Smoking
during pregnancy is the leading preventable cause of poor pregnancy
outcomes in the U.S., causing serious immediate and longer-term adverse
effects for mothers and offspring. In this presentation, Dr.
Higgins will review research on the use of financial incentives to
promote abstinence from cigarette smoking during pregnancy, an
intervention wherein women earn vouchers exchangeable for retail items
contingent on biochemically-verified abstinence from recent
smoking. He will review results from controlled clinical trials
with economically disadvantaged pregnant smokers supporting the
efficacy of financial incentives for increasing smoking abstinence
rates antepartum and early postpartum, while also improving infant
birth weight, percent of low-birth-weight deliveries, and breastfeeding
duration. The systematic use of financial incentives has promise
as an efficacious intervention for promoting smoking cessation among
economically disadvantaged pregnant and recently postpartum women and
improving birth outcomes.
"Clever Hands"
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Read and
sign the BAAM Resolution on the Scientific Evidence Against "Facilitated
Communication."
Resolutions by other medical, professional, scientific, and support organizations on ineffectiveness of facilitated communication BAAM Statement of Purpose
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"ABA" isn't just "All 'Bout Autism" It's also "All Behavior Analyzed" We need to remind those outside our field that ABA is far more than a teacher sitting knee-to-knee with a student endlessly repeating discrete trials. Vincent Strully, Director of the New England Center for Children Available for the First Time! B.F. Skinner's William James Lectures and Columbia University Verbal Behavior course notes by Ralph Hefferline Skinner's 1948 William James Lectures were his 1957 book Verbal Behavior in draft form. Shared for decades in mimeographed form among a few lucky behavior analysts, this is the first time this classic has been generally available. Ralph Hefferline's 1947 class notes from Skinner's Columbia University course in verbal behavior show even earlier development of the same ideas. These are true classics in the history of psychology, made available through the generosity of the B.F. Skinner Foundation. Also
available from the Skinner Foundation
Senate Bills
In the final hours of 2010 legislative term, Michigan Senate Republican caucus blocked a floor vote on Michigan's autism insurance reform legislation. The legislation, which had been passed by a large majority in the Michigan House of Representatives, had been stalled in the Senate Committee on Economic Development and Regulatory Reform for 16 months. Despite intense negotiations during the final days of the legislative term, a coalition of Senate Republicans, with backing from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Senate Majority Leader Michael Bishop (R), and other groups, refused to move the legislation out of committee to a vote. Reflecting strong support for the measure among the people of Michigan, indications were good for passage by the full Senate. Thus, a procedural move was the only option left to opponents to prevent the likely passage of the legislation. Had the legislation been headed to defeat, a vote would have been much more likely. The opposition cited discredited notions of significantly increased insurance costs, negative impacts on Michigan employment, and need for additional study as rationalizations for preventing action on the legislation. However, research by the Centers for Disease Control shows that the cost of long-term care ($3 - $4 million) is much higher than the costs of even the most expensive empirically supported treatments ($30,000-$50,000/year) required for severe cases. Because most cases are not severe, actual treatment costs would generally be lower. The predicted negative consequences on insurance and employment have also not been seen in any of the over 23 states where similar laws have been passed. Neighboring Indiana, which has had autism insurance for almost a decade, has seen better outcomes for children and increased employment opportunities for behavior analysts and other autism professionals. House
Bills Passed
Senate Bills (Blocked from Vote)
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