Manitoba ABA

By Maria Pongoski
The Manitoba Association for Behavior Analysis (MABA) is proud to be in its 18th year as an affiliated chapter of ABAI. We met several objectives during our 17th year, described below.

In 2013, MABA became a CE provider, and in 2022 was able to offer free CEUs e to our members who are BCBAs and BCBA-Ds at the Annual Conference. MABA held its Annual Conference in September 2022, hosting a variety of speakers. Our keynote speaker, Dr. Adithyan Rajaraman (Vanderbilt University Medical Centre), delivered a presentation entitled “Promoting Safety and Compassion in the Assessment of Treatment of Dangerous Behavior.” The conference also featured presentations by our invited speakers, Dr. Katie Saint (Fox Valley Autism Treatment Program), who presented on ABA and mental health; Meredith Molina, who presented on providing compassionate behavior analytic therapy; Amy Gravino (Rutgers University), who spoke about sexuality and the autism spectrum, and Dr. Mary Jane Weiss (Endicott College) provided a talk on ethical decision making. Finally, a panel discussion, chaired by Carly Cressman, MA (University of Manitoba) on the ongoing evolution of applied behavior analysis and our roles in this change.

We are looking forward to our 19th Annual Conference, to be held in the fall of 2023, in a virtual format. Our Conference Chairs are hard at work putting together a list of potential speakers and topics that will be of interest to our members and conference attendees. Additional information can be found at maba.ca/conference as it becomes available.

For the upcoming year, we will continue to work on our new and ongoing objectives and goals. Our key objectives for 2023 include offering CE opportunities for our members, as well as exploring options to provide education for the general public. Furthermore, we will also explore opportunities to promote behavior analysis in Manitoba through partnerships with local organizations and universities. For example, we are currently working in collaboration with a local organization to host a joint conference on Technology and Disability. As well, we would like to find new ways to support new students and innovative research in applied behavior analysis through the development of new awards. Finally, we would like to continue to work on increasing our membership through various recruitment initiatives.