Association for Behavior Analysis International

Behavior analysts engage in public policy advocacy to improve socially significant behaviors for those they serve. Although formal training in this area is limited, some behavior analysts have realized that international, national, state, and local public policy impacts the way applied behavior analytic (ABA) services are delivered and contributes to the betterment of society more generally. Behavior analysts have addressed policies that affect the provision of behavior analytic services and those related to issues that make the world a better place for all people. Across the world, behavior analysts are meeting with legislators to educate them on behavior analytic solutions to societal problems. Incorporating behavior analytic perspective into policies supports best practices in many areas and can create a more human, reinforcing environment for all. This symposium highlights four contributions to the special section in Behavior Analysis in Practice on Public Policy Advocacy. The presentations cover the history and prevention of school exclusion, the professionalization of behavior analysis and its advocacy challenges, and the promotion of ethical and socially valid ABA services. Additionally, they detail the efforts leading to the establishment of state licensure for behavior analysts, highlighting the importance of advocacy in advancing the field.

In 1968 a group of professionals commissioned a task force to study the issue of children being excluded from school in the city of Boston, Massachusetts (Task Force on Children Out of School, 1968). What they found shocked them; thousands of children were systematically excluded from attending school or accessing meaningful instruction on the basis of cultural differences, physical differences, and mental and behavioral differences. However, despite the advancement of legal protections and improved methods to educate even the most complex students, many coming from behavior analysis, children across the country still face school exclusion for largely the same reasons. Coordinated advocacy is needed urgently to address this issue. This presentation discusses the history of school exclusion, the advancements that should allow us to prevent it, and a description of advocacy efforts behavior analysts should engage in to prevent school exclusion from occurring. Specific topics include: legal protections and precedents for students with disabilities, tools for advocating for individual students, tools for create systems change, and the role of behavior analysis in education.

Many behavior analysts, like professionals in other health-related fields, are not trained to promote themselves, affect public policy, or disseminate information to individuals outside of their field, including to lawmakers. One of the reasons professionals can be experts in their own professions is because they devote their time to advancing their knowledge in their field; thus, they have limited time to spend becoming proficient in public relations, advocacy, and public policy. However, it is precisely these skills that behavior analysts need to hone and utilize effectively if the profession is to be sustainable. This article gives a brief history of the professionalization of behavior analysis, discusses the pitfalls of sometimes only being recognized as a single-disability industry (i.e. autism), explores the behavior of other professions that serve as models for advocacy, and provides recommendations for advocacy at different levels. The intent is to guide the profession and professionals of applied behavior analysis to a sustainable future based on the experiences of leaders of three U.S. state organizations.

In over 30 US states since early this century, behavior analysts have worked for months and years to secure laws to license behavior analysts. At present, very few published accounts exist to document those efforts and to provide models and recommendations for behavior analysts who are interested in advocating for licensure or some form of governmental regulation of behavior analysts. Many are well-prepared in behavior analysis but have little preparation for dealing effectively with the contingencies and procedures involved in making public policies. We provide an account of the extended, complicated efforts by behavior analysts in one state that culminated in establishment of state licensure of behavior analysts. Key activities described here include foundational organizational work by a state behavior analysis organization; preliminary licensure efforts; educating behavior analysts on public policy advocacy; establishing relationships with legislators and their staff as well as government regulatory agency personnel; developing of important alliances with various stakeholders; and review of final successful efforts. Successful efforts and lessons learned are reviewed.