2025 AGM and Conference Information
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Destination Dildo:
Pre-conference Social When: October 7, 2026
Where: Dildo, NL Cost: $15 |
APABA Conference
When: October 8 and 9, 2025
Where: AMAL Youth and Family Centre Cost: Members - $250 (Lunch Included) Non-members - $300 (Lunch Included) BACB CEUs: Up to 12.5 CEUs |
APABA AGM
When: October 8, 2025 at 5:10 PM (NDT)
Where: AMAL Youth and Family Centre Cost: Free |
APABA Maritime Social
When: October 9, 2025 from 6:30 PM to 11:00 PM
Where: AMAL Youth and Family Centre Cost: Free |
Heart and Science: Behaviour Analysis Across the Lifespan
Keynote Sessions:
Day One Keynote:
Getting Shift Done: From Caretaking to Compassionate ABA Across the Lifespan
Speakers: Jon Horn, M.A., LBA, BCBA, and Erik Jacobson, Ph.D.
For over 75 years, Upstate Caring Partners has supported individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) across Central New York. While grounded in compassionate care, we’ve embraced innovation—most notably through Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
Since 2017, we’ve moved beyond traditional caretaking to adopt a values-driven, evidence-based approach. This shift accelerated after the 2020 pandemic, with a focus on creating environments where individuals and staff feel Happy, Relaxed, and Engaged.
We began by using Practical Functional Assessment (PFA) and Skills-Based Treatment (SBT) (Hanley et al., 2014) in our school-age program to address challenging behavior. Through that treatment model, it became clear we needed to grow as a program. We expanded our focus to teaching essential life skills and scaled the model across adult day and residential, preschool, and community services.
Today, our work is guided by a compassionate ABA framework that prioritizes dignity, safety, and meaningful participation. This presentation shares how a 75-year-old agency transformed its approach through challenge, innovation, and evidence-based practice.
Getting Shift Done: From Caretaking to Compassionate ABA Across the Lifespan
Speakers: Jon Horn, M.A., LBA, BCBA, and Erik Jacobson, Ph.D.
For over 75 years, Upstate Caring Partners has supported individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) across Central New York. While grounded in compassionate care, we’ve embraced innovation—most notably through Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
Since 2017, we’ve moved beyond traditional caretaking to adopt a values-driven, evidence-based approach. This shift accelerated after the 2020 pandemic, with a focus on creating environments where individuals and staff feel Happy, Relaxed, and Engaged.
We began by using Practical Functional Assessment (PFA) and Skills-Based Treatment (SBT) (Hanley et al., 2014) in our school-age program to address challenging behavior. Through that treatment model, it became clear we needed to grow as a program. We expanded our focus to teaching essential life skills and scaled the model across adult day and residential, preschool, and community services.
Today, our work is guided by a compassionate ABA framework that prioritizes dignity, safety, and meaningful participation. This presentation shares how a 75-year-old agency transformed its approach through challenge, innovation, and evidence-based practice.
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Day Two Keynote:
When Disparate Worldviews Collide: Exploring Possibilities at the Dynamic Intersection of Contextual Behavioural Science and Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Speaker: Louis Busch, M.Ed., RBA (Ont.), RP
Rooted in a personal and professional journey across two knowledge systems, this talk explores the fruitful - and sometimes uncomfortable - intersections between Contextual Behaviour Science and Indigenous Knowledge Systems.
What emerges from their interaction is an evolving space of possibility shaped by relational Accountability, epistemological humility, and the massive complexity of living systems.
Drawing from lived experience, research, and clinical practice, this keynote invites reflection on how unexpected synergies between knowledge systems can converge to offer a more holistic understanding of human suffering, healing, and meaning. Participants will be encouraged to challenge assumptions, rethink boundaries, and explore new possibilities for practice, research, and life itself.
When Disparate Worldviews Collide: Exploring Possibilities at the Dynamic Intersection of Contextual Behavioural Science and Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Speaker: Louis Busch, M.Ed., RBA (Ont.), RP
Rooted in a personal and professional journey across two knowledge systems, this talk explores the fruitful - and sometimes uncomfortable - intersections between Contextual Behaviour Science and Indigenous Knowledge Systems.
What emerges from their interaction is an evolving space of possibility shaped by relational Accountability, epistemological humility, and the massive complexity of living systems.
Drawing from lived experience, research, and clinical practice, this keynote invites reflection on how unexpected synergies between knowledge systems can converge to offer a more holistic understanding of human suffering, healing, and meaning. Participants will be encouraged to challenge assumptions, rethink boundaries, and explore new possibilities for practice, research, and life itself.
Day Two Signature Speaker:
Troy Fry, M.S., BCBA
The debate about quality of life (QoL) for people with developmental disabilities (DD) has evolved as a key topic for the practical evolution of persons with DD and the construction of services and support policies. However, for people with moderate to severe DD, while it seems possible to obtain a relatively accurate indirect measure of meaningful dimensions of quality of life, it can be challenging to have a direct measure of their perception of quality. This talk will try to align the scales related to Schalock and Verdugo's framework (2002) (Personal Outcome Scale) with observable behaviors of people with moderate to severe DD that lead to obtaining an effective, socially valid measure of changes in the quality of their lives. Behavioral-analytic-based interventions that focus on teaching required repertoires within and across relevant contexts (Essential For Living, McGreevy, Fry, 2012), as well as solving for challenging behavior (Practical Functional Assessment), have demonstrated a significant impact on improving the QoL for individuals with moderate to severe DD and their families.
During this talk, the presentations will discuss and begin to confirm the relationship between targeting required repertoires and challenging behavior, as well as improvements in quality of life, as measured by identified instruments. Troy will also discuss changes to EFL’s Quick Assessment 2.0 to assess, select, measure, and achieve an improved quality of life for the individual, family, and community.
Troy Fry, M.S., BCBA
The debate about quality of life (QoL) for people with developmental disabilities (DD) has evolved as a key topic for the practical evolution of persons with DD and the construction of services and support policies. However, for people with moderate to severe DD, while it seems possible to obtain a relatively accurate indirect measure of meaningful dimensions of quality of life, it can be challenging to have a direct measure of their perception of quality. This talk will try to align the scales related to Schalock and Verdugo's framework (2002) (Personal Outcome Scale) with observable behaviors of people with moderate to severe DD that lead to obtaining an effective, socially valid measure of changes in the quality of their lives. Behavioral-analytic-based interventions that focus on teaching required repertoires within and across relevant contexts (Essential For Living, McGreevy, Fry, 2012), as well as solving for challenging behavior (Practical Functional Assessment), have demonstrated a significant impact on improving the QoL for individuals with moderate to severe DD and their families.
During this talk, the presentations will discuss and begin to confirm the relationship between targeting required repertoires and challenging behavior, as well as improvements in quality of life, as measured by identified instruments. Troy will also discuss changes to EFL’s Quick Assessment 2.0 to assess, select, measure, and achieve an improved quality of life for the individual, family, and community.
Breakout Sessions:
Breakout session topics include compassionate & trauma-informed care, interdisciplinary collaboration, neurodiversity-affirming practices, sexuality, safety & rights-based education, professional growth & supervision, and much more!
Breakout session topics include compassionate & trauma-informed care, interdisciplinary collaboration, neurodiversity-affirming practices, sexuality, safety & rights-based education, professional growth & supervision, and much more!
Poster and Ignite Sessions:
Interested in becoming a conference sponsor?
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Hotel and Conference Location:
Hotel: Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland 115 Cavendish Square, St. John's, NL A1C 3K2 |
Conference:
AMAL Youth and Family Centre 7 Ricketts Road, St. John's, NL |
Are you an organization looking to register attendees and need an invoice? Contact us! [email protected]
A BIG Thank You to our sponsors of this event:
Platinum Sponsors:
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Bronze Sponsors:
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