Acting with Purpose: Using Drama and Transdisciplinary Collaboration to Promote Voice, Choice, and Self-Advocacy matters because it changes what a BCBA notices when decisions have to hold up in joint consultation, shared care planning, school-team communication, and interdisciplinary handoffs. In Acting with Purpose: Using Drama and Transdisciplinary Collaboration to Promote Voice, Choice, and Self-Advocacy, for this course, the practical stakes show up in clearer roles, fewer duplicated efforts, and better coordinated intervention, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via New York State Association for Behavior Analysis
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Join Free →As the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) continues to evolve toward more compassionate, person-centered approaches, integrating transdisciplinary collaboration and evidence-based practices that yield socially significant outcomes is essential. Theater-based interventions, in particular, show promise as a meaningful avenue for enhancing verbal behavior, self-advocacy, social interaction, and self-regulation skills in secondary-aged autistic individuals (Corbett et al., 2014, 2016). It is especially important that interventions are both grounded in empirical evidence and delivered in natural, community-based contexts as students approach the transition to adult services, particularly for students who require very substantial supports throughout the school day. Drama-based activities not only provide opportunities to expand leisure interests and foster group participation but also promote skill adduction across multiple repertoires, including prosody, social communication, and self-regulation. Furthermore, drama offers a platform for more creative and flexible applications of ABA—approaches that move beyond traditional discrete-trial models and address critiques of the field—while supporting the development of critical life skills such as social competence and self-advocacy. This paper will present a model for increasing the verbal behavior, self-advocacy, and self-regulation skills of autistic secondary aged students through a drama elective. Data are presented as a multiple probe across participants design from the 15-week elective.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | General |
| COA | 1 | — |
Dr. Amy Davies Lackey earned her Ph.D. in Special Education and Applied Behavior Analysis from Columbia University Teachers College. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Licensed Behavior Analyst, certified special educator and school administrator with expertise in educating individuals with autism and supporting their families. A recipient of the Nelle Taylor Award in Special Education, Dr. Davies Lackey has spent the past 29 years teaching and in varied roles in diverse settings, including general education, special education, special education for incarcerated juveniles, mainstream classrooms, parent education, special education administration, and transdisciplinary settings. Her research, presented at numerous conferences, focuses on observational learning, Direct Instruction, special education leadership, teacher training, and parent education for students with autism and related disabilities. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Education at Manhattan Children's Center, is a member of the editorial board for The Journal of Special Education Research, Policy & Practice, and holds an At-Large seat on the Board of Directors for the New York State Association for Behavior Analysis. Additionally, she provides behavioral consultation to organizations and families.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
280 research articles with practitioner takeaways
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
258 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.