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Rob Holdsambeck Ed. D. Licensed Psychologist (CA.) Board Certified Behavior Analyst My name is Dr. Rob Holdsambeck. I am a Licensed Psychologist, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and the director of Holdsambeck & Associates, Inc. (formerly known as IBIP). I have been actively involved in this area, developing and implementing individual behavior programs since 1977. I have taught psychology and behavior management courses through the University of Florida (ta), the University of San Francisco (adj.), and most recently as a tenured instructor through Allan Hancock College. I have assembled a group of caring Behavior Analysts who are available to help. | 
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Dr. Holdsambeck, you have spent the last couple of decades of your career focussing on the application of Applied Behavior Analysis to persons with Developmental Disabilities. What got you interested in this field? I learned about Behavior Analysis through my undergraduate work at The University of Florida in Gainesville, with Dr. Pennypacker. I was impressed by how it was possible to approach very difficult behavior problems with scientific rigor and achieve such measurable gains. Behavior Analysis was, for me , a useful paradigm for helping people. My interest in Developmental Disabilities started with early volunteer experiences. After my masters program was completed, I was fortunate enough to obtain a job working as a Behavior Analyst with a Regional Center in California . The families I worked with taught me much about the challenges of solving "real world" problems. I think I saw enough early success to convince myself that ABA had a lot to offer this population. My final doctoral work at the University of San Francisco was also in the field. IBIP? EBIP? What do all the initials mean? The Intensive Behavioral Intervention Program (IBIP) was developed in the early 70's by Dr. Ogle at Tri-Counties Regional Center. It was a very exciting program to be around. Many of us were full of youthful enthusiasm and anxious to develop programs that would help persons with disabilities remain in their communities. At the time, many of these children and adults were placed in large Developmental Centers. One of the goals of IBIP was to help families and community agencies apply the principles of Behavior Analysis to challenges they faced helping their disabled children. I developed the Enhanced Behavioral Information Program (EBIP) recently to take advantage of the resources of the World Wide Web. Many of my consumers use the internet to gather information , locate services, learn about their rights, etc. I have used on line data base searching for the past 10 years as an adjunct to my psychology classes. The problem was getting reliable information, assessing its validity, and doing it efficiently. The idea with EBIP is to provide a platform to help consumers use the internet to gather information that's useful. Some of EBIP services are available to all persons with an interest in disabilities (i.e. links to self help groups , disability health professionals, etc.). However, some services are reserved for consumers who are actually receiving on going support from our group (i.e. personal researching, local area resources, etc.). I noticed that you are a Licensed Psychologist and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. What is the difference? Some states, Florida and California for example , have taken the position that Applied Behavior Analysis represents a unique set of knowledge, skills and abilities . Michael Hemingway and other's , have been instrumental in defining those K.S. A's. Basically, to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst requires at least a masters degree with specified course work in ABA; approx. 2 years of experience under an analyst; and the passage of a standardized written exam. Behavior Analyst have their own approved continuing education requirements. Psychology Licensure in California requires a doctorate, 3000 supervised hours, a national written; and then a state oral exam. The Behavior Analysts exam is currently offered in California. If you want additional information, I encourage you to visit the Association for Applied Behavior Analysis and the American Psychological Association web sites. Many people have had exposure to the field of psychology through academic course work. Some even remember Pavlov and Skinner. Anything new in the last several decades? Absolutely. I think that there has been a lot of progress in the way we approach helping people with ABA. Specifically, I've seen a lot of improvements in the way assessments are conducted. The process of uncovering the communicative intent of challenging behavior has received considerable research interest. Capitalizing on self management strategies and focusing on the importance of empowering choice have been exciting additions to the field. In addition, I think the focus on early intervention, while not new, is finally getting some financial support. I am also hopeful that web sites like this will enhance the delivery of behavioral services to people involved in providing support for consumers with disabilities. | |
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