Billings, June 24 and 25. Day 1: Children with autism, regardless of age, ability level, or setting, need effective, individualized programming in order to reach their maximum potential. This 1-day workshop will utilize B.F. Skinner's Analysis of Verbal Behavior to provide a framework for assessing and programming for children with autism and related disorders. Two forms of Applied Behavior Analysis: traditional discrete trial teaching and the Verbal Behavior Approach, will be compared and contrasted.
Dr. Barbera will give an overview of her book: The Verbal Behavior Approach: How to Teach Children with Autism and Related Disorders and will highlight several strategies that can be used immediately to begin to assess and teach children with autism. Through lecture, video examples and group activities, the participants will leave with a better understanding of Applied Behavior Analysis utilizing Skinner's Analysis of Verbal Behavior as it relates to programming for children at various points on the autism spectrum.Day 2: The basic elements of the applied behavior analysis/ verbal behavior approach to language assessment and intervention for children with autism or other types of developmental disabilities will be covered. During the morning session the focus will be on how to use a behavioral analysis of language to assess a child's language and social skills, as well as his potential barriers to language acquisition, using the VB-MAPP assessment program. Participants will then learn how to use the results of the assessment to determine an individual child's immediate intervention priorities. During the afternoon session the focus will be developing an individualized intervention program. Several teaching procedures will be described. Additional topics discussed over the course of the workshop will include data collection, behavior problems, augmentative communication, inclusion, and peer interaction. For more information visit www.msubillings.edu/autism
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