A Message from the President, WILLIAM J. HELSEL, Ed.D., BCBA
Pennsylvania is home to a large number of behavior analysts
along with a number of people showing a growing interest in
Applied Behavior Analysis. Together with other regional
associations in our area such as the New York State
Association of Applied Behavior Analysis (NYSABA), the
Berkshire Association of Behavior Analysis (BABAT), the
Maryland Association of Behavior Analysis (MABA), the
Delaware Valley Association of Applied Behavior Analysis
(DVABA), and the New Jersey Association for Behavior Analysis
(NJABA), we too hope to contribute to the level of
communication and dissemination of the behavior analytic work being done in our
region. You are receiving this newsletter because you have been active in PennABA in
the past and/or you have been identified as an important colleague in our vicinity.
Our 2008 Conference Agenda with an Autism focus is set for March 27th and 28th at the
Hershey Lodge and Convention Center, Hershey, PA. The good news for all who benefit
from ABA is that the agenda is proving to be popular with numerous pre-registrants. In
order to allow for additional opportunities to attend this year’s conference, WE WILL
TAKE LATE REGISTRATIONS UP TO AND INCLUDING WALK-INS AT THE CONFERENCE.
The PennABA Board has arranged for a remarkable line-up of Invited Speakers including
the following (for more thorough biographical sketches and presentation abstracts go to
www.pennaba1.org ): William Ahearn, Ph.D., BCBA, who is Director of Research at the
New England Center for Children and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Masters in
Applied Behavior Analysis (MABA) Program at Northeastern University, will carry out a
workshop on assessing and treating stereotypic behavior and offer a paper on analyzing
social deficits. Saul Axelrod, Ph.D., BCBA, who is Professor of Education at Temple
University, will give a paper looking more broadly at the relations between ABA and
autism. Ray Romanczyk, Ph.D., BCBA, who is Professor of Clinical Psychology at SUNY
Binghamton, will conduct a workshop extending functional analysis into the public policy
arena and present a paper on anxiety and autism. Kimberly Schreck, Ph.D., BCBA, who is
an Associate Professor of Psychology and Coordinator of the Applied Behavior Analysis
Masters Program at Penn State Harrisburg, will share a paper examining practices of
behavior analysts in the treatment of autism. Tristam Smith, Ph.D., who is an associate
professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and serves
as the research director for the Multi-site Young Autism Project, will direct a workshop
on ABA for school-age children with autism and offer a paper on “what’s new” in early
intensive behavioral intervention. Mary Jane Weiss, Ph.D., BCBA, who is the Director of
Research and Training at the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center at Rutgers
University, will lead a workshop on teaching social skills and also discuss comprehensive
ABA programming in a paper presentation.
We have again applied for continuing education accreditation to enable those
participants attending presentations either one or both days of the conference to
receive, BCBA and BCABA CEUs through the Behavior Analysis Certification Board and Act
48 Special Education Credits through the assistance of William Galbraith, Ph.D. at
PaTTAN. We are NOT able to provide APA CEUs through the Pennsylvania Psychological
Association for the 2008 conference.
Closing remarks require taking into consideration our history. PennABA was founded in
the late 1990s by Richard M. Foxx and William J. Helsel in response to a contact from
Ms. Cheri Heeter, BCBA, who had just arrived in Pennsylvania from Florida, home to
FABA, and wanted to know about an affiliated chapter here in the Keystone state. Drs.
Foxx and Helsel responded by incorporating PennABA in 1998. Dr. Richard Foxx continues
to serve as the organizations Executive Director. And with the invaluable help of key
folks from Penn State University campuses in Harrisburg, Hershey, and State College,
along with organizations like Melmark and PLEA, we have held 7 annual conferences. As
a small non-profit organization, the primary role of the PennABA Board Members is to
host this annual conference and generate a newsletter designed to inform and connect
Behavior Analysts in Pennsylvania and our neighboring states. We have continued to
solicit input from our members to refine the services we provide with the most notable
membership driven change reflected in the structure of our conferences beginning in
2005 and continuing today. In addition, we revised our website in 2006 relying on
feedback from our members.
You can find us at www.pennaba1.org where we publish information about the
organization and where we hope eventually those Pennsylvanians interested in behavior
analysis will increase their communications with each other.
It is my sincerest hope that the news I conveyed in this message will assist in
maintaining our current members and encourage others to join PennABA to further our
purpose in spreading the benefits of our science of human behavior and the
dissemination of humane technological achievements.
PennABA Member At Large Dr. Keith Williams Publishes New Book
We are pleased to announce that PennABA Member at Large, Dr. Keith E. Williams with
Executive Officer Dr. Richard M. Foxx has published a new book “Treating Eating
Problems of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Developmental Disabilities”.
The interventions set forth in the book are geared towards professionals and parents.
Part one was specifically written for teachers, parents, and caregivers with no prior
professional experience or training on feeding problems. Part two was written for
professionals, providing detailed information on how to apply behavioral assessment and
developing individualized interventions based on a child’s eating behaviors. For more
information about the book, check out the following website:
http://www.proedinc.com/customer/productView.aspx?ID=4143
Dr. Williams is also presenting a series of one day workshops across Pennsylvania this
spring entitled “Helping Children Who Won’t/Can’t/Don’t Eat”. This program is
designed to provide current information about evaluating and treating the feeding
problems found in young children. For more information about upcoming workshops,
dates and locations, check out the following website:
http://www.hmc.psu.edu/ce/programs/other/index.htm
We are proud and honored to have Dr. Williams on the PennABA council and appreciate
his many contributions to the field of Applied Behavior Analysis, especially in the area of
eating and feeding disorders.
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2007 Penn ABA
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