Promoting Applied Behavior Analysis Throughout Mexico

By Varsovia Hernández Eslava and Janet Enriquez, 2021 Public Awareness Grant

Mexico is among the largest countries in Latin America. Over the years, social sector reform has profoundly impacted the redesign of health programs and education. Yet, challenges related to fragmentation and administrative complexities have resulted in lack of medical, and educational services, particularly for families of children who have autism or those suspected of having autism. Moreover, most of the materials circulated for dissemination are predominantly designed towards English-speaking populations, and Spanish resources have not been culturally modified to Latin American culture. Our aim is to establish international collaboration between Universidad Veracruzana (México) and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in an effort to promote applied behavior analysis throughout Mexico and create empirically-based culturally competent resources for diffusion free of cost.

Resources will consist of videos introducing basic principles of behavior and its applications which will incorporate Mexican families modeling these principles. Videos will be developed by Varsovia Hernández Eslava, from Universidad Veracruzana (México), and Janet Enriquez, from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, with the collaboration of the Multimedia Lab X-Balam at Universidad Veracruzana. These video resources and curriculum will be made available online for families, teachers, and professionals to learn more about applied behavior analysis as it pertains to diverse populations in natural settings. Curriculum development will incorporate behavioral skill training methodology (Miltenberger, 2003) and the final version and all its materials will be promulgated through a website.

The target audience will consist of professionals looking for educational materials on ABA as well as parents, teachers, and professionals working with diverse populations that will benefit from these materials and from the online course: Intensive Behavioral Structured Learning for Caretakers. The proposed project is part of a broader, inclusive project that seeks to strengthen the collaboration between bilingual behavior analysts in México and in the United States in their endeavor to advance applied behavior analysis internationally.