Join us at our 2026 workshop Series
Registration Open Now under Events! Questions? Email Contact@PennABA.org Find out more about the workshops below! |
Equipping the Village: Empowering Parents, Educators, and Paraeducators with Evidence-Based Tools Presenter: Art Dowdy This 3-hour, applied workshop is designed specifically for BCBAs and behaviorally oriented educators working in school settings. The focus is on how BCBAs can efficiently and effectively train non-BCBA stakeholders—parents, teachers, and paraeducators—to implement evidence-based behavioral interventions with high fidelity. Drawing from recent applied research and implementation projects, I will present data-based examples including telehealth parent training using Cool Versus Not Cool to improve adolescent social skills; asynchronous Behavioral Skills Training to prepare special education teachers to conduct MSWO preference assessments with high fidelity; and findings from Project IMPACT-Autism, our DoD-funded initiative examining web-based professional development models (video modeling, performance feedback, and adaptive coaching) for paraeducators. Emphasis will be placed on BCBA-relevant decision making: selecting training targets, building streamlined BST packages, leveraging technology to increase reach and sustainability, and designing systems that promote maintenance, generalization, and collaboration across home and school. Participants will leave with concrete tools, frameworks, and examples they can immediately use in their roles as supervisors, consultants, and implementers.
From Instructional Trials to Establishing Functional and Flexible Learning Presenter: Maithri Sivaraman Understanding human language is one of the greatest challenges in behavior analysis. Efficient language instruction aims to maximize instructional time and promote children’s generative learning beyond what is directly taught. Relational frame theory (RFT) provides a comprehensive approach to tackling the language challenge. Derived relational responding has been argued by RFT to be a form of operant behavior. Specifically, the manner in which instruction is provided (e.g., context-specific cues, use of multiple exemplars) determines the extent to which generalized untaught outcomes can be expected. This workshop will dive into applying RFT to teach language to children and will target three main areas. First, establishing foundational non-arbitrary relational responding based on formal properties in early learners. Second, moving from foundations to arbitrarily applicable relational responding, and third, integratingthese repertoires with Skinnerian verbal operants. We will review teaching strategies and considerations to promote flexibility in children’s language.
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