Join us for Pyramid’s Second Annual FUNctional Behaviour Conference on April 4 – 5, 2022! Our international team of behaviour analysts, led by Andy Bondy, PhD, the developer of The Pyramid Approach to Education® and co-developer of PECS®, have created all new and expanded content that includes a broad range of practical information related to the field of behaviour analysis.
Day one will focus on content related to educational programming and program development. The conference will begin with a talk related to implementation of the Pyramid Approach to Education with adolescents and adults. We will explore the use of the Pyramid framework to teach leisure and vocational skills. Another presentation will explore ethical issues related to the use prompt strategies and challenge traditional assumptions related to prompt hierarchies. The first conference day will conclude with a presentation related to the behaviour analyst’s role in the educational team with tips related to supervision, collaboration and clear, jargon-free communication.
Day two of the conference will present information related to behaviour analysis and communication. The conference begins with a presentation by Lori Frost, MS, CCC-SLP, co-developer of the PECS® Protocol, and dually certified team members to provide an overview of key concepts related to speech and language pathology. Dr. Bondy will conclude the conference with two talks related to B.F. Skinner’s seminal publication: Verbal Behaviour. One talk will focus on autoclitics, including why these verbal operants may be difficult to teach particularly to learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnoses. In addition, Dr. Bondy and team will provide details that will make you rethink your approaches to teaching intraverbals (responding to questions, fill in the blanks, etc.) especially for your learners using picture-based communication systems.
What you will learn:
- Identify how the analysis of verbal operants can be used to refine communication intervention
- Review the ethical issues associated with prompting and prompt hierarchies
- Identify how a behavioural framework, The Pyramid Approach, can be applied to teaching leisure and vocational skills
- Identify behavioural guidelines for supervision and collaboration with all team members
Day 1: Behaviour Analysis and Educational Programming
1. Stickers to Paychecks: Transitioning to Adulthood
(90 Minutes)
Presenter and Disclosures: Anne Overcash, M.Ed., Tony Castrogiovanni, PhD, Donna Banzhof, M.Ed., BCBA, Keiko Suzuki, M.Ed., BCBA
Description: Utilizing elements of The Pyramid Approach, a framework for effective learning environments, we explore challenges with transitioning from adolescence to adulthood specifically related to vocational and leisure skills. Using examples, the audience will be guided to discover questions to ask and strategies to use for effective and expanded opportunities.
Participants will:
- Identify critical questions to ask when bridging the gap from adolescent to adulthood.
- List two strategies for expanding leisure skills
- List two strategies for expanding vocational skills
2. No Progress? The Problem is NOT the Learner
(90 minutes)
Presenters and Disclosures: Jesseca Collins, M.Ed., BCBA, Tony Castrogiovanni, PhD, Grace Payne, MSc, BCBA
Description: When learning does not occur often the learner is blamed. If the learner did not learn, the teacher did not teach! Effective teaching utilizes strategies to achieve learner independence. Discriminating differences between prompts, cues and restraints while planning for the elimination of prompts is the goal of effective teaching. The efficacy of prompt hierarchies will be challenged. Concluding with a discussion about using familiar language to disseminate this content.
Participants will:
- Discriminate the difference between a prompt, a cue, and restraint
- Identify the difference between changing prompts, prompt fading, and prompt elimination
- Describe an alternative strategy to prompt hierarchies
- Use familiar language to describe prompting to the learner’s community
3. Building Bridges: Engineering Effective Collaboration
(60 minutes)
Presenters and Disclosures: Jaime Wedel, M.Ed., BCBA, CAGS, Jesseca Collins, M.Ed, BACB, Catherine Horton, MS, CCC-SLP, BCBA
Description: Optimal student outcomes cannot be achieved alone. As such, collaboration is an essential part of being an effective behaviour analyst. This presentation will review concepts related to interprofessional team collaboration. One important component related to collaboration is teaching skills to all team members and providing effective feedback. Participants will review scenarios and practice techniques for success, including translating jargon into common language.
Participants will:
- Identify components for collaboration within interprofessional teams leading to increased learner progress
- Refine strategies related to providing effective feedback to all team members
- Practice translating traditional behaviour analytic jargon into understandable language
Conference DETAILS: Day 1
Date: Monday, April 4, 2022
Agenda: 10:00am- 2:30pm ET (NYC time)
Check-in Time: 9:45am- 10:00am ET (NYC time)
CEUs: 3.0 BCBA CEUs (Learning); 1.0 BCBA CEUs (Ethics) Synchronous
Cost: $79.00 USD for Day 1 only/ $150.00 USD for both Day 1 & Day 2
Tuition Includes: Detailed Handouts with space for note taking, Certificate of Attendance, BACB CEUs are available
Day 2: Behaviour Analysis and Communication
1. Speech Language Pathology for Behaviour Analysts
(90 minutes)
Presenter and Disclosures: Lori Frost, MS, CCC-SLP, Eftychia Arampisoglou MSc, Speech Therapist, BCBA, Catherine Horton, MS, CCC-SLP, BCBA
Description: Collaboration and communication between speech language pathologists and behaviour analysts is vital. Factors related to barriers in collaboration will be explored including a comparison of scope of practice between the two fields. Participants will receive information related to a speech language pathologist’s education and training, including a review of philosophies related to language development. Areas of specialized training will also be explored to provide participants with information related to the unique set of skills that SLPs can bring to the educational team with a focus on typical speech development and related therapy.
Participants will:
- Compare and contrast scope of practice between speech language pathologists and behaviour analysts
- Review information related to philosophies of speech and language development
- Identify milestones related to speech and language development
2. A REALLY MORE Interesting Talk on Autoclitics
(90 minutes)
Presenters and Disclosures: Andy Bondy, PhD, Keiko Suzuki, M.Ed., BCBA, Donna Banzhof, M.Ed., BCBA
Description: Skinner described autoclitics as verbal behaviour influenced by other verbal behaviour of the speaker. While the autoclitic relates to syntax and grammar, its greater influence relates to social interactions and clarity of communication. Simple words like really and more turn out to be difficult to teach and respond to, especially for learners with ASD. We will review why such words are difficult to acquire and suggest teaching strategies.
Participants will:
- Define Skinner’s autoclitic involving both speech-based and non-speech-based verbal behaviour
- Describe why such aspects of language are difficult for learners with ASD to acquire and respond to
- Describe teaching strategies for important autoclitics
3. Rethinking Intraverbals with Picture Use
(60 minutes)
Presenters and Disclosures: Andy Bondy, PhD, Jaime Wedel, M.Ed., BCBA, CAGS, Olga Popova
Description: Skinner described intraverbals as verbal operants influenced by other verbal operants where there is no imitation of content. Intraverbals are essential for vocabulary expansion and the acquisition of conversations. Many practitioners are confused by how matching-to-sample relates to teaching intraverbals when using pictures. We will provide extensive examples of how to teach intraverbals to learners using picture-based communication systems, such as PECS.
Participants will:
- Define Skinner’s intraverbals regarding picture-based communication systems
- Describe why such aspects of language are difficult for learners with ASD to acquire and respond to
- Describe teaching strategies for important intraverbals
Conference DETAILS: Day 2
Date: Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Agenda: 10:00am- 2:30pm ET (NYC time)
Check-in Time: 9:45am- 10:00am ET (NYC time)
CEUs: 3.0 BCBA CEUs (Learning); 1.0 BCBA CEUs (Supervision) Synchronous
Cost: $79.00 USD for Day 2 only/ $150.00 USD for both Day 1 & Day 2
Tuition Includes: Detailed Handouts with space for note taking, Certificate of Attendance, BACB CEUs are available
Pyramid Educational Consultants is an approved BACB ACE Provider for Learning (Type 2) Continuing Education Credits. The BACB does not warrant, endorse, sponsor, approve, or partner with the event, organization, or instructor.