ABA España/Universidad de Cádiz

By Javier Virues-Ortega, José I. Navarro Guzmán, A. Tarifa Rodríguez

Responsible Growth in the Spanish-Speaking World

ABA España is proud to share the highlights of an incredibly productive year marked by growth, strategic collaboration, and unwavering commitment to the dissemination and implementation of applied behavior analysis (ABA) in Spanish-speaking communities. As we reflect on 2024–2025, we celebrate both the consolidation of our long-term projects and the launch of new initiatives that further our mission to expand ABA across the Spanish-speaking world.

Strengthening Our Educational Mission

One of our most cherished accomplishments this year is the continued strengthening of our 10-year partnership with the Universidad de Cádiz (UCA). This collaboration remains a cornerstone of our academic and professional training strategy. In particular, the support from UCA has been instrumental in making steadfast progress in ABAI’s tier-level process, which, we believe, will support the long-term horizon of our mission and the quality of our teaching activities.

In recognition of the mutual value and long-term potential of our relationship, we are thrilled to announce the renewal of the “Cátedra Externa ABA España sobre Análisis Aplicado de Conducta” for an additional five-year term. This partnership enhances institutional support for ABA training and secures our partnership even further.

Our collaboration with UCA has also borne academic fruit in the form of two major new publications. We proudly launched the Spanish version of Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers (by Judah Axe and others), and a translated commented edition of The Forms of Behavior by J. B. Watson, part of our Classics Connection, which aims to make seminal behavioral texts accessible in Spanish.

In the editorial chapter, we would also like to mention the historical re-edition of the classic Verbal Behavior in recent weeks. This was a long-awaited announcement as it took many years to create a new translation and commented edition of the Skinner classic. We take the opportunity to thank the B. F. Skinner Foundation for their support and also distinguished colleagues including Steven C. Hayes, Caio Miguel, Marino Pérez, and Doug Greer for supporting this edition with original intro essays.

In addition, we are excited to report the successful continuation of our ABA España-UCA scholarship program, first launched in 2023. This initiative provides full support—including coursework and supervised fieldwork—to selected UCA-affiliated students pursuing training and professional certification in ABA. Congratulations to Javier, Laura, and Marina, this year’s scholarship recipients, whose dedication and enthusiasm is very much appreciated!

Dissemination and International Engagement

Knowledge should be shared—and this year, we have remained actively involved in ensuring that Spanish-language ABA literature and voices are present in key international spaces.

ABA España had a visible presence at several major conferences in 2024–2025, including ABAI, FABA, SAVECC, and Hablando ABA. For the last two conferences—SAVECC and Hablando ABA—we forged key strategic partnerships to ensure that these events support their scientific committees’ mission while delivering content in Spanish. These collaborations have helped strengthen the global network of Spanish-speaking professionals in behavior analysis. In the case of SAVECC and their Cordoba conference this past year, our partnership allowed for the first time to offer several best-presentation awards.

One of our proudest contributions this year was a significant donation of books in Spanish to the ABAI conference in Philadelphia. This donation—featuring titles across educational, clinical, and foundational domains—is part of our ongoing commitment to increasing the accessibility of ABA literature in our language. We plan to make this donation an annual tradition, with the goal of enhancing the visibility of Spanish-language content at ABAI and related flagship events.

We are also proud of having spearheaded the first-ever multi-regional and transnational survey on the health of our field in various Spanish-speaking contexts. The survey was completed by over 400 behavior analysts. Preliminary results had been presented at FABA and Hablando ABA and a distinguished group of colleagues is preparing a publication that, we feel, will provide a comprehensive picture of the challenges and opportunities of the field across the Spanish-speaking world. We thank our colleagues Julio Carnerero, Maria Montoya, Miguel Ávila, Daniela Galvez, and Monica Gilbert for supporting this initiative and adding their rich perspectives to this project.

Community Support and Professional Development

Supporting and empowering professionals is a core value of ABA España. In 2024–2025, we significantly expanded our continuing education offerings, hosting more than 40 CEUs worth of training sessions, webinars, and workshops. Importantly, many of these opportunities were offered free of charge or at greatly discounted rates, ensuring broad accessibility for practitioners and students regardless of financial circumstance. We also try to make at least half of this event online to enhance accessibility and support various Spanish-speaking contexts.

Our CEU events covered a wide range of topics—from ethics and supervision to verbal behavior and compassionate care—and consistently featured well-regarded speakers. The enthusiastic response from our community has reaffirmed our belief in the importance of ongoing professional development.

This year also saw significant growth in our online community. We are proud to have surpassed 40,000 followers across our social media platforms, a testament to the demand for high-quality, culturally relevant ABA content in Spanish. Our online presence allows us to stay connected with professionals, families, educators, and students, promoting daily engagement with behavior analytic principles in a format that is accessible, dynamic, and inclusive.

Looking Forward

As we prepare for 2025–2026, ABA España is as energized as ever to continue expanding access to behavior analytic training, resources, and support throughout the Spanish-speaking world. Among our goals for the coming year are:

– Further developing our book catalogue, including works authored originally in Spanish;

– Expanding our scholarship program to include new institutions and regions;

– Launching a mentorship initiative for early-career behavior analysts;

– Continuing to support high-quality conferences that feature Spanish content;

– Increasing the number and reach of CEU opportunities (free and paid; online and in person.

We remain committed to our guiding principle: behavior analysis is a tool for social transformation. As our field continues to evolve, we will continue to ensure that our community has the tools and training to deliver effective, ethical, and compassionate care to those we serve.

Figure 1. The UCA awardees of our 2024-2025 full scholarship. From left to right, Marina Jiménez Jiménez, Javier Iglesias Ruíz, and Laura María Gómez López.