Providing Behavior Analytic Services to Older Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Complex Training Demands in an Area with Growing Needs belongs in serious BCBA study because it shapes whether behavior-analytic decisions stay useful once they leave a clean training example and enter adult services and community participation. For this course, the practical stakes show up in skills that remain meaningful when school supports disappear and adult expectations change, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Eden Autism
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Join Free →The efficacy of the application of behavior analytic principles to supports for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities has been demonstrated across the life span (Kurtz & Lind, 2013) and has been a hallmark of applied behavior analysis for decades. Although a great deal of literature has provided guidance on behavior analytic support for children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, considerably less literature has focused on how those supports can be adapted and provided across a person's lifespan, particularly into older adulthood. As medical advances continue to extend the expected lifespan and improve the quality of life for all people including those with intellectual or developmental disabilities, we are faced with a growing older adult population in need of supports. Advancements in certification, licensure, and funding for behavioral services mean that more individuals have received support at an early age and increasingly more are receiving supports throughout life. This presents a complex intersection of training needs for specialized staff supporting the needs of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are experiencing aging-related changes. This presentation will review the existing literature on staff training and intervention for older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It will then present existing resources that can be readily adopted into training, as well as ideas for the development of specialized trainings. Finally, these resources will be incorporated in identifying staff training needs for both direct support staff and clinical staff.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1.5 | General |
| COA | 1.5 | — |
Dr. Jonathan Baker is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Western Michigan University. Prior to joining WMU, he was a faculty member in the behavior analysis and therapy program in the Rehabilitation Institute at Southern Illinois University as well as the coordinator of the SIU gerontology certificate program. He received a certificate in gerontology from the University of Kansas, a masters in applied behavior science from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. from Western Michigan University. Dr. Baker served as a member (2014-2019) and Vice President (2020) of the Board of Directors for the Behavior Analyst Certification Board and serves on the editorial board for The Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and The Analysis of Verbal Behavior. He is an Associate Editor at Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice. He has served as a guest reviewer for the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias and The Gerontologist. Dr. Baker is the former president of the Mid-American Association of Behavior Analysis and former chair of the Behavioral Gerontology Special Interest Group with ABAI. Dr. Baker was the principle investigator for the Behavioral Residential In-home Care and Supports (BRICS) project evaluation for the Illinois Department of Aging and was a co-principle investigator for Behavior Analysis and Intervention in Nursing Homes, funded by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Baker’s main research interest is behavioral gerontology, including the assessment/treatment of behavioral excesses and developing programs that remediate behavioral deficits in older adults with neurocognitive disorder, as well as treatment adoption. His interests also extend to adults and older adults with developmental disabilities and staff training.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
244 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.