Alabama ABA

By Paige McKerchar

The Alabama Association for Behavior Analysis (ALABA) serves as a scientific and professional organization that embraces the principles and practices of behavior analysis. Their goal is to promote research that will advance the understanding of behavior and to identify and promote the use of effective and humane behavioral procedures that meet individuals’ educational and habilitative needs. In addition, ALABA strives to serve as a resource for political, legislative, and policy-making bodies in Alabama in ways that support the scientific and professional interests of behavior analysts.

The ALABA Executive Committee’s most valued task is hosting an annual convention that offers opportunities for folks to learn from nationally recognized behavior analysts and related professionals. An important part of the annual convention is the chance for attendees to gather with former schoolmates, colleagues, and friends while networking with new professionals who often become principal colleagues and collaborators. The annual convention is also vital because it offers Board Certified Behavior Analysts a way to earn high-quality continuing education credits in their own backyard, so to speak. ALABA provided almost a thousand CEUs to 110 attendees last year. Last year’s convention was held October 12-14 at the Hilton Birmingham at UAB. This was the first time they held an in-person convention since 2019, and attendance at the two-day, one-track presentation portion of their convention suggested that attendees were eager to get back—203 people participated. Attendees also filled 26 seats at their Wednesday afternoon workshop titled, ABA Billing and Coding Simplified: An Intro for BCBAs (conducted by Ms. Ashley Adams and Ms. Michelle Castanos).

The event kicked off with President-Elect, Dr. Mary-Kate Carey’s Presidential Address From Hubris to Humility, which covered some potential pitfalls of excessive confidence and strategies to integrate humility into practice. All of this year’s remaining presentations were Invited Speaker addresses, which included topics such as caregiver and staff training, pediatric feeding, and applications of ABA in foster care and at a residential juvenile facility: Dr. Ray Miltenberger’s Teaching Safety Skills: What Works and What Doesn’t and The Limits of Staff Management: What Happens When You’re Not There?, Dr. Marc Lanovaz’s Artificial Intelligence in Behavior Analysis: How I Stopped Fearing Skynet and Started Worshipping Magical Bunnies and Interactive Web Training to Support Caregivers of Children With Developmental Disability, Dr. Regina Carroll’s Advances in Improving Treatment Integrity Through Staff and Supervisor Training, Dr. Carrie Borrero’s A Behavior Analytic Approach to Pediatric Food Refusal: Considerations for Effective Intervention and Social Validity, Dr. Nicole Gravina’s Strategies to Enhance Feedback Conversations, Dr. Chris Newland’s Reducing Psychotropic Medicine Use for Children in Foster Care, and the Auburn Graduate Student Symposium Applying Behavior-Analytic Procedures in a Residential Juvenile Facility. Congratulations to the new ALABA President-Elect: Sheridan O’Brien; Members-at-Large: Amanda Niedfeld, Jodi Robeson, and Laura Senn; and Student Representatives: Jaicee Williamson, Donna Perez, and Jordan Shirley. The 2023 Executive Committee, which also includes Jennifer Bruzek, Mary-Kate Carey, and Lauren Elliott, is already planning the 2023 convention scheduled for October 11-13 in Birmingham, AL. Please visit them online at www.AlabamaABA.com for more information and to become a member.