The BACB Task List defines the technical competencies required for certification, but independent practice requires a broader repertoire. BCBAs who emerge from fieldwork with strong technical knowledge but underdeveloped communication, critical thinking, professional writing, and feedback reception skills will struggle in ways that their Task List preparation did not anticipate.
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Join Free →For the most part, supervision has primarily focused on teaching items from the task list. However, as supervisors, we often receive feedback regarding "soft skills" (known as common skills or core skills, including critical thinking, problem solving, public speaking, professional writing, teamwork, leadership, professional attitude, work ethic, career management and cultural competency, among others) that supervisees are lacking. Additionally, supervisors are often at a loss regarding how to systematically fade their supervisory support. Until now, there has not been a sequential means for supervisors to accomplish this, leaving students ready to pass the exam, and ready to work as a BCBA. This paper will highlight a competency-based approach to guiding and measuring soft skills. This includes how to systematically supervise, manage cases, build skills to demonstrate professionalism, as well as how to fade supervision ethically; thus ensuring supervisees demonstrate competency, readiness, and independence.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1.5 | Supervision |
Dr. Yulema Cruz is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral with over 23 years of experience in the field specializing in skill acquisition and behavior reduction programming, as well as the supervision of behavior technicians and trainees. Dr. Cruz received a Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) from Nova Southeastern University. Her academic interests include ethics and supervision in ABA. Dr. Cruz served as the president of the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis from 2019-2021, as well as an assistant teaching professor at Rutgers University and the Practicum Coordinator for the Department of Applied Psychology from 2021-2024. Presently, she is an Adjunct Faculty at Ouachita Baptist University and Monty Behavior Consultant’s founder. As an ABA consultant and supervisor, Dr. Cruz works in the development of supervision systems, and the dissemination of ABA to other countries and languages. In fact, Dr. Cruz taught courses in Spanish as an adjunct for UNIBE, in the Dominican Republic. Dr. Cruz co-authored The ABA Supervision Handbook: A Guide to Quality Fieldwork Experience, first and second editions, as well as The Consulting Supervisor Handbook: Helping Newly Certified BCBAs Navigate Supervision. As part of the international www.ABAEthicshotline.com, Dr. Cruz has provided ethical advice in the area of supervision since 2018. She is also a public speaker who has presented at over 40 venues worldwide including South America and Europe.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
280 research articles with practitioner takeaways
256 research articles with practitioner takeaways
200 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.