The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the organization I chose for my final
project. NAMI came from what started as a small support group in California called Parents of
Ault Schizophrenics in the 1970s, which eventually led to the birth of the organization from a
meeting of 284 individuals representing support groups from 29 states and Canada through a
resolution to incorporate adopted in 1979, to the national non-profit organization it is today
with over 600 affiliates in 49 states. It is our nation's largest grassroots organization for
individuals and families who are affected by mental illness. The vision of NAMI is, "a world
where all people affected by mental illness live healthy, fulfilling lives supported by a
community that cares" (NAMI, n.d.). NAMI not only advocates on a federal level for
legislation change, education, and support but also provides these supports on a local
community level through the over 600 affiliates - this is the mission of the organization. This
mission is driven by their core values of hope, inclusion, empowerment, compassion, and
fairness.
An event in human services history that relates to my organization is the Mental Health
Systems Act of 1980. This act authorized states to establish and fund through grants for mental
health centers and non-profit private entities for the chronically mentally ill. This includes
support services for adults, children, adolescents, and their families who are affected by
mental illnesses. Support services included are case management, access to mental, medical,
rehabilitation, and dental services, and access to employment, housing, and other support
services. This same year, NAMI opened its first national office in Washington, D.C.
c The agency I chose is called Full Spectrum Behavior Analysis. This company was started by
a gentleman by the name of Collin Streetman in 2015. This agency is considered part of the
mental health field. The purpose of this agency is to assist children that are on the autism
spectrum learn socially significant life skills. I had to call my supervisor and as for this
information from the agency because none of this information was available anywhere. Not
even on the web page.
Behavior analysis is based on ideas and research that became prominent at the turn of the
century. Ivan Pavlov discovered the conditional reflex (a reflex that only occurs under a
particular set of conditions such as the pairing of stimuli). This was a significant step toward a
scientific understanding of behavior. Skinner (1930s-1980s). He developed the theory of
operant conditioning. He used rats and pigeons in his experiments which became known as
Radical behaviorism. Skinner’s science of behavior emphasizes the importance of
reinforcement and the relationships between observable stimuli and responses. The benefits
and consequences of a behavior either increase or decrease the probability of that behavior
occurring in the future. He acknowledged genetic influences and covert behaviors as part of a
person’s behaviors. Skinner, after reading Pavlov’s book begins thinking of the reflexes as
“behaviors.” In 1938, he came out with his own book, The Behavior of Organisms. Skinner
takes what he has learned from Pavlov and Thorndike and proposes respondent and operant
conditioning together regulate behavior. Skinner takes Pavlov’s interpreted reflex
conditioning and turns it into respondent conditioning focused on environmental events and
responses.Next, Skinner takes Thorndike’s trial and error and turns that into operant
conditioning, focusing on the functional relations between behavior and consequence. Skinner
and his friend Keller went on and organized small groups of behaviorists.
Skinner at Indiana U
Keller at Columbia
These groups became the first behavior analysts who focused on modifying environmental
variables and verbal behavior. They did not reject the idea of genetic influences on behavior,
they extended the analysis of behavior to operant conditioning, and they studied behavior.
JEAB (Journal of Experimental Analysis of Behavior) was founded in 1958
JABA (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis) was founded in 1968.
The first article published was the article discussing the seven dimensions of ABA
ABAI (Association for Behavior Analysis International) was founded in the late ’70s.
1965 Medicare and Medicaid programs were created, making comprehensive health care
available to millions of Americans. President L.B Johnson signed a law into legislation to
establish Medicare and Medicaid programs. These programs began as basic health insurance
for individuals that did not have medical coverage. Medicaid is now the number one insurance
that covers individuals that have autism or are developmentally disabled. During the summer
of 2022 Medicaid and ACHA passed stricter guidelines and rules for providers. Making it
more difficult for providers to provide quality services for these individuals, cutting hours and
making stricter guidelines for individuals to receive services.
History. CMS. (n.d.). c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c
https://www.cms.gov/About-CMS/Agency-
Information/History#:~:text=for%2050%20years-
,On%20July%2030%2C%201965%2C%20President%20Lyndon%20B.,economic%20securit
y%20of%20our%20nation.
Who we are. NAMI. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2022, from https://nami.org/About-
NAMI/Who-We-Are
Rep. Henry A. Waxman. (1980, May 7). H.R.7299 - 96th Congress (1979-1980): Mental
Health Systems act. Congress.gov. Retrieved November 19, 2022, from
https://www.congress.gov/bill/96th-congress/house-bill/7299?s=1&r=2
