Puerto Rico Association for Behavior Analysis

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By Yaniz Padilla Dalmau


The Puerto Rico Association for Behavior Analysis (PRABA) was established with the mission of disseminating information about behavior analytic research and best practices in Puerto Rico, cultivating an evergrowing behavior analytic community, increase access to behavior analytic services, in part by engaging in public policy endeavors (e.g., working towards licensure for behavior analysts, advocating for insurance coverage for ABA), and to serve as a scientific, ethical, and professional reference and as a networking group for its members. PRABA became an official ABAI affiliate chapter on July 22, 2022 and held its first conference on July 23–24, 2022. With the funds gathered from its initial conference, PRABA’s board has continued diligently working towards its mission. PRABA’s major accomplishment this year was developing and launching its membership and benefits package. In addition to gaining ABAI member benefits, PRABA’s members benefit from a 20% discount in our biannual conference, mentorship and professional guidance by behavior analysts in Puerto Rico, invitation to three annual meetings for professional development and access to newsletters. The formal membership announcement was launched in October 2023 and over 40 professionals have signed up to be members of the organization.

PRABA’s board of directors has continued disseminating ABA in Puerto Rico in a variety of ways. The board attended the ABAI 2023 conference in Denver and held its first Expo poster presentation. PRABA’s Vice President, Marta Riviere; Secretary, Ethel Rios Arroyo; and Board Member, Dagmar Millan; presented at a virtual CE Event for MASS ABA in which they shared information about delivery of ABA services to Puerto Rican clients and discussed cultural variables to consider when treating this population. President, Yaniz Padilla Dalmau, presented at FABA’s Multicultural SIG Mini Conference to discuss the state of ABA in Puerto Rico and other countries along with colleagues from Brazil and Guatemala. PRABA’s board has continued disseminating research pertaining to the Latinx community through its social media pages. In addition, board members have continued engaging with the Special Education division of Puerto Rico’s Department of Education to improve ABA as a related service covered under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

In addition to launching membership and dissemination efforts, PRABA is planning its second hybrid conference in Puerto Rico to be held October 11 and 12, 2024 at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus and virtually through Behavior Live. The conference will host various invited Latinx speakers including Corina Jimenez Gomez, Andrew Gardner and Haydee Toro. In addition, this year’s conference includes a call for papers and poster presentations. The members of PRABA are looking forward to hosting our behavior analytic community in Puerto Rico again this year as we continue disseminating behavior analysis in Puerto Rico and other Spanish-speaking communities.


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