Volume 4, Number 1

February 2010

Official Newsletter of the Georgia Association for Behavior Analysis

What’s Happening at the State Level

A recent initiative by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Devel-
opmental Disabilities may serve to significantly advance the science of applied
This month’s behavior analysis in the state of Georgia. The Department’s Division of Devel-
agenda: opmental Disabilities just recently entered into a contract with a behavior ana-
lyst to commission a behavior analysis peer review committee. This committee
 State of the state
is composed of six behavior analysts representing expertise from Alabama, Flor-
 Meet and greet ida, and Georgia. The committee held their first annual meeting at the begin-
ning of January. Their primary role will be to assist Medicaid waiver providers in
 What we’re read- developing internal expertise to meet the behavioral needs of the individuals
ing they serve. The Division, at their discretion, may also use the committee to re-
view policy, conduct training, provide technical assistance, or serve in any other
 Ethical Scenario
advisory role.
 What’s going on
with you? Featured Georgia BCBA
This month GABA would like to introduce you to a behavior analyst working in your
 Events backyard. Each newsletter will feature a different behavior analyst working in the
state of Georgia. This will give you an idea of the capacity of the position and the
 From the presi- opportunities for behavior analysts in our state. February’s featured BCBA is Chris-
dent tina Bock. Following are her responses to questions presented via email:
What’s your favorite food? Currently— Sushi
What are you reading? Re-reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
What do you like most about your job? I enjoy the opportunity to make a difference in
a family. I go into a home to work not only with the child, but to work with the family.
Watching what even just slightly increasing appropriate communication can do to re-
lieve some stress in the home is extremely rewarding.
What’s one thing GABA can do for you? I would love to see GABA grow and continue
to bring new and interesting speakers and workshops to our state.
Where did you receive your ABA education?
Auburn University - Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis in Developmental Dis-
abilities
Where are you currently employed? What do you do there?
February’s Featured I am a Senior Behavior Analyst at the May Institute Southeast Regional Autism Center
BCBA— in Columbus, Georgia. We offer in-home ABA services to children diagnosed with Au-
Christina Bock tism Spectrum disorders. We provide services to military families stationed at Fort Ben-
ning and the surrounding area.
 Volume 4, Number 1 Page 2

Why did you originally become interested in ABA?

I became interested in ABA after undergraduate practicum experience with
children with special needs. I looked into fields that were proven to be effective
in working with children diagnosed with Autism and came across ABA. After I became interested in
research and seeing the effects that ABA can have on children and adults with ABA after under-
all developmental disabilities, I decided to get my Masters in ABA and pursue graduate practicum
my BCBA. experience with chil-
dren with special
What's one new thing you learned in the last year about ABA, or behavior, or
needs.
working in the field?
I continue to learn new techniques and procedures through continuing educa-
Featured BCBA—
tion opportunities such as GABA, ALABA, and ABAI.
Christina Bock

Do you plan on attending ABA in San Antonio?

Yes.

What I’m Reading

Nathan Call, Ph.D., BCBA-D

Lately I’ve been reading Impulsivity: The behavioral and Neurological Science of Dis-
counting, by Madden & Bickel. It is a text that focuses entirely on one, perhaps eso-
teric, subject of delay and probability discounting. For those of you new to the topic,
delay discounting is the phenomenon by which the subjec-
tive value of a reward is degraded as delivery is delayed.
There have been quite a few studies (hence the authors’
decision to compile a book on the topic I guess) that have
shown that discounting is a robust finding in both the basic
and applied literatures. The most common method of meas-
“Please email
uring discounting is to use a titrating method by which indi- us at
viduals are asked to choose between reinforcers that are georgiaaba@
available now or after some delay. If they choose the de-
layed outcome then its amount is decreased and the choice gmail.com with
your questions
Inside Story Headline

is represented. If the immediate reinforce is chosen then its

value is decreased and the choice is represented. This proc- and
ess continues until an indifference point is achieved: in which the value of the de-
layed reinforcer is equivalent to the value of the immediate reinforcer. When the feedback...”
YO U’ VE G O T MAIL

same process has been used at to measure subjective value at various delays the con-
tributing authors have found that organisms will make consistent choices that adhere
to a hyperbolic curve that can show how significantly delays impact how they value a
reinforcer. In essence, you can measure how susceptible someone is to delays im-
pacting their behavior. This has been used as a way of estimating impulsivity and
studies have shown that populations that are usually considered impulsive (e.g., kids
with ADHD, substance abusers, frequent gamblers, college binge drinkers, etc) all
show a more impulsive profile because they are bigger “delay discounters”.
Volume 4, Number 1 Page 3

What I’m Reading (cont’d)

So why the heck am I reading this, aside from being a closet JEAB reader?
I’ve been interested for a while in caregiver procedural fidelity. My interest
“My suspicion
stems from experiences I’m sure most of us have had in which I’ve identified
a treatment that will work (I’ve even got the data to prove it) but I just can’t is that delay
get good follow through from the caregivers. My suspicion is that delay dis- discounting is
counting is one of the factors that influence this caregiver behavior. In es- one of the
sence, they may be choosing a sooner-smaller negative reinforcers by rein-
factors that
forcing their child’s problem behavior (thereby eliminating the motivating
operation and making the problem go away) instead of a larger-later nega- influence
tive reinforcer by following recommendations. The larger negative reinforcer caregiver
would be more permanent reductions in problem behavior that could come behavior.”
about through following the protocol, but the fact that it is a delayed out-
come that requires time and effort before there is a “payoff” is leading to
this impulsive behavior. We’ve started a few studies looking at this phe- -Dr. Nathan
nomenon to see if our hypothesis is right, and if I’m right it will be interesting Call
to see if we can use this kind of information to tweak treatments so that
caregivers are more likely to actually implement them. I’ll keep you posted.

Ethical Dilemma
A family comes to you and wants ABA services. They say they believe insur-
ance may pay a portion of their bill. The behavior analyst says that he/she
will do everything in his/her power to help them file insurance, but warned What is the
them that many times insurance policies will not cover our particular type of right choice of
service. The behavior analyst begins the process of an intake appointment
and setting a program up for the child. As part of that process the behavior action for the
analyst calls and tries to get preapproval from the insurance company. The behavior
insurance agent tells the behavior analyst this particular policy will cover half
of the bill up to $120/hour. The behavior analyst charges $60/hour, which is analyst?
well within the limit. The behavior analyst then calls the family to relay the
information, thinking he/she had good news. The family then asks the be-
havior analyst to charge $120/hour to the insurance company so that in
deed the whole bill would be charged. What is the right choice of action for
the behavior analyst?

We invite your input at georgiaaba@gmail.com. A discussion of possible

solutions will be featured in the next newsletter.

Richard Foxx and Jon Bailey gearing up for

some riveting presentations
 Let Us Know What You’re Doing

We’d love to know what’s going on in your neck of

Georgia Association for Behavior Analysis Applied Behavior Analysis. If you’re interested in
writing a piece for our next GABA newsletter, just
email us. We’d be happy to consider the content
2 Peachtree St., NW
Suite 22-434 for publication. We’re always interested in ways
Atlanta, GA 30303 that behavior analysis is impacting lives around the
Phone: 404-657-2288 state. Perhaps you know of a new program for
Fax: 404-657-2310
E-mail: georgiaaba@gmail.com kids with autism spectrum disorders. Maybe some
groundbreaking research has just been published
President: Clint Trusty that you would like to share with our readers. You
Vice-president: Nathan Call
may be starting a business as a provider of ABA
services in schools or for adults with employment
Secretary: Chad Favre
training needs. If you’re a teacher who’s seen the
Treasurer: Dana Zavatkay
effectiveness of ABA in the classroom we’d love to
hear from you. The mailbox door is always open.
Don’t be shy.
Visit the website:
www.georgia-aba.com

Upcoming Events 8th at noon at Eggleston hospital on the Emory

GABA would like to make you aware of some note- Campus in Classroom 8, David Ledbetter, a geneti-
worthy opportunities in the near future. The Marcus cist at Emory University, will be giving a lecture enti-
Center offers supervision to those working on their tled: A Personalized Medicine Approach to Autism
BCBA for one hour each Friday morning. Please email
Sheena Coffman (sheena.coffman@choa.org) to Letter from the President
RSVP. The center also offers a training clinic on brief
GABA is about to begin planning for our 2010 con-
functional analyses conducted by Dr. Nathan Call
ference and we would like for you to be a part. We
each Wednesday morning from 8:30 until approxi-
will be forming a conference planning committee
mately 12 o’clock.. An RSVP would also be appreci-
which will be responsible for planning and putting
ated should you wish to attend. Next, there is a
on the conference. If you want to help in any ca-
weekly Monday morning lecture on functional analy-
pacity please contact us via email to let us know of
sis and function-based treatments, held from 8:30-
your interest. We are excited to begin this venture
9:00 at the Marcus Center. Take note that this is can-
and hope to make it even more successful than last
celled the first Monday of the month though for the
year. We hope to hear from you soon.
Journal club, whose article for March has not yet
been decided. You are welcome to attend journal Sincerely,
club meetings as well. If you would like to be in- Clint Trusty
formed when the article is decided upon, please in-
GABA President
quire by emailing GABA. Lastly, next Monday, Feb.