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Behavior Analysis Association of Michigan
BAAM 2012 Convention
February 23-24, 2012BAAM extends special thanks to invited speakers W. David Pierce and Stephen T. Higgins, and to all the attendees, staff, presenters, and volunteers who made BAAM 2012 a success.
Michigan House Approves Autism Insurance Measures by Wide Margin
The Michigan House of Representatives passes the Autism Insurance Bills (SB 414, 415, and 981) by wide margins: 91 to 19 for 414 and 415; 84 to 26 for 981.
SB 414 and 415 are the bills to establish insurance coverage of treatment; SB 981 is the bill to fund the treatments from state funds. These bills establish funding for intensive applied behavior analysis delivered by qualified professionals.
Attempts by the health care lobby to remove BCBAs from the bills were strongly rebuffed. We greatly appreciate the support of the Lt. Governor, and all those working for the bills, for high quality, empirically validated treatments provided by appropriately credentialed professionals.
The Senate must still concur with the bills, which is expected to occur today. Then the Governor must sign them, which he has indicated he will.
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
a free PDF copy of Skinner's 1953 Science
and Human Behavior.
"Clever Hands"
Verbal behavior buffs, try this in class. It shows the power of immediate verbal stimulus control over delayed control:
In-Class Experiment on Instructional Control & Observer Bias
This experiment is also an excellent demonstration of unconscious cueing or bias. It shows how difficult it is for observers to avoid biasing an outcome despite trying.
Wegner, D.W., Fuller, V.A., & Sparrow, B. (2003). Clever hands: Uncontrolled intelligence in facilitated communication. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 5–19. (PDF)
"Rubber Hands"
Stroke a rubber hand with a laser pointer light. If the fake hand is positioned such that the subject believes it is their own hand, over 60% "feel" the light, mostly where the fake hand is.
Behavior analysts: This is a very nice demonstration of "conditioned feeling." It demonstrates that private sensations are conditioned like other responses. The stimulus control over the response is so strong that the subject actually locates the source of stimulation outside the body, not where the subject's hand actually is, but where the light is!
Durgin, F.H. et al. (2007). Rubber hands feel the touch of light. Psychological Science, 18(2), 152-157 (PDF)
Now available for viewing on mobile web browsers including iPhone and iPod Touch!
Take a look at BAAM's new video series, "Applied Behavior Analysis in Natural Settings." This series of 32 video vignettes shows how ABA is applied in natural settings to promote more effective teaching and generalization of skills.
Designed primarily for parents and new professionals, each video includes a brief descriptive introduction and a detailed explanation of the important elements of each teaching interaction. BAAM has also provided an overview of ABA and glossary of basic behavioral terms to help those new to ABA appreciate the technical details of the presentations. A technical assistance page will guide those few who might not already have a compatible web-browser*. Although these videos are not designed to teach therapeutic techniques, they will provide an appreciation for the range of settings and circumstances in which high-quality ABA teaching can and should occur.
*All videos require a Quicktime compatible viewer or web browser.
All videos and related material are for personal use only. The videos and related materials may not be downloaded, re posted, distributed, collected, or used for any commercial purpose without the expressed written permission of BAAM.
Become a "Virtual Member"
of BAAM
BAAM Science and Practice Watch
Don't be complacent. Facilitated Communication is back. People are once again being falsely accused of abuse, and facilitated communication advocates are once again being given lavish attention and financial rewards for their scientifically discredited pseudoscience.
Resolutions by other medical, professional, scientific, and support organizations on ineffectiveness of facilitated communication
The Behavior Analysis Association of Michigan has been organized to support and promote scientific research on the basic principles of behavior and the extension of those principles to create demonstrably effective and humane outcome-based therapies with the primary goal of establishing and enhancing functional independent living skills.
Applied Behavior Analysis
Is ABA proven? ABA is not an untested "theory" being sold in advance of scientific validation. Applied behavior analysis is based directly on scientific findings. If you need the new behavior to persist, ABA therapists know how to use special schedules of reinforcement--proven in the lab for over 75 years--to make that happen. If you need the newly learned behavior to work at home and school, ABA therapists know how to use scientific knowledge about generalization--based on 100 years of science--to make that happen.
Does ABA with autism involve mindlessly repeated trials using M&Ms as rewards? Only in the misleading advertising of those offering "treatments" that don't have good scientific support. ABA uses the most effective rewards, chosen specifically for the person, and does not waste time teaching things that have already been successfully learned.
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
Watch some genuine ABA done in a natural setting. ABA uses the most appropriate reward for the situation in the most appropriate setting to teach effective behavior as quickly as possible.Want a little more information? Look at the links below.
What Happened to the Previous
Michigan Autism Insurance 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.
Senate Bills (Blocked from Vote)
Behavior News Quick
Links
- New York's Gov. Patterson vetoes unanimously passed bill mandating coverage for evidence-based autism treatment.
- BAAM Facilitated Communication Resolution now in Finnish (Suomi).
- Movie critic questions authenticity of communication in unproven method
- ASAT comments on "castration drug" treatment for autism
- Autism/ABA pioneer Ivar Lovaas dies
- Colorado passes autism insurance reform
- Military families sue Defense Department over autism treatment
- FDA warns: OSR#1 chelation drug dangerous
Humorists
take on pseudoscience
BAAM Features
Behavioral
Essentials
James Todd Behaviorism Jim Todd Behaviorism Eastern Michigan University Psychology