Assent-affirming practices represent one of the most significant ethical and clinical developments in contemporary applied behavior analysis. While the concept of informed consent has long been a cornerstone of ethical healthcare practice, the specific attention to assent, the ongoing, moment-to-moment agreement of the individual receiving services, has gained prominence in ABA following its explicit inclusion in the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (2020).
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Join Free →Assent-affirming practices have received increasing attention in the field of applied behavior analysis, particularly following explicit inclusion of assent into the BACB® Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (2020). In a literature review of 23,447 behavior analytic articles, Morris & Peterson (2021) identified only 28 articles with procedural instructions related to acquiring client assent, suggesting that assent-affirming protocols are not prevalent in ABA-based services. Pediatric healthcare and pediatric research offer useful models for practitioner decision-making and initial assent monitoring, and these may inform similar practices in behavior analytic services. Behavior analysts would also benefit from protocols to engage in continuous monitoring of assent and assent withdrawal. In addition to conceptual models and job aides, experimental studies are needed to evaluate the collateral effects of assent-affirming protocols, ensuring behavior analysts are balancing ethical principles of acquiring assent and protecting client rights to effective care. The present talk will provide an overview of proposed decision models for goal selection, job aides for continuous monitoring of assent and assent withdrawal, and initial data related to client response to assent-affirming protocols within the context of ABA-based autism services.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 2 | Ethics |
Kristine leads the clinical development, training, research, and client outcomes initiatives at Autism Learning Partners, as Chief Clinical Officer. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with over 15 years of experience in autism services, holds a master’s degree in exceptional student education from the University of West Florida, and is currently a doctoral student and adjunct professor at Endicott College. She presents at regional and national conferences, focusing on such topics as cultural responsiveness, compassion-focused care, innovations in service delivery, and scaling clinical quality. She has authored peer reviewed articles and book chapters on the topics of compassion-focused care, cultural responsiveness, Acceptance and Commitment Training, and ABA-based services for adults. Kristine has served as an industry collaborator in the work to measure and evaluate quality outcomes in autism services, serving on working groups with Behavioral Health Center of Excellence (BHCOE), International Consortium of Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM), Autism Commission on Quality (ACQ), and co-chairing the client outcomes SIG through Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP). She is passionate about improving access to compassionate, responsive ABA-based services for underserved populations.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
258 research articles with practitioner takeaways
239 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.