Association for Behavior Analysis International

“Do no harm” is a core ethical principle that dates back to Hippocrates (Bailey & Burch, 2016). Although no well-intentioned behavior analyst knowingly does harm in their clinical practice, a lack of awareness may lead to more subtle forms of harm. For example, social skills goals may teach the client to camouflage autistic traits (Gerow et al., 2019, Koegel et al., 1974), which has been associated with lack of belonging and suicidality (Cassidy et al., 2019). Failure to consider past trauma may result in the use of contraindicated procedures (Kolu, 2020) and teaching skills that are not developmentally appropriate may cause stress and be experienced as traumatic (Burts et al., 1990). While the BACB Professional and Ethical Compliance Code requires BCBAs to practice within their boundaries of competence (1.02), respect cultural differences (1.05), and individualize programs to the clients unique needs (4.03), behavior analysts don’t know what they don’t know. In this symposium autistic advocates and BCBA allies will a) define masking and discuss long-term costs, b) explore strategies to teach social skills in a more affirming manner, c) examine current BCBA training, and d) offer a more ethical approach to training from a developmental lens.

BCBAs, BCaBAs, and graduate students with a basic understanding of the behaviors associated with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Masking does not, as yet, truly have a clinical definition. Rather, the term might be better understood by its roots: an attempt by the Autistic people to describe and start conversations about the (overwhelmingly common) experience of trying to appear neurotypical. Teaching Autistic clients to appear neurotypical has been one of the main goals of Applied Behavior Analysis since the days of Lovaas (Lovaas, 1981), so it is imperative to understand how the Autistic community views these goals and the effort required to meet them. This talk will attempt to (a) create a working understanding of what the Autistic adults mean when discussing masking, (b) offer the opportunity to empathize with the labor that masking requires, and (c) discuss the costs of masking long term.

Applied Behavior Analysis is known for its interventions geared towards the autistic community. The Behavior Analyst Certification Board quotes intensive Applied Behavior Analysis treatment as “the most successful approach for children with autism” (BACB, 2017). It has quickly become the gold standard approach to working with autistic individuals (CDC, 2019). Despite primarily working with autistic children, there are no requirements to educate ourselves on the autistic perspective. In our current course sequence, there is a lack of education regarding the issues that impact the autism culture, trauma, and human development as a whole. Some have argued that the medical model of disability is ableist because it defines “normalcy” based on neurotypical individuals, instead of taking the viewpoint from the neurodiverse person (We Can and Must Do Better, 2013). Behavior Analysts are responsible for involving their clients in the planning and consent for behavior services (4.02), and by the end of our graduate programs we are expected to be a master of the field and autism. This presentation will: examine the shortcomings of current Applied Behavior Analysis coursework from the perspective of a recent graduate and offer strategies for newly minted Behavior Analysts to better allies to the autistic community.