These answers draw in part from “Workshop: Say what?: Assessing the social validity, needs and incorporation of multiple communication forms in culturally competent practice” by Kiah Bouie, BCBA (BehaviorLive), and extend it with peer-reviewed research from our library of 27,900+ ABA research articles. Clinical framing, BACB ethics code references, and cross-links below are synthesized by Behaviorist Book Club.
View the original presentation →BCBAs serve increasingly diverse populations whose communication occurs through a wide range of modalities including vocal speech in various languages and dialects, sign language, augmentative and alternative communication devices, and non-verbal communication patterns that vary across cultures. Understanding these modalities is essential for accurate assessment, culturally responsive goal selection, effective intervention design, and meaningful outcome measurement. Practitioners who default to a single communication modality or standard risk imposing culturally inappropriate goals, missing existing communication strengths, and designing interventions that are not functional in the client's daily life. The BACB Ethics Code (2022) requires cultural sensitivity and effective individualized treatment, both of which depend on understanding the communication diversity of the populations we serve.
African American Vernacular English is a legitimate, rule-governed linguistic system spoken by many African American communities across the United States. It has a distinct grammar, phonology, and pragmatic system that children acquire naturally in AAVE-speaking homes and communities. For ABA practice, AAVE matters because practitioners who are unfamiliar with it may incorrectly identify AAVE features as language errors or delays, target AAVE features for correction in clinical programs, or fail to understand client communication that uses AAVE grammar and vocabulary. These mistakes can lead to inaccurate assessment, culturally inappropriate goals, and damaged therapeutic relationships. Recognizing AAVE as a valid linguistic system is essential for culturally competent practice with African American clients and families.
Communication assessment for AAC users should evaluate the client's current communication across all modalities, not just their AAC device use. Assess what the client communicates, how they communicate it, with whom, and in what contexts. Evaluate the match between the client's current AAC system and their communication needs, including whether the system supports the full range of communicative functions including requesting, commenting, protesting, and social interaction. Assess communication partner responsiveness and competence with the AAC system. Consider whether the AAC system is culturally appropriate and includes vocabulary relevant to the client's life and community. Collaborate with speech-language pathologists who have AAC expertise to ensure a comprehensive evaluation. Use the assessment findings to develop goals that expand the client's functional communication across all relevant contexts and partners.
Black American Sign Language is a dialect of American Sign Language that developed within the Black deaf community, largely due to the historical segregation of deaf education. BASL has distinct features including differences in sign production, larger signing space, more frequent use of two-handed signs, different mouth movements, and distinct vocabulary items. Like AAVE in relation to Standard American English, BASL is a legitimate linguistic variation, not a deficient form of ASL. Behavior analysts working with Black deaf clients should be aware that BASL exists, that it carries cultural significance for its users, and that communication assessment and intervention should respect and incorporate the client's natural dialect rather than defaulting to mainstream ASL norms.
Self-assessment should examine several domains. Evaluate your knowledge of AAC systems including assessment, selection, and implementation. Rate your sign language skills from no knowledge through basic conversational ability. Assess your understanding of AAVE grammar and pragmatics and your ability to distinguish AAVE features from true language errors. Consider your competence in interpreting non-verbal communication across cultural contexts. Evaluate your experience working with interpreters and cultural brokers. Identify any biases you hold about what constitutes correct or superior communication. Seek feedback from colleagues, families, and community members from diverse backgrounds about your communication responsiveness. Use this self-assessment to develop a targeted professional development plan that addresses your specific gaps.
Social validity in communication intervention means that the communication goals selected are meaningful to the client and their family, that the intervention methods are acceptable and feasible within the client's daily life, and that the outcomes achieved make a real difference in the client's ability to participate in their community. A communication intervention that teaches a client to produce Standard American English sentences but alienates them from their AAVE-speaking peer group fails the social validity test. An intervention that targets vocal speech when the client communicates more effectively through AAC may not be socially valid. Assessing social validity requires genuine collaboration with clients and families, ongoing evaluation of whether communication outcomes are being used and valued in natural settings, and willingness to modify goals and methods based on social validity feedback.
Code-switching, the ability to shift between communication styles depending on the context, is a more culturally responsive and functionally useful goal than dialect correction. Rather than teaching a client that their home dialect is wrong, a code-switching approach helps them add communication repertoires while maintaining their existing linguistic strengths. This approach respects the client's cultural identity and community connections while building skills that may be useful in academic, professional, or other formal contexts. When considering code-switching goals, consult with the family about their priorities and ensure that the approach is framed as adding skills rather than fixing deficits. Any code-switching instruction should be developmentally appropriate and should not be introduced in ways that create negative associations with the client's home communication style.
Effective collaboration starts with mutual respect for each profession's expertise. Speech-language pathologists bring specialized knowledge in communication development, disorders, AAC systems, and linguistic diversity. Behavior analysts bring expertise in functional analysis, reinforcement-based teaching, data collection, and behavior change procedures. Collaborative communication assessment should combine SLP expertise in evaluating communication modalities, language structure, and AAC needs with behavior analyst expertise in assessing the functional properties of communication including the conditions under which communication occurs, the consequences that maintain it, and the motivating operations that affect it. Regular communication between the SLP and behavior analyst ensures that intervention strategies are coordinated and that progress is evaluated from both perspectives.
The risks include inaccurate assessment that misidentifies dialect features or cultural communication patterns as deficits. Culturally inappropriate goals that attempt to replace the client's natural communication style rather than building on it. Interventions that are not functional because they teach communication in a modality or style that is not used in the client's daily environment. Damaged therapeutic relationships when families feel their language and culture are not respected. Reduced treatment effectiveness because communication between practitioner and client is compromised by the practitioner's limited understanding of the client's communication style. Violation of ethical obligations related to cultural sensitivity, effective treatment, and scope of competence. And missed opportunities to build on the client's existing communication strengths.
Non-verbal communication assessment should include systematic observation of the client's use of gesture, facial expression, body language, proximity, eye contact patterns, and vocalization patterns across settings and communication partners. Importantly, these observations must be interpreted within the client's cultural context, as non-verbal communication norms vary significantly across cultures. What constitutes appropriate eye contact, personal space, gestural expression, and emotional display differs across cultural communities. Gather information from the family about cultural norms for non-verbal communication and use this context to inform your assessment. Include non-verbal communication competence as an assessment domain alongside verbal and other modalities to get a complete picture of the client's communication profile. Build non-verbal communication support into intervention plans where appropriate.
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Workshop: Say what?: Assessing the social validity, needs and incorporation of multiple communication forms in culturally competent practice — Kiah Bouie · 3 BACB Ethics CEUs · $80
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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.