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Association for Behavior Analysis International
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<p>The Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting <a href="/facts/Behavior_analysis/8DHljqrh">behavior analysis</a>. The organization has over 9,000 members. The group organizes conferences and publishes journals on the topic of <a href="/facts/Applied_behavior_analysis/4wPnh8sV">applied behavior analysis</a> (ABA). ABAI has issued detailed, specific position papers intended to guide practitioners of ABA. The ABAI publishes six scholarly journals including <i><a href="/facts/The_Psychological_Record/3WxsabYx">The Psychological Record</a></i> and their primary organ, <i><a href="/facts/Perspectives_on_Behavior_Science/2Kg9vFha">Perspectives on Behavior Science</a></i>, formerly <i>The Behavior Analyst</i>. They also publish an informational journal, <i>Education and Treatment of Children</i>, describing practical treatment of children with behavioral problems. </p><p>ABAI has been criticized for its connections to the <a href="/facts/Judge_Rotenberg_Educational_Center/o6gjIscl">Judge Rotenberg Center</a> (JRC), a school that has been condemned by the <a href="/facts/United_Nations/fgXLnmgT">United Nations</a> for <a href="/facts/Torture/oTCUxY3x">torture</a>. According to the <a href="/facts/Autistic_Self_Advocacy_Network/6AKeYwop">Autistic Self Advocacy Network</a> (ASAN), ABAI has endorsed the methods of the JRC, including its use of the <a href="/facts/Graduated_Electronic_Decelerator/sSQeuJzW">Graduated Electronic Decelerator</a>, a device that delivers painful electric skin shocks, by allowing them to present at ABAI's annual conferences.[<i>non-primary source needed</i>] ABAI has honored <a href="/facts/Robert_A._Sherman/B3RJo1CD">Robert A. Sherman</a> for his legal defense of the JRC's use of aversive punishments on its students.[<i>better source needed</i>] In 2022, ABAI's membership voted to support a position that strongly opposed contingent electric skin shock. </p>