The Ethics of Actually Helping People: Targeting Skill Acquisition Goals That Promote Meaningful Outcomes for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Bahry et al. (2023) wrote a position paper. They asked one question: are we writing goals that truly help adults with autism thrive?

The authors reviewed ethics codes. They linked "do no harm" to picking skills that matter after school ends. No new data were collected; the piece is a call to action for every BCBA.

The paper finds an ethical gap. Many goals teach short-term compliance or isolated splinter skills. These rarely map to adult needs like keeping a job, paying rent, or forming friendships.

The writers give a simple rule: if the skill won’t matter at age 30, question why it is in the plan.

Peters et al. (2018) agree on social goals. Their review shows stand-alone perspective-taking drills fail; teach useful social actions instead.

Orum Çattık et al. (2026) show the idea works. Teens who picked their own daily-living targets via SDLMI kept the skills and felt more independent.

Hong et al. (2015) supply the evidence base. They confirm video modeling is a solid way to teach those same daily-living skills.

Goldfarb et al. (2019) extend the ethic to jobs. Matching hobbies to work is not enough; adults also need autonomy, competence, and real workplace supports.

Next time you write goals, run the "30-year test." Swap rote labels or compliance drills for skills like doing laundry, asking a coworker for help, or using a bus card. These targets build the independence, employment, and social ties the ethics code demands. Start with student choice, use evidence-based tactics like video modeling or work systems, and collect social-validity checks from the learner and future caregivers.