Bias operates within every professional relationship and clinical decision a behavior analyst makes. Most of the time, it operates invisibly, embedded in learning histories that practitioners have never been taught to examine.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Vermont Association for Behavior Analysis
Take This Course →Including ethics, supervision, and topics like this one. New live CEU every Wednesday.
Join Free →According to the BACB Ethics Codes (BACB, 2020), professionals in behavior analytic roles are to demonstrate non-discrimination and awareness of any personal biases. This is difficult if professionals are unaware of these biases and have not been taught outside of their own learning histories. During this presentation, the representatives of NeurABA (Neurodivergent Association of Behavior Analysts) will walk participants through understanding the ethics behind identifying and addressing biases toward others, learn more about the different types of biases that could occur as part of our learning histories, learn about ableism and sanism and how those are shaped within systemic, oppressive structures, and engage in some participation activities and steps to help alleviate discomfort in this area of professionalism.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1.5 | Ethics |
| COA | 1.5 | — |
Robin Arnall, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA, is a neurodivergent (autism, ADHD, AvPD) behavior analyst, educator, and researcher with over 15 years of experience in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Beginning her career as an autism specialist and direct service provider, Dr. Arnall has worked across the lifespan—serving individuals from toddlerhood through late adulthood—and across a broad range of diagnoses, including autism, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and more.Her applied work spans diverse settings, from specialized schools and clinics to community programs, residential facilities, vocational sites, and home-based services. In academia, Dr. Arnall has taught for several behavior analysis programs at the graduate and doctoral levels, where she emphasizes compassionate, socially valid, and reform-driven practice. Her research spans TAGteach, sports performance, stimulus equivalence, visual impairment, political behavior, ableism, social justice, and reimagining the future of ABA. She regularly presents at regional and national conferences and serves on multiple research and student-support committees.Dr. Arnall is the co-author (with friend Alexandra Elfers) of Empowering Autonomy: The Autistic Skills Assessment Protocol (ASAP)—the first known autistic-authored skills assessment protocol in behavior analysis. She is also the cofounder of NeurABA (an organization for affirming practices in ABA led by neurodivergent BCBAs) and serves on the board for the Arkansas Association for Behavior Analysis (ArkABA).
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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.