Virginia Association for Behavior Analysis 2011

As a student member of the Virginia Association for Behavior Analysis (VABA), I was able to attend the annual meeting this year on April 2nd. This was my first time attending a VABA meeting, as well as my first time being on the campus of James Madison University (JMU). VABA is a regional affiliate of the Association for Behavior Analysis: International (ABAI), but the attendees and speakers weren’t limited to only Virginia-based students and professionals.

This years conference had six speakers in addition to a poster presentation session towards the end of the afternoon. Although the subject matter was varied, autism seemed to be a key theme running throughout quite a few of the speeches, which made sense, since behavior modification is highly applicable towards those with developmental needs.

Carole Van Camp from the University of North Carolina started the day off with an examination of behavioral interventions used during her time in Florida. Dr. Van Camp went over the procedures used to train caregivers dealing with challenges in child-rearing, while presenting data to support the work that was accomplished. Equally impressive was Dr. Van Camp’s willingness to point out potential flaws in the system, such as suggested time frames and interactions that had little supporting evidence to back them up, as well as distinctive limitations. Her presentation was an eye-opener in regards to utilizing behaviorism to create an effective outcome in parenting.

Miranda Reed from West Virginia University was next to present, and although I was initially skeptical about listening to a speech dealing mostly with rat experiments, her presentation held great interest because of the potential for developmental challenges that her results showed. Dr. Reed’s investigation of perseverative behavior in rats due to methylmercury (MeHg) exposure has real world implications when considering sensation-seeking habits of some adolescents and adults. Her research showed that rats with MeHg exposure worked harder for the reward of sugars pellets due to alteration in dopamine and interactions with certain receptors in the brain. This leads to the understanding that low levels of MeHg exposure in developing human beings can be associated with drug intake and risky behavior (i.e. sensation-seeking behavior) due to dopamine sensitivity. The real kicker with this presentation is that not far from my house is a stream that is the South Fork of the Shenandoah River with a boat landing and a sign warning people not to eat caught fish because of potential mercury. It seems that there are many (as well as far-reaching) dangers with such mercury exposure – even in your own backyard.

Edward Morris from the University of Kansas took us in a different direction with his speech. Dr. Morris had previously published a paper taking a certain Dr. Gernsbacher to task for misrepresenting a few facts about behaviorism and autism. Dr. Morris took us on a chronological journey of how his paper came to be, while also discussing with us the good and bad parts of his process and subsequent behavior. Interesting and informative, Dr. Morris’ presentation acted a warning about professionalism and ego in the realm of psychological study and research.

Although Dr. Morris’ presentation dealt with autism as a topic of Dr. Gernsbacher’s misrepresentations, Heather Jennett from the Kennedy Krieger Institute gave us our first full speech on behaviorism and autism. Dr. Jennett presented us with the difficulties in dealing with anxiety in autistic children (and others with intellectual disabilities), including the challenges of distinguishing between behaviors that seem to be identical, but have different causes requiring different approaches.

The most entertaining speech of the day came from Bryan Saville of JMU. Dr. Saville was also the person who organized the conference, so he deserves special consideration for putting on a well received event. The very animate yet poised Dr. Saville gave us an overview of interteaching – a schooling technique of which I had never heard. It seems that Dr. Saville and several of his graduate students have been conducting a great deal of research on the effectiveness of interteaching and on what changes could be made to help students learn more efficiently and retain more information long-term. Considering the negative view that many have of our current teaching system, seeing quality work in the area of enhancing the educational experience is always a welcomed sight.

The final speech of the day belonged to Amber Valentino of the Marcus Autism Center. Dr. Valentino went over a lot of the behavioral tactics that her and her co-workers use to tame verbal behavior in autistic children, especially echolalia. Much of her speech showed the promise of behavioral work with autistic children to help improve communication skills and normalize reactionary verbal behavior.

The conference was definitely worth the time invested, and was a great opportunity to see psychology at work in the real world. It wasn’t filled with students and university professors, but instead included many professionals working in areas of behaviorism and sociology. It was simply a fantastic opportunity to see and hear from solid professionals in the world of psychological science.