Association for Behavior Analysis International

Despite growing interests in the applied behavioral analysis (ABA) training from different constituents, China is still in a great demand for training more qualified behavioral analysts and other clinical professionals who can deliver effective ABA based interventions to Chinese children with special needs. Applications of ABA to children with ASD were first introduced to China in 1990s primarily through Chinese parents and parent-run organizations. Not until the dawn of 21st century had the first ABA delegation to China from ABAI taken place. Interests from the different constituent groups (e.g., professionals in the medical field, parents of children with ASD, professionals in various clinical or rehabilitation settings for children with ASD, and special education school teachers etc.), towards ABA kept permeating since. Yet the status quo and outcomes of ABA training in China are unsatisfactory and of most concern. In this presentation, I will provide a historical review of the trends and issues surrounding the ABA training in China through the lens of special education. Based on my interactions with a few Chinese universities over the last decade regarding ABA training to university faculty and students, I will discuss the key issues and challenges. Suggestions for improvement of ABA training in China will also be discussed.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

The neural code and mechanisms that underlie the generation of behavior has been difficult to crack. Innate behaviors such as aggression, fear, and mating may pose a tractable model because they are highly conserved across evolution, their proper regulation and display is essential for fitness, and some of the essential circuit, amygdala and hypothalamus, are known. However, the identity of the precise neurons and logic of the circuits that generate these innate behaviors remains largely unknown and therefore unstudied. In the mouse, all of these essential behaviors can be robustly initiated by olfactory cues. We have identified specific sensory ligands that now enable us to precisely stimulate and identify the neural mechanisms that generate behavior. We are creating and assessing novel tools to be able to identify and manipulate the circuits that generate behavior. In addition, we are studying how the sensory information elicits variable responses depending on state, gender, or the complexity of the environment.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

What can you do to support children who are aggressive and disruptive? Through an interactive Prezi presentation, paired with case studies, research, and a group discussion, participants will explore Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), attachment, temperament, emotional milestones, expulsion, and early childhood mental health consultation.

Mental health professionals, school psychologists, and educators who work with young children.

Despite the excellent work carried out on the subject, from an outsider’s perspective one could argue that the bidirectional operant has not been explicitly appreciated for what would seem to be its most valuable asset, namely as a manifestation of a new class of operant behavior. What distinguishes this higher-order operant, as it is called, from simple operant behavior and what constitutes its bi-directionality? These questions are addressed in an attempt to understand verbal behavior acquisition from a developmental and evolutionary perspective. Comparative data are reported which support the view that the bidirectional operant is an exemplar of extreme life-stage modularity during acquisition of verbal behavior and may be functionally homologous to the biological phenomenon of complete metamorphosis. The presentation concludes with a consideration of the potential relevance of operant bi-directionality as a behavioral phenotype which underlies the accelerated transformation of learning in a world unhinged.

Both researchers and practitioners.

A subset of children with autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions develop persistent and clinically significant challenging behaviors like aggression and self-injury. Addressing this significant public health concern in an effective, practical, and scale-able manner has been one of the clear success stories of applied behavior analysis. Evidenced-based behavioral assessments and interventions effectively manage and treat a variety of challenging behaviors once they develop. However, this approach typically requires continued application of the intervention across a significant portion of the lifespan and as a result can be costly and resource-intensive. These potential limitations have motivated the start of a paradigm shift away from intervention and towards prevention. The search is on for malleable risk factors that occur early and that are associated with the persistence of challenging behaviors. In my talk I will describe our on-going program of research-to-practice activities in this area. First, I will discuss what is often taken as an overly simplistic “biology versus environment” dichotomy in this area. Instead of some form of subtyping, one could explore how behavior and underlying biology may change over time if the aberrant behavior persists. I will describe findings from our research that indicate that the persistence of challenging behaviors into adulthood can engender both behavioral and physiological changes - suggesting a potential interplay of biology and behavior that could conceivably drive treatment resistance over time. Next, I will describe on-going research focusing on isolating a set of pivotal child behaviors and parent-child interaction patterns early in development that are associated with emerging challenging behaviors in children with autism. These studies have focused on how language develops and interacts with early forms of aberrant behavior. Finally, I will describe our on-going research-to-practice work in this area that is focusing on developing and testing both home-based and a preschool-based approaches for preventing the development of challenging behaviors.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.

Most people think climate change and sustainability as important problems, but too few individuals engage in mitigating behavior to stem destruction of the natural environment. Why is that? Structural barriers are part of the answer, but psychological barriers also impede behavioral choices that would facilitate climate change mitigation, adaptation, and environmental sustainability. Many individuals are engaged in some ameliorative action, but most could do more. They are hindered by seven categories of psychological barriers that include 40 particular barriers, known as the “dragons of inaction.” These include limited cognition, ideological worldviews, social constraints, sunk costs, discredence, perceived risks of change, tokenism, and rebound effects. Structural barriers must be removed wherever possible, but this is unlikely to be sufficient. Psychologists must work with other scientists, technical experts, and policymakers to help citizens overcome these psychological barriers.

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.