For the Love of this Field: Advocating and Collaborating with a United Purpose
Put a voting parent on your state ABA board—New York proves it turns family stories into insurance mandates and licensure laws.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Rogers et al. (2025) tell the story of New York's state ABA board. The board added one voting seat for a parent of a child with autism. The paper tracks what happened next.
The authors describe how the parent joined meetings, spoke to lawmakers, and shared real-life stories. These actions helped pass two big wins: an insurance mandate and state licensure for behavior analysts.
What they found
The parent voice changed the conversation. Lawmakers heard how families struggle to pay for ABA. They voted yes on coverage and licensure bills.
The board now keeps a consumer seat at every meeting. Policy wins keep coming because the parent stays at the table.
How this fits with other research
Perkoski et al. (2024) extend the idea. A Brazilian psychology group rewrote its bylaws to add social-justice rules and caregiver policies. Both papers show: put consumers in power and policy moves.
Kornack et al. (2017) and Papatola et al. (2016) gave clinicians scripts to win single insurance cases. Rogers et al. move upstream: change the law so every case is covered.
Coop et al. (2025) and Evanko et al. (2025) appear the same year urging every BCBA to advocate. Rogers shows one concrete way—add a voting parent to your state board.
Why it matters
You can copy the NYSABA model. Ask your state ABA board to add a voting consumer seat. Bring data on family costs and stories of denied hours. One parent with power can turn stories into law.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The New York State Association for Behavior Analysis (NYSABA) is a state chapter of the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) and an affiliate chapter of the Association for Professional Behavior Analysts (APBA). From early in the history of the organization, NYSABA leadership has included a consumer representative position on the Board of Directors. Historically filled by a parent of an individual receiving applied behavior analysis (ABA) services, this position has proven invaluable to the organization. As described in this article, the consumer representative has not only allowed for important dialogue among individuals we support and professionals but has also had a major impact on public policy around the practice of behavior analysis in this state. NYSABA has worked closely with consumer representation to expand organizational knowledge and to obtain support for efforts related to insurance coverage for behavior analysis services and licensure for behavior analysts. A discussion of these efforts and the impact of this relationship is presented, along with specific action steps that are recommended for any organization seeking to include consumer voices in their leadership.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2025 · doi:10.1007/s40617-023-00894-x