MABA + VBU: A Perspective on Medicine and Behavior Analysis belongs in serious BCBA study because it shapes whether behavior-analytic decisions stay useful once they leave a clean training example and enter joint consultation, shared care planning, school-team communication, and interdisciplinary handoffs. In A Perspective on Medicine and Behavior Analysis, for this course, the practical stakes show up in clearer roles, fewer duplicated efforts, and better coordinated intervention, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Verbal Beginnings
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Join Free →Dr. Linda Copeland MD is a board certified Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician and holds a BCBA credential that daily informs her medical work. Per BACB/CASP ethical guidelines, Behavior Analysts must consult with medical professionals when treating behavioral conditions which may reasonably be influenced by medical/biological factors. Awareness of how medical factors can manifest through behaviors and how to address these through medical collaboration is vital. In turn, health care providers can be more effective by networking with Behavior Analysts to employ evidence-based procedures to guide a patient's behavior toward better health outcomes. These efforts impact many areas of a client/patient's life that include but are not limited to health habits, improving sleep, complying with medical tests and therapy regimens and the integrated use of ABA with pharmacological treatments. Behavior Analysts have technologies that can make a significant difference in the health of Americans like addressing obesity, the risk of Type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions by improving healthy eating, physical fitness and mental/emotional resilience. Insurance coverage for ABA has expanded across the country and needs to expand more. This will require dedicated "lobbying" by Behavior Analysts with health care systems and legislators.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 2 | General |
| COA | 2 | — |
I graduated from the School of Medicine at the University of California Davis (UCD) in 1979 and did my pediatric residency training plus developmental-behavioral pediatrics at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. I am a board certified developmental-behavioral pediatrician with the American Board of Pediatrics. I have also worked many years as a primary care pediatrician. In the early 1990s while working at a developmental regional center (Alta California Regional Center or "Alta" that covers 10 counties including Sacramento County) I and a colleague were approached by Mrs. Linda Mayhew, the mother of a girl with autism. Together we formed the first non-profit Families for Early (Effective) Autism Treatment or FEAT group advocating for ABA treatment for autism. FEAT of Sacramento networked with Alta and the Young Autism Project under Dr. Ivar Lovaas at UCLA to fund ABA intensive early intervention programs for children on the spectrum. Other California developmental regional centers then followed suit. I took all the required graduate level classes in Behavior Analysis at California State University Sacramento (CSUS), after which I sat for the national certification exam to first earn my BCBA credential in 2008. Advocating for funding of ABA treatment has been a big part of my career. My colleague Greg Buch PhD, BCBA-D and I have given presentations on various aspects of ABA treatment and have published peer-reviewed journal articles and a book chapter on the intersection of the medical field with the field of Behavior Analysis. I worked for Kaiser Permanente in the Sacramento area for 16 years. Later, I was part-time faculty with the UCSF-Fresno Pediatric Residency Training Program. While working in Fresno, I networked extensively with Amanda Nicolson PhD, BCBA-D to help in the diagnosis and treatment of children on the spectrum. Currently I work as an independent contractor and contract with the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute (Research division) and with the Contra Costa Health Plan Behavioral Health Unit to help children with special needs and their families. On a personal note, I and my husband of 47 years, Dr. Paul Copeland (a child and adolescent psychiatrist) live in West Sacramento. We have a grown son and daughter we are very proud of and we have three amazing German Shepherd dogs. We like to grow vegetables and I enjoy walking outdoors and singing.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
252 research articles with practitioner takeaways
239 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.