teaching Communication

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12:50 PM Room E Transition Low to High-Tech Augmented Alternative Communication (AAC) System: Effects on Augmented and Vocal Requesting. NOUF ALZRAYER (King Saud University).

The Impact of Intraverbal Webbing Procedure in The Emergence of Advanced Intraverbal Skills. NOUF ALZRAYER (King Saud University).

Teaching Problem Solving Skills to Young Adults with Down Syndrome. ASHLEY ALBANESE (Caldwell University); Tina Sidener (Caldwell University); Allison Parker (Caldwell University); Kenneth Reeve (Caldwell University); April Kisamore (Hunter College).

Teaching Individuals with an ASD to Tact and Comment on Emotions: An Evaluation of OiGO©. Taylor Randall (University of South Florida); Catia Cividini-Motta (University of South Florida); NATALIE MANDEL (University of South Florida).

12:00 PM-12:50 PM

Exhibition Hall

Invited Address: Effective Supervision; It’s Not Just for Trainees. (1.0 CEUs: BACB SUPERVISION) TYRA SELLERS (Behavior Analyst Certification Board).

From 1999, the first year in which the Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA®) certification was available, until March 2019 there has been a 600% increase in the number of BCBAs (from 4,707 to 33,353 BCBAs), the bulk of which has occurred in the last 10 years. This represents not only increasing numbers of individuals actively pursuing certification, but also increasing numbers of novice certificants in the workforce. These increases are especially relevant considering that 76% of practicing certificants who responded to a 2016 job task survey from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® reported their primary-practice areas were providing clinical services to individuals with Autism and Developmental Disorders. Our field places an emphasis on providing high-quality supervision during the accrual of practical experience hours. However, it is equally critical to ensure that individuals, post-certification, continue to provide excellent clinical services and expand their skills. It is imperative that we, as a field, have continued discussions about what it means, functionally, to provide high-quality to individuals over the full course of their careers. This talk focuses on a tiered conceptualization of, and approach to, providing effective supervision that ensures the initial and continued development of robust clinical repertoires.

1:00 PM-1:50 PM

Ballroom North

Panel Discussion: Addressing Barriers to Conducting Functional Analyses within Home and Community settings. (1.0 CEU: BACB)

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Chair: JULIE BAZINET (Key Autism Services)

Panelists: DARIA YUDIN (Kaleidoscope Family Solutions); STEPHANIE NOSTIN (Key Autism Services); & CARA GIBNEY (Key Autism Services).

Conducting Functional Analyses (FA) to determine cause for challenging behaviors, thus developing function-based treatment, has become the gold standard of behavior analysis (Hanley, Iwata & McCord, 2003). However, barriers exist to conducting assessments, involving manipulation of variables in less controlled, non- hospital and residential settings. This is evidenced by only 17.4% of published FA results being conducted within the home, vocational or community setting (Hanley et all 2003). Identification of potential barriers may include lack of resources and inadequate training and supervision, in addition to concerns involving procedural integrity and parent consent/involvement (Stokes & Luiselli, 2008). Potential solutions may assist in increasing and supporting the conducting of FAs across settings for a greater ability to generalize results and treatment. The focus of this panel will be a discussion of the identification, assessment, and solutions for FA barriers in the home and community setting. This panel will review the current research surrounding procedural integrity, cultural, and safety barriers associated with conducting FA’s in a home or community setting.

1:00 PM-1:50 PM

Junior Ballroom

Invited Address: How Drugs Work: Behavioral and Pharmacological Mechanisms of Action. (1.0 CEU: BACB and PSYCH) CHRIS NEWLAND (Auburn University).

Behavioral pharmacology has a long history of investigating both behavioral and pharmacological mechanisms by which drugs act. An understanding of these mechanisms is applicable to drugs used in clinical settings. The role of the receptor in understanding drug actions is widely appreciated and pertinent to many clinical effects. This will be reviewed briefly. The modification of drug actions through behavioral mechanisms is not as widely appreciated but this crucial aspect of drug effects can be important and will be emphasized in this presentation. Among behavioral mechanisms discussed will be the role of stimulus control in modifying drug effects, anti-punishment effects of

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sedative-hypnotics, the impact of neuroleptics on behavior maintained by negative reinforcement, and environmental modifiers of stimulant effects on impulsivity.

1:30 PM-2:50 PM

Meeting Room A

Symposium: Effective Interventions Without Extinction. (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: JESSICA SLATON (Nashoba Learning Group)

Discussant: MAHSHID GHAEMMAGHAMI (University of the Pacific)

Evaluating the Efficacy of and Preference for Reinforcer Variation and Choice to Teach Academic Skills. LAURA HANNRATTY (Elms College); Miranda Fogg (Elms College); Alyssa Clark (Elms College); Christopher Tamburrino (Elms College).

Simultaneous and Sequential Presentation of Preferred and Nonpreferred Foods to Increase Consumption. MORGAN DAVIS (Regis College, Nashoba Learning Group); Jacquelyn MacDonald (Regis College); Jessica Slaton (Nashoba Learning Group).

FCT Without Extinction in a School Setting. JESSICA SLATON (Nashoba Learning Group); Katherine Raftery (Nashoba Learning Group); David DePetris (Nashoba Learning Group).

1:30 PM-2:50 PM

Meeting Room B

Symposium: Addressing Complex and Challenging behavior in Children with Autism. (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: Gretchen A. Dittrich (Simmons University)

A Comparison of Mixed and Multiple Schedules of Reinforcement and Extinction Following Functional Communication Training. ASHLEY WILLIAMS (Simmons University, ABACS); Gretchen A. Dittrich (Simmons University); Ronald F. Allen (Simmons University); Alison Betz (Behavior Services of the Rockies).

The Effects of Teaching a Rehearsal Response on Delayed Multi-Step Selection-Based Responding. KELLY HURLEY (Simmons University); Gretchen A. Dittrich (Simmons University); Russell W. Maguire (Simmons University); David C. Palmer (Smith College).

Stimulus Control to Decrease Stereotypic Behaviors. JILL MENGEL (Center for Autism and Related Disorders &

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Simmons University).

1:30 PM-2:50 PM

Meeting Room C

Tutorial: Supervision. MARIELA VARGAS-IRWIN (Applied Behavioral Learning Services); ANN FILER (Applied Behavioral Learning Services) & TIMOTHY PISKURA (Applied Behavioral Learning Services). (1.5 CEUs: BACB SUPERVISION)

This tutorial will review recent changes in BCBA, BCABA, and RBT requirements as well as ethical guidelines applicable to recruiting, training, and supervising behavior technicians. Behavioral Skills Training and Teaching Interaction techniques will be reviewed and advantages and disadvantages of live, online, and independent study training modalities will be examined. Lastly, performance management techniques will be contrasted with traditional progressive discipline.

1:30 PM-2:50 PM

Meeting Room D (PPS)

Invited Address: Advocating for Public Policy that Supports the Practice of Behavior Analysis. (1.0 CEU: BACB) NAN LEONARD (Nashoba Learning Group).

The amazing increase in ABA services providers in Massachusetts has been driven by revenue streams created by legislation that supports ABA. This presentation will focus on both state and federal laws that impact the delivery of ABA services. Continued vigilance and advocacy for public policy that supports our field will allow it to thrive and prevent any potential diminution in the quality and availability of ABA services.

1:30 PM-2:50 PM

Meeting Room E

Symposium: Examining Strategies for Addressing Social Behavior in Children with ASDs. (1.5 CEUs: BACB and PSYCH)

Chair: WILLIAM H AHEARN (New England Center for Children)

Effects of Development-Matched and Age-Matched Targets on Play Skills of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. HEATHER M. PANE (Caldwell University); Tina M. Sidener (Caldwell University); Sharon Reeve (Caldwell University); April Kisamore (Hunter College); Anjalee Nirgudkar (Behavior Analysts of NJ, LLC).

Teaching Symbolic Play to Young Children with Autism Using In-Vivo Modeling and Matrix Training. LAURA WILHELM (The New England Center for Children); William H Ahearn (The New England Center for Children).

Teaching Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder to Mand “Why?” PRIYA PATIL (Caldwell University); Tina M. Sidener (Caldwell University); Sharon Reeve (Caldwell University); Anjalee Nirgudkar (Behavior Analysts of NJ,

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LLC)

An Evaluation of Synthesized SSP Procedures on Echoic Responding in Children with Autism. KAYLEA QUINN (The New England Center for Children); William H. Ahearn (The New England Center for Children)

1:30 PM-2:50 PM

Hilton Perennials A

Roundtable Discussion: The Fields Center Model: An Innovative Approach to Interdisciplinary Behavior Analytic Services. (1.5 CEUs: BACB)

Chair: JENNIFER BOGIN (Fields Center)

This two-part Roundtable discussion will include a presentation on the Fields Center’s innovative co-treatment model for delivering behavior analytic services in the community. Item G-06 of the BACB’s 4th edition Task List requires that Behavior Analysts be able to: “provide behavior-analytic services in collaboration with other who support and/or provide services to their clients.” The Fields Center co-treatment pilot project is a new approach towards breaking down barriers and providing ABA services alongside Speech-Language Pathologists conducting sessions using evidence-based practices including: using AAC, functional communication training and differential reinforcement. The evidence supporting this treatment model evaluation procedures for the pilot project will also be discussed. Participants can ask questions and will be encouraged to discuss the merits of providing behavior analytic services in a co-treatment model in community-based setting. Challenges and issues working with interdisciplinary teams and best practices for collaboration will also be discussed. The second portion of the workshop will present preliminary data from the Fields Autism Provider Meet-Up group that has been meeting monthly since September 2018. Outcomes from professional networking events, future projects, and the role of peer supervision and networking in advancing the field of ABA will also be discussed.

1:30 PM-2:50 PM

Hilton Perennials B

Panel Discussion: Improving Employment Outcomes for Individuals with Autism through Vocational and Internship Programs. (1.5 CEUs: BACB)

Chair: P. TYLER PROULX (Virginia Institute of Autism)

Virginia Institute of Autism: Community Partner Internship Program. P. TYLER PROULX (Virginia Institute of

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Autism).

Alpine Learning Group: Structured Learning Experience. CORTNEY DEBAISE (Alpine Learning Group).

Improving Employment Outcomes for Individuals with Autism through Vocational and Internship Programs. TRACIE MANN (Child Study Center).

University Partnership with State Funded Program. NATALIE VILLANTE (University of Houston Clear Lake)

2:00 PM -2:50 PM

Exhibition Hall

Invited Address: The Practical Utility of Behavioral Economics: Assessment Tools for Enhancing Intervention in ASD. (1.0 CEU: BACB and PSYCH) ISER DELEON (University of Florida).

The field of behavioral economics has provided behavior analysts with new analytic tools to examine novel functional relations. Much of this work has been theoretical or conceptual, involving lengthy or elaborate analyses used to make inferences about decision-making as it relates to cost and consumption of reinforcers. Over the past few years, our lab has been exploring ways to simplify and adopt the analytic tools of behavioral economics for practical use across a variety of contexts in working with individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. I will highlight several of our more recent efforts across a diverse range of topics (e.g., treating behavior disorders, motivating physical over sedentary activity, promoting healthier alternatives to less-nutritive edible reinforcers). I will further consider other ways in which behavioral economic concepts and procedures could be incorporated profitably into everyday behavior-change strategies.

2:00 PM-2:50 PM

Ballroom South

Invited Address: Looking Beyond the Single Case: The Consecutive Case Methodologies. (1.0 CEU: BACB and PSYCH) LOUIS HAGOPIAN (Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine).

The predominant use of single-case experimental designs (SCEDs) in the field of applied behavior analysis can be attributed to the fact they are optimally suited for analyzing environment-behavior interactions, experimentally robust, and have tremendous clinical utility for the functional analysis of behavior and the evaluation of treatment outcomes.

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Recent years have seen an increase in behavior analytic studies reporting on outcomes obtained with consecutively encountered cases where a SCED was employed with large numbers of cases. These evolving methodologies will be discussed, including their design elements and analytic methods that have the potential to increase the generality of findings. By compiling and examining outcomes with multiple cases, these methods enable researchers to ask a range of experimental questions, can yield findings that advance scientific knowledge, and further document the efficacy and generality of behavioral assessment and treatment procedures. When used in the context of program evaluation, these methods provide means to better integrate research and practice, and guide efforts to improve outcomes.

2:00 PM-2:50 PM

Ballroom Center

Invited Address: Instructor Behavior Associated with Trainee Attentiveness and Acceptance of Behavioral Training Workshops. (1.0 CEU: BACB and PSYCH) DENNIS REID (Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center).

This presentation will describe how varying levels of attentiveness and acceptance among staff attending behavioral training workshops are associated with how instructors conduct the workshops. Initially, staff attentiveness associated with varying instructor behavior within 21 training workshops will be described. Next, acceptability responses of human service staff attending 132 training workshops will be presented regarding what the staff reported as the best and worst things about the workshops. Results will be summarized in terms of recommendations for behavior analysts to conduct behavioral training workshops in a manner that is usually associated with high trainee attentiveness and acceptance. A particular focus will be on ensuring relevance of the workshop content specifically for the work situations of the trainees, promoting different types of active trainee responses, and frequently supplementing instructor verbal presentation with other actions beyond provision of PowerPoint slides.

2:00 PM-2:50 PM

Ballroom North

Invited Address: Establishing Natural Reinforcer Control with Children with ASD: Play and Imitation. (1.0 CEU: BACB and PSYCH) TINA SIDENER (Caldwell University).

An important goal in behavioral intervention programs for children with ASD is to not only increase meaningful behavior, but to bring those responses under control of naturally-occurring antecedents and consequences. This presentation will discuss some of the reasons we use contrived consequences, the benefits of natural reinforcer control, and skill areas in which natural reinforcers are particularly important for children with ASD. As examples, I will present data from recent studies we conducted on teaching play skills and differential imitation to children with ASD.

2:00 PM-2:50 PM

Junior Ballroom

Invited Address: Overused and Understudied: Time-Out from Positive Reinforcement and Token Reinforcement Systems. (1.0 CEU: BACB and PSYCH) JEANNE DONALDSON (Louisiana State University).

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Time-out from positive reinforcement and token reinforcement systems share similar histories with respect to research trajectories. Research demonstrating the effectiveness of both procedures at changing behavior peaked in the 1970s and demonstrated the strength and versatility of time-out and token systems across varying populations, settings, and responses. However, little research followed up to examine the underlying mechanisms and specific conditions under which time-out and token systems are most effective. Despite our relatively limited understanding of these procedures, they are widely used (and misused) in practice by parents, teachers, and clinicians. In this talk, I will make the case that now is the time for a closer examination of time-out and token systems and present data from my research highlighting recent findings in both domains.

3:00 PM-3:50 PM

Exhibition Hall

Invited Address: Measuring the Effects of Psychotropic Medication. (1.0 CEU: BACB and PSYCH) JENNIFER ZARCONE (The May Institute).

The presentation will focus on methods that are currently being used to evaluate the behavioral effects of medication for individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. The focus of the presentation will be on the most commonly used behavioral measures, including rating scales, direct observation and functional analysis measures and how they can be used within the context of medication evaluations in school, home, community settings. Finally, the need for measures of social validity and consumer satisfaction as well as collaboration across disciplines will be discussed.