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A few years ago a former staff member told me, "Terry you NEED to see this new work with severely impaired children with autism. There is a new method that can teach non-verbal kids to speak!” That exciting bit of news led me to a presentation by Dr. Vincent Carbone, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Dr. Carbone told the story of the scientist B.F. Skinner, a major intellectual figure from the 1940s and 50’s who argued that language had several different functions. Skinner went on to write a book called “Verbal Behavior” that he predicted would likely be his most important, and yet most overlooked text. Skinner and his theories of behavioral psychology revolutionized the world of mental health. He wrote a novel, “Walden Two,” that remained a bestseller and staple of college dorm rooms for decades. But he was right about "Verbal Behavior." The book – a dense and nearly indecipherable study of the uses of human language -- remained a forgotten footnote in the world of psychology. Then the autism epidemic hit. Suddenly the psychology world turned its attention to tens of thousands of kids who could not speak and who had severe behavior problems.. A few scientists found a valuable approach to working with those children by looking at Skinner's work. In essence, they found there was only one function of language that immediately reinforced the "speaker." That function was to ask for things, a process that Skinner called "manding." As I dived deeper into the work of Skinner, Carbone and other scientists, I grew more and more excited. Eventually my wife and I decided to go back to school to pursue the rigorous education required to become certified in Applied Behavior Analysis – Verbal Behavior (yep, we’re a husband and wife Applied Behavior Analyst family!). Today we’re fortunate enough to work with some of the most skilled ABA-Verbal Behavior BOARD CERTIFIED staff in the country. I invite you to learn more about them by following the links on the left. Or contact us and make plans to attend one of our workshops. Terry Blackwell Jr. |
Our Staff
Terence Blackwell
BCBA, SAS, CAS
Lisa Alvino Delaney
BCBA
Vivian Attanasio
BCaBA
Whitney Pubylski
BCaBA
Kathleen Huber
Amanda Lawrence
BCaBA
>> more
Contact Us
The Verbal Behavior Institute
277 Main Street
South River, New Jersey 08882
Toll Free: (866) 494-4824
Phone:(732) 254-0300
Fax: (732) 254-3131
info@verbalBehaviorInstitute.com
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