Newsletter
Volume 31| 2008 | Number 2
Behavioral Gerontology
By Dr. Linda LeBlanc
The mission and objectives of the Behavioral Gerontology SIG are to provide intellectual, clinical, and organizational support to other professionals interested in aging and to foster behavior analytic research in aging. Each year the SIG holds a business meeting in which members discuss issues in the field and of professional development. In addition, an annual award is presented to a student presenting research in the area of aging. One important members’ benefit is a subscription to the bi-annual newsletter, which contains information on upcoming conferences in the area of aging, recent published research, and other information pertaining to the field of behavioral gerontology. During the past year, 25 members attended the annual SIG meeting at ABAI. Among the topics discussed were the development of a Web site for the SIG; how technologies can be best distributed; issues related to staff buy-in; health issues for older adults, including what can be done to aid those issues (e.g., diabetes, obesity); and minority issues in aging.
The annual SIG student presenter award was presented to Jonathan Baker and his presentation entitled “Conceptualizing and Treating Aphasia Using a Behavior Analytic Model,” which focused on a how behavior analysts can begin research and treatment for aphasia, a language impairment most commonly seen in adults over the age of 65.
The SIG also elected several new officers: Stacey Cherup was elected to be in charge of the newsletter, Allison Jay was elected Treasurer, Nick Mui Ker was elected as Secretary, and Jonathan Baker was elected as Web Master. Linda LeBlanc continues to serve as President of the SIG.
The SIG Web site came online in the fall of 2007 and contains back issues of the SIG newsletter as well as links to aging-related Web sites. The site also contains information on becoming a member of the SIG and applications are available on line.
In the coming year, the SIG plans to continue to develop the Web site as a resource to members and those interested in behavioral gerontology. The SIG also plans on starting a discussion forum to further benefit members.