The rapid growth of the behavior analysis profession has created a paradoxical situation: more information about ABA practice is available than ever before, yet the quality, accuracy, and reliability of that information varies enormously. This course, presented by Rebecca Womack, addresses the ethical challenges behavior analysts face when seeking guidance and training, and it confronts the uncomfortable reality that many clinicians are obtaining professional information from sources that may be inaccurate, misleading, or insufficient.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Council of Autism Service Providers
Take This Course →Including ethics, supervision, and topics like this one. New live CEU every Wednesday.
Join Free →Clinicians are seeking guidance and training in dangerous ways. College coursework within various ABAI verified coursework sequences (VCS) vary greatly. There is little to no oversight of supervised fieldwork experiences from employers, VCS programs, or even the BACB resulting in graduates who take and pass the exam with minimal clinical experience. Moreover, 53% of all BCBAs have less than 5 years of experience and 24% of all BCBAs have less than 3 years of experience (BACB, 2024). Yet, 92.5% of all BCBAs are allowed to provide supervision to individuals who are pursuing their certification as there is only one year of experience required to supervise trainees. Given the minimal experience of most clinicians, on-going mentoring and supervision is generally provided by employers. An increasing number of ABA provider agencies are being run by non-BCBA's or brand new BCBA's. Thus, employers may not be able to provide the information clinicians are seeking. Crowdsourcing information (e.g. Facebook groups) has become more common in the field of ABA and clinicians are receiving and disseminating misinformation. Trainings offering continuing education units are being offered via new conferences and platforms with attendees having little experience to assess the validity of the content and qualifications of the presenter. This increases the risk of unethical behaviors, lack of legal compliance, credibility of the field, and poor quality services leading to ineffective outcomes for clients. Solutions to combat misinformation and maintain ethical standards will be discussed.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | Ethics |
| APA | 0 | — |
| COA | 1 | — |
Rebecca has been privileged to serve adults and children using applied behavior analysis (ABA) in settings such as facility-based care, group homes, day centers, clinics, and family homes both across the United States and overseas. In addition to her clinical experience, Rebecca is passionate about ABA service delivery aligning with generally accepted standards of care. With an expertise in applying health care documentation requirements and systems of compliance, she served as the lead author of a chapter on organizational documentation guidelines for ABA services.Rebecca is co-chair of the Documentation Special Interest Group (SIG) for the Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP), a co-leader for the AI/ML Workgroup, an appointed Subject Matter Expert for the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts, and a Member of the Board of Directors for the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). Rebecca also has extensive experience with public policy work. Not only is she an experienced presenter at national conferences, she has also won national awards for her role as an advocate and work to support ABA organizations in delivering quality services. Rebecca formed RAW Consulting Solutions as a way to provide education and consultation services to ABA organizations, professionals, and providers of ABA services. Whatever the role, her ultimate goal is to make a significant impact through effective and efficient services utilizing the science of behavior analysis.
Side-by-side comparison with a clinical decision framework
Research-backed educational guide for behavior analysts
Research-backed answers to common clinical questions
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.