Now an Online Live Conference* 

We are so happy to be able to continue to offer this incredible opportunity to see some of the world’s top experts in the field present together on one day. Presented through our strategic partner, ABAC, participants will have a fully inclusive experience with no links to worry about with a personal portal where they will enter the conference. Certificates are available in the portal, no waiting for an email. Limited access recordings of the events will be available in addition to the resources provided by our speakers.

We are confident that our partner ABAC, a company with over 6 years experience and close to 400 live events hosted, will provide a high-quality experience our conference attendees expect from CCBS.

Join us for what will be a truly unique autism conference experience with our six invited speakers!

Save time and money on travel. Register early to reserve your seat for this unexpected but great opportunity! 

Using Dynamic Management to Get the Greatest Gains in Comprehensive ABA Treatment Programs for Children on the Autism Spectrum

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Download PDF of Dr. Larsson’s Bibliography

Abstract:

Each child who suffers from autism has different strengths, weaknesses, and needs. Because of this they respond differently to each ABA component intervention, and their rate of progress changes as treatment proceeds. The aim of comprehensive, recovery-oriented treatment is to continuously evaluate the individual child’s response to treatment and make immediate programing changes in order to accelerate their progress toward the completion of treatment. What this means is that the organization must be geared to efficiently identify and develop the most significant objectives for each different child in as short a time frame as possible.

Complex treatment decisions are made at each point in treatment. How natural versus how structured should the treatment be this week? How much direct versus incidental teaching should be used? How much errorless versus correction procedures should be used? How much primary versus conditioned reinforcers should be used? What is the best proportion of group versus individual programming right now? What is the most appropriate level of intensity at this point in treatment? The risk of failing to make the right decisions is that overly restrictive training will not only fail to generalize or maintain, but will impair the likelihood of future generalization or maintenance.

The ABA skills in the third year of programming are much more complex and varied than are those in the first year of programming. If we are still using the same procedures that we used six months ago, then we haven’t made any progress. The challenge is to train parents and staff to use effective clinical judgment and make the programming decisions on a daily basis that support optimal rates of child behavior development. In addition, the team leaders must possess the skills to optimally advance programs and objectives as the child’s behavior rapidly develops. The most efficient objectives will result in mastery of essential objectives that are genuinely generalized to all relevant natural interactions and will maintain without the need for artificial interventions.

The dynamic programming system utilizes functional data-collection system for staff management at both the child and system-wide levels. Dynamic self-feedback systems give staff daily, weekly, and 6-month feedback on the success of their treatment decisions, enabling the most cost-effective therapy for achieving the best outcomes.  Key measures focus on generative responding, acceleration toward single-trial mastery, recombinative generalization, and naturalization. A multi-layered matrix training system enables the dynamic management of the complex task analysis in the most effective manner. Throughout all of this task analysis and program management, the fundamental concern is contingency management. The behavior must be part of an effective schedule of reinforcement, that is highly managed to ensure that the reinforcement is as natural as possible, as minimal as possible, and as generalized as possible to all of the child’s natural social interactions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

This presentation will cover both the molecular treatment decisions that one-to-one staff are making each day, as well as the molar treatment decisions that supervisors are making each week and six-month interval. The overall results of this dynamic programming system across 18 years of implementation will be presented.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to:

• Describe components of a system for evaluating child response to treatment.
• Describe environmental variables that influence current staff performance to the greatest extent.
• Describe setting events that are likely to occasion staff performance.
• Describe overall outcome measures for evaluating EIBI.
• Describe results of the Lovaas comprehensive outcome research program.

Presenter Bio:

Dr. Larsson is the Executive Director of Clinical Services at the Lovaas Institute Midwest, where he implements the renowned program of intensive early intervention services with families of children who suffer from autism. He is a Licensed Psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. He is on the Clinical Faculty in the Psychology Department at the University of Minnesota and has an adjunct appointment in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science at the University of Kansas, where he has supervised three successful doctoral dissertations. He served as Associate Research Director of the NIMH Multi-site Replication Study of the UCLA Young Autism Project. He is conducting a systematic research evaluation of the effects of the high intensity EIBI program, with multiple emphases on parent training, dynamic program management, natural language development, schedules of reinforcement, and generalization of complex social behavior.

Dr. Larsson is the current President of the Association for Science in Autism Treatment, and serves on numerous local boards and committees. He actively supports advocacy efforts to increase access to ABA services for autism. In 2013 he received the Provider of the Year Award from Autism Speaks in Washington, DC, and the Leadership Award from the California Association for Behavior Analysis (CalABA), in Anaheim, CA.

DISCLOSURES:

Financial: Dr. Eric Larsson receives no compensation as an employee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.
Non-financial: Dr. Eric Larsson holds a non-compensated seat on the Advisory Board of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.

Putting Social Interaction at the Heart of Autism Interventions

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Abstract:

Impairments in social communication and interaction are identified as hallmark characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Depending on the severity of these challenges, some individuals with ASD may experience difficulties in the development of relationships and positive social interactions. Procedures that promote the development of social interest, social initiations, engagement and play are particularly useful for practitioners designing intensive treatment programs for children with ASD. In this presentation I will provide an overview of the social deficits associated with ASD and present evidence-based procedures to promote social engagement and a cooperative context for learning. Procedures to enhance motivation for social engagement as well as strategies to teach children to initiate and respond to social partners will be presented.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to:

• Describe the importance of social motivation during interventions for autism spectrum disorder.
• Describe how gesture use is related to communication in children with ASD.
• Describe alternatives to physical guidance for children with ASD.

Presenter Bio:

Dr. Shillingsburg serves as Senior Vice President of Children’s Clinical Services and Training at May Institute, providing clinical leadership to all children’s programs including the May Center Schools and our home- and center-based services. She holds a joint appointment as Assistant Director of the National Autism Center at May Institute.

Dr. Shillingsburg received her PhD in clinical psychology from Auburn University and completed her pre-doctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at the Marcus Autism Center. She previously served as the Director of the Language and Learning Clinic at the Marcus Autism Center and was Associate Professor at Emory University in the Division of Autism and Related Developmental Disabilities.

Dr. Shillingsburg is a licensed psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) at the doctoral level. Her clinical expertise includes the development of language and behavioral programming to address a variety of behavioral difficulties and social communication deficits associated with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Dr. Shillingsburg has published over 45 empirical papers on interventions for children with developmental disabilities. She is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and an editorial board member for Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities. She is a a former Associate Editor of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior.

DISCLOSURES:

Financial: Dr. Alice Shillingsburg receives no compensation as an employee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.
Non-financial: No relevant non-financial relationships to disclose.

Team Collaboration in Schools for Students with Complex Communication Needs

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Abstract:

Treatment goals for individuals with ASD often overlap for speech-language pathologists, families/caregivers, behavior analysts, physical and occupational therapists and other service providers.  Collaboration across the disciplines optimizes treatment outcomes.

This presentation will describe components of scopes of practice for a variety of team members.  We describe how to meet and plan effectively with all team members to develop plans to assess and teach critical communication skills across the day.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to:

• Describe scope of practice for multiple team members in a school-based setting
• Assess and teach critical communication skills across all activities
• Meet effectively with all team members

Presenter Bio:

Lori Frost is vice-president and co-founder of Pyramid Educational Consultants. She is co-author of The PECS Training Manual. She has been the driving force behind creating PECS, a unique system that allows children with limited communication abilities to initiate communication with teachers, parents, and peers. Ms. Frost has a wealth of background in functional communication training and applied behavior analysis. She has assisted in the development of a number of training packages designed to teach language and academic skills. Ms. Frost received her BA in speech pathology and audiology from the University of Arkansas, and MS in speech and language pathology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1982. She has worked in many public and private school settings as a speech pathologist. As a Pyramid consultant, Ms. Frost has traveled across the country and the world, teaching workshops on PECS and the Pyramid Approach to Education. She has presented a number of papers and lectures on autism and communication, co-authored several articles and chapters, and is respected by professionals in her field as a leader in functional communication systems.

DISCLOSURES:

Financial: Ms. Lori Frost receives no compensation as an employee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.
Non-financial: No relevant non-financial relationships to disclose.

A Brief Look at Using Therapy Dogs in ABA Individual and Group Educational Sessions with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

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Abstract:

With increasing parental demand and interest in adding therapy dogs to special education classrooms, practitioners need to have a better understanding of how and when a therapy dog may be useful for their clients. The webinar will introduce new research of using dogs in ABA education and therapy contexts, with specific emphasis on children with ASD. We will cover several studies which aimed to better understand when and how to use therapy dogs with children with ASD, as well as identified the concerns and risks of doing so. Preliminary data will also be presented on a currently-run clinical trial of the integration of a therapy dog to ABA social skills group classes. Finally, we will discuss the ethical concerns of using animals and highlight several studies that showed that the welfare of therapy dogs may be compromised in specific situations. At the completion of the webinar, the audience will have a good understanding of what to consider when utilizing a therapy dog in their practice.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to:

• Discriminate between different kinds of animals used to benefit human populations.
• Select evidence-based approaches for the use of therapy dogs given the target behavior of the client.
• Identify risks and concerns for both children and dogs when using therapy dogs in ABA sessions.

Presenter Bio:

Assistant Professor Alexandra “Sasha” Protopopova wants to know why some animals are adopted into new homes while others are left behind.

As the inaugural BC SPCA Chair in Companion Animal Welfare, she wants to understand how adopters make choices in animal shelters and what can be done to increase adoptions. With a PhD and MSc in Behaviour Analysis (Psychology) at the University of Florida and two Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (one in Pre- Veterinary and Animal Sciences and the other in Neuroscience), Protopopova aims to improve the welfare of companion animals in shelters, pet homes and service work.

As a new faculty member at UBC, she is excited to collaborate with our leading animal welfare experts and to mentor the most enthusiastic students she has met thus far.

One of her current projects, led by PhD student Allison Andrukonis, is to validate a new, non-invasive measure of cat stress in animal shelters, and find out if this measure can predict success in foster homes. Another project, led by PhD student Megan Arant, investigates the effect of various handling techniques of therapy dogs on dog welfare outcomes, as well as the children’s received benefits from these dogs.

Her most fulfilling research projects combine community engagement with applied research.

“Last year, my lab organized 10 community pet adoption events, in which we collected marketing data on consumer perception of various variables within the event,” said Protopopova. “The aim of the study was to establish best-practices for conducting off-site dog adoption events with the goal of understanding how adopters make choices to increase adoption rates and decrease unnecessary dog euthanasia.” Not only did they collect lifesaving data, but 40 dogs were also successfully adopted.

She is collaborating with Wesley Dotson, an autism expert and behaviour analyst from the Texas Tech University Burkhart Centre for Autism Education and Research. They are in the middle of a National Institutes of Health-funded clinical trial on the effect of therapy dogs in social skills group classes for children with autism spectrum disorders.

With her educational background in behaviour analysis, Protopopova relies greatly on single-subject experimental designs control for experimental variability, which is ideally suited to investigate any interventions that affect behavioural change in humans and animals.

In such designs, each participant experiences both the experimental and control (baseline) conditions repeatedly until data differentiation is seen. “We can be convinced of the effect or lack thereof of the intervention on that specific individual,” she said. “We repeat these studies across individuals to obtain generalization. In the end, one can say, ‘for seven out of 10 people, this intervention was effective,’ rather than saying, ‘this intervention was, on average, effective,’ which is less precise.”

Some of the planned projects she will do in collaboration with the BC SPCA span various topics such as pet dog import, behaviour and welfare of rabbits and pet rats, rehabilitation of cats from hoarding cases, and the human aspect of the animal-human bond.

“A close collaboration with the BC SPCA is a dream come true,” said Protopopova. “I get to focus on applied research while making a real difference in the community.”

DISCLOSURES:

Financial: Dr. Alexandra Protopopova receives no compensation as an employee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.
Non-financial: Dr. Alexandra Protopopova holds a non-compensated seat on the Advisory Board of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.

Integrating 5 Pillars of Precision Teaching into Your Practice: Gaining the PT Perspective

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Abstract:

Evans, Bulla, and Kieta (2021) conducted a concept analysis to redefine Precision Teaching (PT).  They listed six critical features for a system to be classified as PT.  They include 1) accelerating behaviors, 2) precise behavioral definitions, 3) continuous observation, 4) dimensional measurement, 5) the standard celeration chart, and 6) timely and effective data-based decisions.  These critical features are found in some of the best practices of PT that can easily be incorporated into a clinician’s or teacher’s repertoire when given the proper perspective.  Some of these best practices include evaluating behavior in real time, looking beyond percent correct, defining functional mastery, conducting element-compound analyses, and reinforcing improvements in performance.  The goal of the current presentation is to give the audience the ‘PT Perspective’ and equip clinicians and teachers with the tools needed to incorporate PT into their programming if desired.  It will review the value of adopting these best practices of PT, demonstrate how to make the transition to do so, and video-clips, all supported by clinical and empirical data.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to:

• List at least 3 critical features of precision teaching
• List at least 3 best practices of precision teaching
• Give an example of a element-compound relationship

Presenter Bio:

Dr. Kerri Milyko joined CentralReach as the Director of Curriculum Programming as of October 2019. In this role, she and her team create a fully digital, integrated, evidence-based curriculum to service the needs of individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), CR Elements. She brings to this her expertise in precision teaching, measurement and analysis, instructional design, and working with a wide array of learners in ethical and humane ways. Prior to this role, she served as Director of Research and Development of The Learning Consultants, and Director of Development and Outreach of Agile Learning Solutions (formerly known as Precision Teaching Learning Center). Dr. Kerri is also adjunct faculty at the University of West Florida where she created and teaches their VCS, master’s-level Instructional Design class.

Finally, Dr. Kerri volunteers on various boards. In 2019, she was elected to serve 3 years on the Board of Directors for the Standard Celeration Society. In the same year, she was appointed by the governor of Nevada to serve on the first-ever Board of Applied Behavior Analysts to create ABA practice regulations for the state for licensure where she served as Chair/President for 2019. Personally, Kerri values quality time with her three children, her husband, and dear friends. She loves wine and butter, true crime podcasts, and a good sci-fi novel while tinkering n her backyard.

DISCLOSURES:

Financial: Dr. Kerri Milyko receives no compensation as an employee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.
Non-financial: No relevant non-financial relationships to disclose.

Shopping Lists to Shakespeare: Teaching Written Expression to Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability

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Abstract:

The development of skills in the area of written expression is critical for full participation in a range of educational and community environments and may be related to higher quality of life outcomes (e.g., relationships, employment, access to post-secondary education). Unfortunately, individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities often have difficulty acquiring effective written communication skills, especially those with limited vocal communication repertoires. In this session, Dr. Pennington will provide an overview of the research literature on teaching writing skills to this population of learners and propose a behavior analytic model for beginning instruction in this area. He will then distill the findings of a series of research studies into practical strategies for use in educational settings.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to:

• Identify research-based practices for teaching writing to students with ASD with and with strong existing vocal communication repertoires.
• Identify response prompting strategies employed to teach writing skills students with ASD and ID.
• Describe strategies for increasing students engagement in writing behavior.

Presenter Bio:

Robert Pennington PhD, BCBA-D is the Lake and Edward J Snyder, Jr. Distinguished Professor in Special Education. He has over 25 years of experience working with individuals with disabilities, their families and teachers. His primary research interests are in the application of behavior analytic principles and procedures to the development of written communication repertoires and the improvement of educational programming for students with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder. He contributes regularly to the research and practitioner literature in both areas. Robert is passionate about both serving his community and the dissemination of research-based practice and has provided hundreds of refereed and invited presentations to researchers, practitioners, and families and has contributed as a member of numerous journal editorial and advisory boards.

DISCLOSURES:

Financial: Dr. Robert Pennington receives no compensation as an employee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.
Non-financial: Dr. Robert Pennington holds a non-compensated seat on the Board of Trustees of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.

BACB® Learning CEs, Psychology CE Credits (Includes Licensed psychologists, school psychologists, and EdDs/educational psychologists) and ASHA CEUs.

BACB® Learning CEs (6.0 ): The Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies is an approved Learning CE Provider by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board® (BACB®) and is authorized to offer 6.0  Learning CE units for this conference. Attendees must complete all six presentations to earn CEs.

APA Approved Sponsor

Psychology CE Credits (6.0)*: Amego Prepare is a co-sponsor of this conference for Continuing Education Credits for Psychologists. Amego Prepare is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Amego Prepare maintains responsibility for this program and its content. *Attendees must be present during the entire conference. Partial credit is not offered.

This course is offered for 0.6 ASHA CEUs (Intermediate Level, Professional Area). Partial Credit is not being offered.

You can view our presenters’ financial and non-financial disclosure statements in their individual Invited Speaker pulldowns or in the “Financial and Non-Financial Disclosures” pulldown on this webpage.

It is attendee’s responsibility to check with their State and Professional organization to confirm all CE offerings.

Eric V. Larsson, PhD, LP, BCBA-D 

Financial: Dr. Eric Larsson receives no compensation as an employee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.
Non-financial: Dr. Eric Larsson holds a non-compensated seat on the Advisory Board of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.

 Alice Shillingsburg, PhD, BCBA-D 

Financial: Dr. Alice Shillingsburg receives no compensation as an employee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.
Non-financial: No relevant non-financial relationships to disclose. 

Lori A. Frost, MS, CCC/SLP 

Financial: Ms. Lori Frost receives no compensation as an employee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.
Non-financial: No relevant non-financial relationships to disclose. 

Alexandra “Sasha” Protopopova, PhD

Financial: Dr. Alexandra Protopopova receives no compensation as an employee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.
Non-financial: Dr. Alexandra Protopopova holds a non-compensated seat on the Advisory Board of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.

 Kerri Milyko, PhD, BCBA-D, LBA (NV) 

Financial: Dr. Kerri Milyko receives no compensation as an employee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.
Non-financial: No relevant non-financial relationships to disclose. 

Robert C. Pennington, PhD, BCBA-D 

Financial: Dr. Robert Pennington receives no compensation as an employee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.
Non-financial: Dr. Robert Pennington holds a non-compensated seat on the Board of Trustees of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.