Atlantic Provinces ABA

By Nicole Robinson and Laura Walsh Martino

The Atlantic Provinces Association for Behaviour Analysis (APABA) has had a productive and eventful year. Some of our main accomplishments have included:
Website Overhaul for Enhanced Accessibility: One of our significant accomplishments was the complete overhaul of our website. We dedicated efforts to improve its accessibility, making it more user-friendly for all visitors. This update ensures that members and the public can easily access the valuable resources and information we provide.

Member Engagement and Understanding of Neurodiversity: We took strides in promoting awareness of neurodiversity among our members. To achieve this, we actively collected feedback on their perspectives and understanding of neurodiversity. This initiative has allowed us to foster a more inclusive and empathetic community within our organization.

Creation of Informative Infographic: In line with our mission to educate and inform, we created an engaging infographic that succinctly presents key insights and information on neurodiversity. This resource serves as an accessible tool for spreading awareness and knowledge on this important topic.
Educational Initiatives: APABA continued to offer valuable educational opportunities for our members. We hosted a trauma series that delved into critical aspects of trauma and its impact. These educational events are essential for the professional development of our members, enabling them to provide even better services in their respective practice areas.

Community Building Through Social Events: We believe in fostering a sense of community among our members. To this end, we organized various social events throughout the year. These events provided members with opportunities to network, collaborate, and build relationships with their peers.
Elections and Incoming Executive Members: Our democratic process remained active as we held elections for incoming Executive members. These dedicated individuals will play a crucial role in shaping the direction of APABA in the coming year, ensuring that our organization continues to thrive.
In-Person Annual General Meeting and Conference: One of the most exciting moments of the year was our in-person annual general meeting and conference. Despite the geographical challenges posed by our vast region, we successfully brought our members together for this important event. It was a valuable opportunity for networking, knowledge sharing, and collaboration.

Spotlight on Local Talent: For our conference, we proudly showcased the talent within our region. Our panelists and research presentations featured local experts, highlighting the wealth of knowledge and expertise that exists within the Atlantic Provinces.

Committee Updates
The Research and Advocacy Committee has some big plans that we have been chipping away at this year! Our priorities are continuing to produce content that disseminates the best application of ABA principles.

Creating a proposed billing structure for clinicians that practice ABA for those both certified through the BACB and those who are not. This will serve as a document that practitioners can use to advocate for a fair living wage and billable rates commensurate with our training, expertise, and experience.
Creating core values of practice for members of the APABA that align with “Today’s ABA.” This will also include a pledge members can sign and an infographic you can add to email signatures, etc. demonstrating that you are committed to the best application of ABA out there!
The Special Interest Group Committee consists of entities formed by APABA members who share a desire to be involved in activities related to a common topic within behaviour science, theory, education, or application. These groups allow opportunities for members with similar interests to share information and collaborate on shared interests within the field for ABA.

With the “drop-in” model adopted by APABA’s current SIGs, these groups also allow opportunities for members to learn more about different scopes of practice from other members of the association. SIGs provide an avenue for members’ information exchange, engagement, and advancement, thereby increasing the value of APABA membership. The APABA encourages the formation of groups that pursue goals consistent with APABA’s mission:

To be a source of leadership and support in the sharing and practice of the science of applied behaviour analysis across the Atlantic provinces, through the provision of professional development, networking, and advocacy.

The Engagement Committee’s focus on outreach reached 112 members through our members only Facebook page reaching a point where members are sharing regularly on the page. This allows our members to connect with one another, creating a community of professionals. We currently have 134 members subscribed to our email distribution list to ensure that members who are not on social media have access to all APABA updates. We continue to use Instagram and LinkedIn to advertise APABA and statements. We have 39 followers on Instagram and 95 on LinkedIn. Our goal for 2023–2024 is to advertise more on these pages.
We have created a membership email where new and returning members will receive a welcome package advising what APABA can offer them as a member. Throughout the year we will continue to have giveaways including APABA swag, discounts on memberships and CEU opportunities!

The Education Committee has focused on education from members regarding different scopes of practice in addition to CEU webinars from outside our membership. Some topics have included: achieving work life balance, OBM and AAC. We provided access to Dr. Camille Kolu’s course on Trauma Sensitivity for Behavioural Supervision with a life Q&A for members. Future planning consists of expanding our trauma series with another presenter and offering additional resources around sexuality.

Member Acknowledgement, Recognition and Award Recipients
Recognition for our 2023 Continuing Education providers and Conference Speakers, provincially, nationally, and internationally!
Nicole Turnbull: Achieving a Work-Life Balance,
Atlantic Provinces Association for Behaviour Analysis Webinar and the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority Conference.
Monica Peters: Speaker at the Association for Behaviour Analysis International Conference 2023 and APABA Conference 2023
Nicole Robinson, Laura Walsh Martino,
Dr. Michael Palmer: Speakers at the 2023 Atlantic Provinces Autism Conference
Amanda Saulnier, Daniel Blanchfield,
Rachel Platt, Sarah McCarthy: Compassion in ABA Throughout the Lifespan Panel Discussion, APABA Conference 2023
Danielle Pelletier, SLP and BCBA, of VIVA Therapeutic Services in New Brunswick was recognized by Atlantic Business Magazine as a top 50 CEO within the Atlantic Provinces!

2023 Verna O’Coin Memorial Bursary Recipient: Shelly Collins

Verna O’Coin was a much loved and respected member of the education community in New Brunswick. She will be fondly remembered for her many years of dedicated work in special needs education, and particularly for her work with those living with autism. She had a true gift for caring for learners and their families, and for developing programs that would improve the lives of those children with whom she worked. She had enthusiasm for helping other professionals gain new skills to empower them to make a difference in children’s lives.

In honor of Verna’s contribution to special education, and the promotion and dissemination of evidence-based interventions, the education community, along with the Atlantic Provinces Association for Behaviour Analysis have established the Verna O’Coin Memorial Bursary. The bursary, up to $250 per membership year, may be granted to members seeking funding in order to pursue continuing education in the field of behaviour analysis. The applicant should be able to demonstrate the need that will be addressed by this training and how it will directly impact community members.
Shelly is a lead staff in a residential placement that provides care for a young man with autism and an intellectual disability. She joined as a front-line child and youth care worker and has an extensive background in social work.

Shelly’s nominator shared that Shelly has taken on the responsibilities of providing relational and therapeutic care within the lifespace, and adapted practical functional assessment and skills-based treatment to meet the unique needs of individuals. Shelly has been an instrumental member of her team and participated in educational opportunities that have come her way. She has been an asset in the reduction of challenging behaviour by developing trust and rapport, which has improved this young man’s ability to learn essential and functional skills and enhance quality of life.
Shelly exemplifies the intention of this award. She will use the funding toward attending the “Contemporary & Compassionate Approaches to Supporting People with IDD” in Utica, NY.

This experience will enhance Shelly’s capacity and peer mentorship potential in the ongoing goal of providing trauma informed care and support to learners who require it the most.