On September 29 visiting professor Brian Iwata will deliver a lecture challenging our perceptions of how professionals diagnose behavioral disorders.

Dr. Iwata is this year’s Samuel Weiner Distinguished Visitor lecturer and his talk is titled “Experimental Approaches to Behavioral Assessment: Rebirth of the Medical Model?”

He will present it on Thursday, Sept. 29, at 3 p.m. in the Engineering and Information Technology Complex, room E3-270.

Many authors have noted that the “medical model” of assessment is inadequate for the diagnosis of behavior disorders.  However, the model has served the field of medicine well as an empirical basis for identifying causes of disease.  Iwata’s presentation reviews key features of the medical model as an experimental approach in medicine, its unsuccessful extension to psychological disorders, and how it can contribute to a greater understanding of behavior disorders.

The Samuel Weiner Distinguished Visitor brings renowned scientists or scholars to the University of Manitoba to stimulate and encourage research at the University. The award is intended to support the visit of individuals who are making outstanding contributions in their particular fields of research and who are recognized as international authorities in their areas of research.

About Brian Iwata:

Brian Iwata received his PhD in Psychology from Florida State University and is currently Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Florida, Director of the Florida Center on Self-Injury and Director of the UF-ARC Prader-Willi Syndrome Program.  He previously held faculty appointments at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and at Western Michigan University.

His primary areas of interest are applied behavior analysis, developmental disabilities, functional analysis of severe behavior disorders, and program evaluation.  He has published over 200 articles and chapters on these topics, and he has received over $5 million in research grants to support that work.

For more information contact Sean Moore, Marketing Communications Office, University of Manitoba, at 204-474-7963 (sean_moore@umanitoba.ca)