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How Effective Collaboration Leads to Increased Ethical and Inclusive Practice Across the Consumers of Behavior Analysis |
Sunday, May 28, 2023 |
8:00 AM–9:50 AM |
Convention Center 401/402 |
Area: TBA/OBM; Domain: Applied Research |
Chair: Lisa Tereshko (Endicott College) |
Discussant: Alan Kinsella (Endicott College) |
CE Instructor: Lisa Tereshko, Ph.D. |
Abstract: Within the human service industry, often a diversity of professionals with various backgrounds, training, and credential come together to support individuals. This diversity can create more specialized treatment for the individuals they support but also may create difficulty when working to support individuals. Collaboration with all levels of professionals working with our clients and stakeholders is essential to ensure ethical and inclusive practices for all consumers of behavior analysis. The papers presented here represent a behavior analytic approach to measuring collaboration as it relates to ethical and inclusive practice. Included here are the results of an inclusive team collaboration model implemented in a special education school that includes direct instructional staff to increase staff and student performance, the results of a survey of behavior analysts and other professionals that collaborate with behavior analysts on collaboration and the use of soft skills, the results of surveys of students and faculty of behavior analysis on inclusive practices within their experiences in higher education as it relates to inclusivity and belonging, and the results of an ethical decision making model as it relates to both behavior analysts and registered behavior technicians. |
Instruction Level: Intermediate |
Keyword(s): Collaboration, Ethical, Inclusivity |
Target Audience: Intermediate audience is required. Those who supervise or teach behavior analytic programs are recommended. Experience with supervision and collaboration of staff members across domains and at various levels of education would assist in comprehension of material presented. |
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) identify ways within their daily work responsibilities to increase collaboration of all team members; (2) increase their ability to assess team members sense of belonging and inclusivity; (3) increase their ability to assess and assist team members when faced with ethical dilemmas |
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Increasing Opportunities to Respond Through Inclusive Team Collaboration |
KATHLEEN I DYER (Endicott College) |
Abstract: There is a substantial body of research on the importance of providing frequent opportunities to respond (OTR) to increase learning outcomes for students. In special education classrooms with multiple treatment providers, treatment coordination to ensure that these opportunities are provided can be complex and challenging. This paper will discuss an intervention designed to increase the opportunities to respond for 3 students in an autism classroom in the context of a multiple-baseline design. An inclusive team model, involving weekly scheduled meetings with the direct instructional staff, the classroom teacher, clinical team members, and a lead BCBA-D interventionist was implemented. The results showed that collaborative goal setting, nondirective consultation, feedback, and reinforcement strategies implemented at the meetings were effective in increasing OTR to IEP programs. The positive role of team collaboration was reflected in acceptability surveys, where direct care staff rated the team discussions as the most helpful treatment component. |
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Understanding the Perspectives of Our Colleagues: How Behavior Analysts Are Perceived |
KRISTIN BOWMAN (Endicott College), Lisa Tereshko (Endicott College), Kimberly Marshall (University of Oregon), Mary Jane Weiss (Endicott College), Karen Rose (Horry County Schools/Endicott College) |
Abstract: Scientifically established, effective treatments for autism are based on the principles of applied behavior analysis. With the increasingly high prevalence of autism and growing demand for effective behavioral interventions, now, more than 70% of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) certificants work in professional areas specific to autism. However, given the complex symptomatology and dynamic interaction of the deficits associated with autism, treatment from an array of professionals, each representing different disciplines and specialties within medicine, education, and allied health is typically warranted. Therefore, to best meet the various needs of individuals on the autism spectrum, behavior analysts will often be required to work collaboratively with professionals from other disciplines and must acquire the skills to do so effectively. To learn more about these collaborative relationships and identify opportunities for further education and training, we surveyed behavior analysts and professionals from other disciplines including speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, educators, administrators, and psychologists. Overall, participants agreed that continued collaboration was useful although the results indicate challenges in collaboration and disparities in reported perceptions and experiences. These findings, as well as ideas for fostering better collaboration will be reviewed. |
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Assessing Perceptions of Inclusivity Among Students and Staff Within an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Department |
LISA TERESHKO (Endicott College), Mary Jane Weiss (Endicott College), Videsha Marya (Endicott College), Christen Russell (Endicott College), Natalie M. Driscoll (Seven Hills Foundation & Endicott College), Kathleen I Dyer (Endicott College), Rebecca Shinn (Endicott College), Sacha KG Shaw (Endicott College ) |
Abstract: Recent events have confirmed the need for behavior analysis to attend to issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in service provision and in higher education. This leads to a call to action to increase cultural responsiveness and cultural humility in training opportunities for students of behavior analysis and practicing behavior analysts. In order to ensure that training opportunities for students and staff appropriately address these issues in the field, surveys were developed and deployed across an ABA department of higher education to assess the effects of various initiatives taken by the department to increase inclusivity and belonging. The surveys identified areas of growth for the department and serve as ongoing assessments for inclusivity and belonging within the department and the higher education institution as a whole. |
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Promoting Ethical Discussions and Decision Making in a Human Services Agency: Updates to LeBlanc et al.’s (2020) Ethics Network |
Amber Valentino (Trumpet Behavioral Health ), ROXANNE GAYLE (Trumpet Behavioral Health, Endicott College, Pepperdine University), Amanda J George (Trumpet Behavioral Health), Ashley Marie Fuhrman (Trumpet Behavioral Health) |
Abstract: Ethical behavior is operant behavior, evoked and maintained by environmental variables; as such, it can be taught. Behavior analysts have focused on effective ways to teach and establish ethical behavior in both individual practitioners and within organizations. Teaching people to notice ethical issues in their environment is an important first step in promoting ethical discussions and decision-making. In 2022, the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB®) issued two revised ethics codes—one for behavior analysts and one for registered behavior technicians (RBTs ®). In the current study, we expanded upon the work of LeBlanc et al. (2020) by updating an Ethics Network and hotline submission form within a human service agency to reflect both new codes of ethics. We provide data for the first seven months of the updated system and analyze the data for common themes. We detail the updates to our system for readers wishing to create similar infrastructure in other organizations. |
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