Rollins Student Chairs Panel at ABAI Conference

At the 50th annual ABAI conference in Philadelphia, Seirra Mitchell—third-year graduate student in Rollins’ Applied Behavior Analysis & Clinical Science (ABACS) program—represented the College alongside esteemed international panelists as she attended and chaired a professional development panel titled “PDS: A Global Perspective on Interprofessional Collaboration Between Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) and Behavior Analysts.”

The panel focused on how effective treatment in applied behavior analysis and speech-language pathology relies on collaboration within a multidisciplinary team from a global perspective. The panel featured Lina Slim, adjunct professor at Endicott College and adjunct assistant professor at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology; Smita Awasthi, behavior analyst and founder of Behavior Momentum India; and Ronald Clark, postdoctoral associate at the University of Florida.

Mitchell plans to become dually certified as a board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA) and speech language pathologist (SLP), a rare combination that stems from her own experience with a speech impediment.

“I want to thank the amazing ABAI-accredited ABACS graduate program at Rollins for providing me with the opportunity to host my own professional development panel,” says Mitchell. “This achievement would not have been possible without the support and guidance of ABACS program director Kara Wunderlich and clinical instructor Stephanie Trauschke.”

Established in 1974, the nonprofit ABAI has been the primary membership organization for those interested in the philosophy, science, application, and teaching of behavior analysis. ABAI provides events, job placement, scholarly journals, and other services to its over 9,000 members and the field.