Home/Conference 2025 /Sakurako Isaniwa Tanaka

Sakurako Isaniwa Tanaka

PhD. BCBA-D 

President, Asia-Pacific ABA Network Association (Sapporo, Japan)

Co-chair, Asia-Pacific ABA Network Consortium (Singapore)

QABA International Development Committee Member

World Behavior Analysis Day Alliance Board Member

ABAI Affiliated Chapters Board Member

“Educating Autistic Children with Multilingual Heritage: Language, Behavior, Culture, and Learning”

The topic of presentation

Skinner’s Verbal Behavior (1957) provides fundamental principles for typical and clinical pedagogy in applied behavior analysis (ABA), which has gained wider recognition as an evidence-based approach to effective behavioral intervention for children diagnosed with autism and related developmental disorders. However, there exists little behavior analytic study on bilingualism despite the dire need of “contextually fit” service delivery for the multilingual population diagnosed with autism. In contrast, applied and sociolinguistics produced a large volume of peer-reviewed studies of additive bilingualism in the last four decades, extending their scope to special education and clinical pedagogy. This paper illuminates a functional common ground between behavior analysis and linguistics despite the perceived mutual exclusivity of theoretical and pedagogical positions in the respective disciplines. It also introduces IPA-based phonetic assessment as a pre-requisite to echoic assessment. An interdisciplinary model of bilingual intervention is proposed, which combines Skinner’s verbal behavior theory with Linguistics.

KEY WORDS: bilingualism, IPA, phonetics, phonology, interdisciplinary approach to verbal behavior, autism.

Sakurako Tanaka

"To observe means to stay close — as if skin touches skin — and to watch with affection. That is what observation through Applied Behavior Analysis truly is."

Biography
and Professional Background

    • Ph.D. in Sociolinguistics, University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada

    • M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies (Linguistics, Anthropology, and Medicine), University of British Columbia

    • B.A. in Linguistics, University of Toronto, Canada

    • Post-doctoral Researcher, Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, Canada

    • Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis, University of Massachusetts, USA

    • Founder and Representative Director, Asia-Pacific ABA Network (Japan)

    • Founder and Clinical Director, ABA Sapporo

    • Honorary Representative, ABA Speaks (Japan)

    • Former Chair (2012–2017) of the Multicultural ABASpecial Interest Group at the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI)

    • Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in multicultural and clinical contexts

    • Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) for children with autism

    • Professional training and international certification of ABA practitioners in the Asia-Pacific region

    • Development of inclusive educational and clinical systems in Japan

  • Dr. Tanaka’s journey into Applied Behavior Analysis began through her personal experience as the mother of a child with autism.

    While living in British Columbia, Canada, she participated in early intensive behavioral intervention programs and witnessed significant progress in her child’s communication and independence.

    This transformative experience motivated her to dedicate her professional life to spreading evidence-based ABA practices and to supporting other parents and professionals in Japan.

  • Dr. Tanaka emphasizes that ABA should be accessible to everyone, guided by the belief in

    “A society where no one is left behind” (誰一人取り残されない社会).

    She advocates for the cultural adaptation of ABA — integrating local languages, traditions, and values across the Asia-Pacific region — to ensure ethical and effective practice within diverse communities.

    • Co-translator (Japanese edition) of “Let’s Make a Contract” by Jill C. Dardig & William L. Heward, published by Akashi Shoten (2025)

    • Organizer of the upcoming “Tsunageru ABA ~ World Autism Summit” (Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, 2025), an international conference connecting global ABA professionals and families

  • Beyond her professional work, Dr. Tanaka is also the founder of Green Forest Coffee and Green Patio Co., Ltd., initiatives that promote sustainable living and fair-trade values inspired by her time in Costa Rica.

    She describes her broader mission as “planting trees for future generations.”

In 2025, Sakurako Tanaka completed the Japanese translation and publication of Bobby Newman’s book “First Responders and People Diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum: What Each Needs to Know About the Other.”

She also co-authored the article “Multicultural Alliance of Behavior Analysis Standards for Cultural Competence in Behavior Analysis” (Fong & Tanaka, 2013), which outlines cultural competence standards for behavior analysts. Read the article