By Kate McKenna, MEd, MSEd, BCBA, LBA
Association for Science in Autism Treatment
All Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) are responsible for completing 32 continuing education units (CEUs) every two years to maintain our certification. The purpose of the continuing education (CE) requirements is to ensure that BCBAs continue to expand our “behavior-analytic skills beyond the requirements for initial certification and stay up-to-date on developments in the profession” (BACB, 2014). Our mandate is to provide effective, evidence-based therapy to our clients. Therefore, it is essential that we remain appraised of current research literature, as our caseloads are frequently changing, and we need to educate ourselves about effective interventions for each new client. So, it is important that BCBAs find providers that offer opportunities for continuing education based on up to date research and that provide high quality content on effective interventions.
Lucky for us Behavior Development Solutions is increasing their commitment to being a multi-faceted resource for behavior analysts, providing ABA-relevant training for BCBAs throughout our careers. Many of our readers may recall that the July 2019 issue was dedicated to BDS in gratitude for their Partner level sponsorship. In that issue, we had the good fortune to interview Dr. Stephen Eversole and showcase an article by Dr. Ennio Cipani. This year we would like to draw attention to the efforts of BDS to support practicing BCBAs through the development of two new professional development offerings. BDS is now offering live webinars and a variation of a book club in which participants read a peer-reviewed journal article and meet online for a group discussion. Both live webinars and the Journal Club Series fit into the company’s overall goal of providing ABA-relevant training to practicing BCBAs.
We are all familiar, of course, with the CBA Learning Module Series, which so many of us used in our exam preparation. BDS uses evidence-based methods in developing professional development courses just like they do in the test preparation modules. The courses offered on the BDS website come in a variety of formats giving BCBAs the opportunity to choose a course format that matches their preferred learning style.
Here’s what’s new at BDS!
Journal Club Series: According to Nicole Bank, co-creator of the Journal Club, BDS is committed to sustaining scholarly discussions among BCBAs in an effort to create communities of practice that provide professional support and networking opportunities. In this interactive live online journal club, participants receive CEUs for reading articles and engaging in discussions related to research methods, results, and implications for practice. Topics in the 2020 Journal Club Series include establishing praise as a reinforcer, evaluating methods of stimulus rotations when teaching receptive labeling, and recommended practices for individual supervision. The BDS Journal Club Series was created by BDS owner, Dr. Stephen Eversole, BCBA-D, and Nicole Bank, MS, BCBA. Journal clubs use Google Hangouts and are scheduled from 12:00 – 1:00 EST which may sync with some of your lunch breaks..
Live Webinars with Leaders in ABA: BDS is hosting a series of live webinars on topics that BCBAs frequently encounter in our clinical practice. Two of the new webinars are described here.
Pediatric feeding problems: These are often most effectively addressed using a multi-disciplinary approach to assessment and treatment. The Behavioral InTEgrated with Speech approach, known as BITES®, developed by Dr. Laura Seiverling, Psychologist and BCBA-D, and Elise Jusko, CCC-SLP, focuses specifically on how speech-language therapists and BCBAs can collaborate when intervening with feeding difficulties in young children. BCBAs can earn up to 8 BACB CEUs participating in this series of workshops while learning about typical feeding development, how to identify the role of various disciplines involved in multidisciplinary feeding evaluations, how to identify common medical and environmental factors that may lead to a feeding problem, and the role the speech therapists and BCBAs play in the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders.
Challenging Behaviors: Conducting a functional analysis and creating a behavior intervention program is a basic skill in the repertoire of a BCBA but there is always something more we can learn about addressing challenging behavior. BDS has teamed with Ennio Cipani, PhD, BCBA-D, to produce a series of webinars that present the Cipani Behavioral Classification System. Separate webinars cover the 13 unique function-based categories comprising the Cipani System and the method for conducting a behavioral interview with parents when identifying problem behavior and its function.
Coming Soon! Updated Supervision Training
Supervision Training: Developed in partnership with Drs. Jon Bailey and Mary Burch, this course is approved for 9.5 Type II Supervision BACB CE credits and meets the BACB’s requirement for an 8-hour, competency-based training. The course has been updated and is based on the 2.0 BACB Supervisor Training Task List. The activities involve watching videos, reading the material in 58 online modules, and actively responding to a series of learning module questions. Pre-tests, post-tests, and quizzes will help you track your progress.
Familiar Formats
Read & Test Model Courses: Four CEUs are required in ethics related material and BDS offers two separate ethics courses that involve reading the book Ethics for Behavior Analysts, 3rd Edition by Jon S. Bailey and Mary R. Burch. The 3 CE credit course involves reading selected chapters from the book and then taking three tests. A longer version of the course, which earns 11 CE credits, requires reading the entire book and taking four tests.
Fluency-Model Courses: These courses have the same design as the exam prep modules, so they’ll feel familiar to anyone who used the modules. Examples of topics covered in the fluency-model courses include foundations of OBM, contingency-shaped and rule governed behavior, and the effective treatment of elopement.
Since 1998, Behavior Development Solutions has helped thousands of aspiring behavior analysts become Board certified, primarily through their CBA Learning Module Series. BDS applies those same scientific principles and methods of applied behavior analysis in the development of professional development materials designed to facilitate fluency and mastery of content. For more information, visit their website.
Reference:
Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2014). Professional and ethical compliance code for behavior analysts. Littleton, CO: Author
Citation for this article:
McKenna, K. (2020). Behavior Development Solutions: More than just modules. Science in Autism Treatment, 17(3).
