Participant assent in behavior analytic research: Considerations for participants with autism and developmental disabilities
Behavior analysts rarely report assent from nonverbal participants—plug the ready-made assent script into your next study.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Morris et al. (2021) read every behavior-analytic paper they could find. They hunted for any mention of assent from kids and adults with autism or developmental disabilities.
The team compared what they found against ethics codes. Then they built a simple step-by-step assent model for nonverbal or minimally verbal participants.
What they found
Almost no studies said how they got assent. Researchers asked parents for consent, but skipped checking if the child agreed.
When assent was mentioned, it was just a vague line. No detail on how the person showed yes or no.
How this fits with other research
Kaufman et al. (2010) saw the same gap. Their older review showed wide participation rates in ID research, but also little focus on the participant’s own agreement. Morris updates that picture by giving you a ready-to-use assent script.
Stewart et al. (2018) found that aided AAC modeling helps nonspeaking kids express themselves. Morris’s assent model lines up perfectly: use those same AAC tools to let participants say yes or no.
Van Gaasbeek et al. (2026) argues we should study assisted typing for nonspeaking autistics. Morris gives the ethical frame: secure assent first, then teach the method.
Why it matters
Your IRB will ask how nonverbal clients agree to join your study. Copy the Morris model into your protocol. It tells you to offer a clear choice, watch for refusal behaviors, and stop if the person turns away or pushes materials aside. That single paragraph can save you a revision and keeps your research ethically clean.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Obtaining assent from potential research participants is an important component of research for reasons related to ethics compliance, self-determination, and choice. However, unique issues arise when working with populations who cannot assent through traditional means, such as individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and related developmental disabilities (DD). The purpose of this paper is to review and discuss assent practices within behavior-analytic research to identify strategies that can be used to obtain assent from potential participants with ASD and DDs. We began with a descriptive literature review of behavior-analytic articles that included the term "assent" to identify what practices behavior analysts have used to obtain assent from participants. In short, very few articles that clearly addressed assent procedures were identified. Thus, we propose a model for gaining assent when working with individuals with ASD and DDs.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2021 · doi:10.1002/jaba.859