Behavioral Gerontology

Course overview

Behavioral Gerontology is the application of behavior analysis to issues that are related to age. Behavior analysts are able to work directly with seniors and the staff that care for these individuals to implement sustainable, non-pharmacological supports as methods for enhancing their quality of life and care services, decreasing challenging behaviors, maintaining daily life skills, implementing memory and language programs, preserving medication adherence, and prolonging independence. In this course, participants will learn to (1) discuss basic and clinical behavior analytic research on aging, (2) identify assessments and assessment-informed interventions that are applicable to the aging population, and (3) discuss behavior analytic approaches to working with the aging population.