Interdisciplinary collaboration between Board Certified Behavior Analysts and occupational therapists represents one of the most common and consequential professional partnerships in autism services. Both disciplines bring distinct expertise to the table, yet their philosophical foundations, terminology, and treatment approaches often diverge in ways that create friction if not proactively managed.
Provider: BehaviorLive
Take This Course →Including ethics, supervision, and topics like this one. New live CEU every Wednesday.
Join Free →In interdisciplinary settings, BCBAs frequently collaborate with professionals from other disciplines, including occupational therapists (OTs), to support autistic individuals. While these collaborations offer opportunities for comprehensive care, they also present challenges due to differing scopes of practice, philosophical foundations, and treatment approaches. This CEU event explores strategies for fostering effective, ethical, and respectful collaboration between BCBAs and OTs. Drawing from Brodhead's (2015) decision-making model for navigating nonbehavioral treatment recommendations and LaFrance et al.'s (2019) comparative analysis of professional scopes and training, participants will learn to: Understand the unique contributions and expertise of occupational therapists.Translate nonbehavioral treatment recommendations into behavior-analytic principles.Evaluate the impact of proposed treatments on client safety and goals.Maintain professional relationships while advocating for evidence-based practices. Through case studies, guided discussions, and practical tools such as the Checklist for Analyzing Proposed Treatments (CAPT), attendees will gain actionable skills to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration and improve client outcomes.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | Ethics |
Jessica received her Master's in Applied Behavior Analysis from Michigan State University and became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in 2018. She supervised clinic based ABA services in Michigan for 3 years prior to starting her PhD where her research focused on toilet training and generative learning strategies for autistic preschoolers. Jessica received her Doctorate of Philosophy in Disability Disciplines with a focus in Applied Behavior Analysis from Utah State University in 2025. Jessica currently oversees Primary Children's Hospital's inaugural Early Intervention ABA clinic in Riverton, UT; and provides independent consulting through Copper Consulting Group, LLC to graduate students, ABA companies, and families seeking ABA services related to toilet training, quality monitoring, systems level change, organizational behavior management, and graduate student supervision/practicum.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
244 research articles with practitioner takeaways
225 research articles with practitioner takeaways
You earn CEUs from a dozen different places. Upload any certificate — from here, your employer, conferences, wherever — and always know exactly where you stand. Learning, Ethics, Supervision, all handled.
No credit card required. Cancel anytime.
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.