Re: ABA training series

[Guest guest]

BEYOND DISCRETE TRIAL INSTRUCTION: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN BEHAVIOR ANALYTIC

TEACHING PROCEDURES

CODY CENTER FOR AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY

ENDEAVOR HALL, ROOM 120

SUMMER 2005

SESSION I - 10:00 AM TO 1:00 PM

6/29, 7/6, 7/13, 7/20

SESSION II - 10:00 AM TO 1:00 PM

7/27, 8/3, 8/17, 8/24

This series of four seminars is designed to address the ongoing educational

needs of current behavior analysts who work with children with autism and

related disorders. The seminars address best practice applications of

behavioral

principles in promoting communication and social interaction skills. The

full series is offered twice, once in Session I and once in Session II. Each

seminar is three hours long. Three Continuing Education Units per seminar will

be offered to Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Board Certified Associate

Behavior Analysts through the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.

PRESENTER:

Beth Glasberg, Ph.D., BCBA, is a Senior Education Specialist at the Cody

Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities at the Stony Brook University.

Beth received her Ph.D. in 1998 in Clinical Psychology at Rutgers

University, and has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst since 2000. Her

clinical

interests center around school consultation relevant to challenging behaviors,

effective teaching strategies, and inclusion, as well as addressing the

needs of families of individuals with autism and related disorders. She has

presented at regional and national conferences regarding these topics, and has

also published several articles and book chapters focusing on these issues.

Additionally, she is the author of Siblings of Children with Autism: A Guide

for Families, as well as an upcoming book from Woodbine House on functional

assessment.

Seminar One: June 29 or July 27

Building Communication Skills in Learners with Autism and Related Disorders:

An Introduction to Verbal Behavior

Communication skills significantly affect all areas of an individual’s life.

From gaining access to desired items and activities, to sharing experiences

and forming friendships, strong communication skills pave the way.

Unfortunately, communication skills are among the hardest hit by autism and

related

disorders. Parents and educators need effective methods to help them

ameliorate deficits in this area. In 1957, Skinner reconceptualized

communication as

a special kind of behavior, subject to the same laws of learning as other

behaviors. In doing so, the study of “verbal behavior†was born. In

recent

years, educators have translated Skinner’s principles of verbal behavior into

practice leading to the creation of more effective teaching programs for

learners with autism yielding significant results. This workshop will provide

an overview of verbal behavior as well as an introduction to teaching

practices that grow out of this functional analysis of communication. Geared

towards

behavior analysts and others with a strong foundation in behavioral

principles, attendees will achieve the following learning objectives:

1. Participants will define verbal behavior.

2. Participants will identify different classes of verbal behavior.

3. Participants will identify teaching goals for sample learners.

4. Participants will design teaching programs based on case examples.

Syllabus available upon request.

Seminar Two: July 6 or August 3

Using Verbal Behavior to Promote Social Skills in Learners with Autism and

Related Disorders: An Advanced Verbal Behavior Workshop

Recent applications of Skinner’s (1957) analysis of verbal behavior have led

to considerable improvements in educational programs for learners with

autism and related disorders. While widely considered a valuable resource for

teaching communication skills, a verbal behavior based approach is also highly

effective for targeting social skills. As social development is so

significantly affected by autism, effective teaching in this arena is critical.

This

workshop will focus on building initiation skills, responding skills, and

exiting skills for learners with autism using a verbal behavior based approach.

In particular, teaching strategies based on mands, tacts, and intraverbals

will be described and practiced. This workshop is designed for behavior

analysts and others with a strong foundation in behavioral principles.

Additionally, it is designed for individuals who have attended Building

Communication

Skills in Learners with Autism and Related Disorders: An Introduction to Verbal

Behavior. Individuals who have not attended the introductory workshop but

have knowledge of the classes of verbal behavior from another source will also

benefit from this advanced workshop. Attendees will achieve the following

learning objectives:

1. Participants will identify social initiations, responses, and exit

skills.

2. Participants will design teaching strategies based on manding that

encourage social interaction.

3. Participants will design teaching strategies based on tacting that

encourage social interaction.

4. Participants will design teaching teaching strategies based on

intraverbals that encourage social interaction

Syllabus available upon request

Seminar Three: July 13 or August 17

Teaching to Fluency I: Helping Learners with Autism and Related Disorders

Acquire, Maintain, and Perform Skills Effortlessly

Learners with autism and related disorders often “master†skills according

to a percent-correct criterion only to then demonstrate these skills

inconsistently and with considerable effort. Not only is this frustrating and

disappointing to hard-working educators, but may also lead to further problems

for

learners as insufficiently acquired pre-requisite skills interfere with the

learning of more advanced skills. Additionally, this incomplete “masteryâ€

can

lead to behavior problems as learners resort to maladaptive behaviors to

escape the demands of too-challenging tasks. One behavior analytic teaching

approach, referred to as “Precision Teachingâ€, overcomes this challenge by

teaching to “fluency†rather than to a percent-correct criterion. While

percent-correct approaches assess accuracy, fluency-based approaches assess

accuracy plus speed. Additionally, precision teachers evaluate whether or not

a

learner can perform a skill with distraction, with novel stimuli, with

sufficient endurance, and across time before declaring the skill

“masteredâ€. This

workshop will provide an introduction to fluency and precision teaching.

Geared towards behavior analysts and others with a strong foundation in

behavioral principles, attendees will achieve the following learning

objectives:

1. Participants will define behavioral fluency.

2. Participants will define retention, endurance, stability, and

application.

3. Participants will identify teaching goals for sample learners.

4. Participants will read standard celeration charts.

Syllabus available upon request.

Seminar Four: July 20 or August 24

Teaching to Fluency II: Implementing Precision Teaching with Your Students

Precision teaching offers educators a means of insuring that their learners

will perform acquired skills fluently, rather than inconsistently or with

great effort. Designed as a follow-up to Teaching to Fluency I: Helping

Learners

with Autism and Related Disorders Acquire, Maintain, and Perform Skills

Effortlessly, this hands-on workshop will teach participants the skills needed

to

begin utilizing fluency based instruction with their students. Participants

will practice identifying teaching goals for sample students, implementing

timed practice sessions, recording and evaluating progress on a standard

celeration chart, and assessing fluency outcomes. This workshop is geared

towards

behavior analysts and others with a strong foundation in behavioral

principles. Furthermore, while attendance at the introductory fluency workshop

described above is recommended, familiarity with the principles of behavioral

fluency is required. Attendees will achieve the following learning objectives:

1. Participants will identify component skills for specific

behaviors.

2. Participants will implement a timed practice session.

3. Participants will record data on a standard celeration chart.

4. Participants will make teaching decisions based on standard

celeration charts.

5. Participants will describe how to assess fluency outcomes.

Syllabus available upon request.

Directions to Endeavor Hall:

LIE to exit 62 north (Nicolls Road)

Nicolls Road to South Campus Entrance to Stony Brook University (approx. 9

miles)

Left at South Campus Entrance

Right at first traffic light- Marburger Drive

Right after bus shelter at sign for Marine Sciences, continue to bear right

to Marine Sciences

Endeavor Hall is the building facing you at the end of the road (name on

door)

To get to Room 120, go directly to the back of the building and turn right.

REGISTRATION FORM

Please return registration form and payment by June 15 to the address below:

Cody Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities

Putnam Hall, Room 177

Stony Brook University

Stony Brook, NY 11794-8788

Attn: Ellen Woodward

Name__________________________________________________________________________

_______

Organization or

Affiliation________________________________________________________________

Address_______________________________________________________________________

________

Phone #_____________________FAX___________________Email

______________________________

Registration Fee: $50.00 per seminar

Please indicate the seminars and dates you wish to attend. Enclose $50.00

for each seminar. Checks should be made out to the Cody Center.

___ Seminar One: Building Communication Skills in Learners with Autism and

Related Disorders: An Introduction to Verbal Behavior June

29 July 27 (circle one)

___Seminar Two: Teaching to Fluency I: Helping Learners with Autism and

Related Disorders Acquire, Maintain, and Perform Skills Effortlessly

July 6 August 3 (circle one)

___Seminar Three: Teaching to Fluency II: Implementing Precision Teaching

with Your Students

July 13 August 17 (circle one)

___Seminar Four: Using Verbal Behavior to Promote Social Skills to Learners

with Autism and Related Disorders: An Advanced Verbal Behavior Workshop

July 20 August 24 (circle one)

CEU Information: Three Continuing Education Units per seminar will be

offered to Board Certified Behavior Analysts and Board Certified Associate

Behavior

Analysts through the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.

For further information contact:

Ellen Woodward: phone (631) 632-3127, email shirley.woodward@...

ABOUT THE CODY CENTER

The Cody Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities at Stony Brook

University was founded in 2001 by Matt and Debra Cody, the parents of three

children who have Autism. The mission is to promote excellence in clinical

treatment, research, community service, and education for those with Autism

Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and related disabilities. The Cody Center is a unique

resource combining in one center the capacity for:

v Multi-disciplinary clinical services

v Consultation and training services for school districts and community

organizations

v Development of best practices in both educational and in family

support services

v Training for clinicians in medical and mental health fields to

recognize and treat both the primary deficits, and associated social, physical

and

emotional problems, of those with developmental disability

v Clinical, basic, and translational research into the causes,

correlates, and treatment of Autism on the University campus, as well as in

collaboration with local research institutions, such as Cold Spring Harbor and

Brookhaven National Laboratories.

Clinical Services

Administrative Offices

The Cody Center The

Cody Center

5 Medical Drive

Putnam Hall, Room 177

Port Jefferson Station, NY 11776 Stony Brook,

NY 11794-8788