Advancing a Research Agenda for Trauma-informed Care in Behavior Analysis

Austin (2025) maps out a research plan. The paper asks: how can we test trauma-informed care inside ABA?

It lists the questions we still need to answer. No new data are shown. The goal is to guide future experiments.

The author finds a big gap. We have trauma ideas, but almost no ABA studies that measure them.

The paper gives a step-by-step list. It tells researchers which variables to track and how to design fair tests.

Rajaraman et al. (2022) came first. That paper said ABA should use trauma care. Austin (2025) now says, “Prove it with data.”

Symons et al. (2005) reviewed early behavioral trauma work. Austin builds on it by asking for ABA-specific trials.

Allen et al. (2024) push for neurodiversity and assent. Austin echoes the same respect themes, but shifts the lens to trauma history.

Flowers et al. (2023) spell out how to gain therapeutic assent. Austin’s agenda could fold those steps into trauma studies.

You can start today. Pick one trauma-informed step, such as giving a clear warning before physical prompts. Track client stress signals and cooperation. Share the data with your team. Over time, these small logs become the evidence base Austin is calling for.