Sleep problems represent one of the most prevalent yet undertrained areas of clinical practice for Board Certified Behavior Analysts. Prevalence data indicate that roughly half of all children experience sleep difficulties at some point during childhood, with rates climbing dramatically among children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, where estimates reach as high as 80 percent.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Stone Soup
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Join Free →With as many as 50% of children experiencing sleep problems at some point during childhood (Center for Disease Control, 2022) and up to 80% of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder experiencing sleep problems (e.g., Furfaro, 2020 and Reynolds, 2019), many Board Certified Behavior Analysts find themselves treating behavioral sleep problems within the scope of Applied Behavior Analysis programming. However, Behavior Analysts do not receive training in the variables impacting healthy sleep such as average sleep needs by age, setting events which delay sleep onset and manipulate the reinforcing value of sleep, or sleep dependencies which contribute to pervasive night awakenings. In the absence of formal training on sleep and sleep-related variables during behavior analytical coursework, ethical barriers may arise. This Continuing Education event aims to unveil the potential for questionable ethical behavior when developing sleep plans for families. Additionally, this event will provide preliminary information about sleep which attendees will be able to use immediately to better evaluate sleep problems and create sleep plans guided by the ethical considerations outlined in the content.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1.5 | Ethics |
| COA | 1.5 | — |
| IBAO | 1.5 | Ethics |
| CPBAO | 1.5 | Ethics |
Emily Varon is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with a dedicated focus on sleep-related behaviors. She has worked in the field of behavior analysis since 2000 and has devoted her practice to improving the sleep habits of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder since 2010. Emily takes the complicated issue of pervasive sleep problems and helps behavior analysts develop appropriate and ethical behavior plans for improving the quality of sleep for consumers and their caregivers. Her focus on sustainability of sleep habits versus “good” or “bad” habits offers families and clinicians a broader, long-view perspective of sleep, resulting in more sustainable results over time. By combining the science of behavior analysis with the science of sleep, Emily has curated our field’s first sleep certification program, The Sleep Collective, designed specifically for Behavior Analysts to become fluent in the assessment and treatment of problematic sleep at any age. Emily resides in Irvine, California with her husband and two teens. Improving the quality of life for persons with Autism, and their families, has been a passion of hers for over 20 years.
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.