2025 AGM and Conference Information
|
Destination Dildo:
Pre-conference Social When: October 7, 2026
Where: Dildo, NL Cost: TBA |
APABA Conference
When: October 8 and 9, 2025
Where: AMAL Youth and Family Centre Cost: TBA BACB CEUs: TBA |
APABA AGM
When: October 8, 2025
Where: AMAL Youth and Family Centre Cost: Free |
APABA Maritime Social
When: October 9, 2025
Where: AMAL Youth and Family Centre Cost: TBA |
Heart and Science: Behaviour Analysis Across the Lifespan
Keynote Speakers:
Day One Keynote:
Getting Shift Done: From Caretaking to Compassionate ABA Across the Lifespan
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
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.
|
|
Day Two Keynote:
When Disparate Worldviews Collide: Exploring Possibilities at the Dynamic Intersection of Contextual Behavioural Science and Indigenous Knowledge Systems
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
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.
|
Hotel and Conference Location:
Hotel: Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland 115 Cavendish Square, St. John's, NL A1C 3K2 Reservation Link Last Day to Book : Monday, September 10, 2025 |
Conference:
AMAL Youth and Family Centre 7 Ricketts Road, St. John's, NL |