Newsletter
Volume 31 | 2008 | Number 2
Parent Professional Parternship
By Dr. David Celiberti
As you may know, the Parent Professional Partnership (PPP) SIG was created in 2001 to better meet the needs of parents within the ABA community. In particular, the PPP SIG provides information, networking, and resources for parents attending the annual ABAI convention or seeking information about the behavior analytic treatment of autism. Although the bulk of our SIG’s efforts center around autism spectrum disorders, parents of children with other disorders and disabilities may be interested in our activities or our Web site. There are also dozens of professionals who are members of our SIG. We encourage them to share our link, www.pppsig.org, with the families with whom they work.
We are an all-volunteer group but are proud of our accomplishments thus far. The leadership of this SIG is comprised of a small handful of parents and professionals. There are no financial resources as we charge no dues.
Parent Professional Partnership SIG Officers and Committees
The current officers for 2007-2008 are as follows. The Co-Presidents are David Celiberti, Ph.D., BCBA and Barbara Wells, Parent Member; Secretary is Tamara Bannon, LMSW, BCBA; Consumer Liaisons are: Marianne Butler, Parent Member, Lynn Faerber, BA, Jenna Glennon, MAT, BCBA, Peggy Halliday, BA, BCABA, Germaine Ibrahim, M.Ed., and Audrey Meissner, M.Ed., BCBA(Canada).
The Public Relations Committee’s objectives are to support the Association for Behavior Analysis International in reaching out to the local and adjoining communities of the region hosting each annual ABAI convention, but more extensively the autism-specific conferences. The committee also aims to forge alliances with organizations that have compatible goals with the PPP SIG and to support the public awareness of the Web sites for the PPP SIG and the Autism SIG by sharing our link with other organizations and distributing information about the SIG. The members are Jenna Glennon, MAT, BCBA (Chair); Germaine Ibrahim, M.Ed.; Lynn Faerber, BA; and Marianne Butler, Parent Member.
The Convention Committee’s objectives are to develop and distribute materials for parents attending the ABAI convention. This committee will also organize networking opportunities for parents and professionals at the convention and inform SIG members about upcoming conference experiences. In addition, the Convention Committee will coordinate our activities with the Association for Behavior Analysis International. The Members are Tamara Bannon, LMSW, BCBA (Chair); Germaine Ibrahim, M.Ed.; and Barbara Wells, Parent.
The SIG Web site Committee objectives are to develop the Web site for the PPP SIG and expand and update content. The Web site Committee members are David Celiberti, Ph.D., BCBA (Chair); Lori Bechner, MA, BCBA; Marianne Butler, Parent Member; Peggy Halliday, BA, BCABA; Audrey Meissner, M.Ed., BCBA; and Barbara Wells, Parent.
Update on PPPSIG.org
If you have not already done so, please visit our Web site, www.PPPSIG.org. The Web site includes information about the goals and objectives of the SIG, officers and contact information, an extensive list of links, books, and resources, and a description of upcoming conferences. We recently added new content prior to the ABA conference this past May, specifically more frequently asked questions and resource descriptions. This is a work in progress and we are grateful to Josh Milstein from Rutgers University who has provided significant support in maintaining and improving upon our Web site.
Become Involved
If you would like to join the Parent Professional Partnership SIG or discuss ways to become more involved, please contact Tamara Bannon at tamara.bannon@njcosac.org. If you have suggestions for resources and links for our Web site, please contact David Celiberti at dacnys@aol.com. If you have a suggestion for a consumer-friendly, behavior analytic conference that can be added to our Web site, please contact Barbara Wells at Barbara.wells@njcosac.org.