total competence in applied behavior analysis and in your specialty casey nottingham caldwell...

Total Competence in Applied Behavior Analysis and in Your

Specialty

Casey Nottingham

Caldwell College

Sources• Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). 25 essential skills &

strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY: Routledge.

• Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010). Ethics for behavior analysts (2nd Expanded Edition). New York,

NY: Routledge.

• ABAI website

• APBA website

• BABAT website

• Van Houten et al. (1988)

• Carr & Briggs (2010)

Presentation Outline

• Why problems arise

• Guidelines for Responsible Conduct

• Van Houten et al. (1988)

• Competence in behavior analysis

• Competence in your specialty

• Questions

Behavior Analysis: A Robust Field

• Offers services to many various consumers– Infants and senior citizens– Individuals with disabilities– Athletes– CEOs

• Experience with clients outside of the developmental disabilities specialty?

Bailey & Burch, 2010a, p. 59

Special Interest Groups• Association for Behavior Analysis International

(ABAI) special interest groups (SIGs) include:– Applied animal behavior– Autism– Behavior analysis in military and veterans’ issues– Crime, delinquency, and forensic behavior analysis– Gambling

http://www.abainternational.org/constituents/special-interests/special-interest-groups.aspx



Behavior Analysis

• Positive impact for many consumers– Research-based practices– Effective technologies

• However, there may be times when we are ineffective– Incompetent personnel


Competence as a Behavior Analyst

• Problems result when behavior analysts take on cases without considering their training history

• Should not take on cases simply because they are available, pay well, in a convenient location, etc.– Are you qualified?


What is Competence?

• Hard to know when one is competent

• You must only practice in areas where you have had formal training

• If you must practice outside your area of training, you must seek training in the new area

Bailey & Burch (2010b)

• Outline Guidelines for Responsible Conduct

• Address multiple guidelines that deal with competence

Guidelines for Responsible Conduct

Bailey & Burch, 2010b, p. 58

Guidelines for Responsible Conduct


Ethics Scenario


• Van Houten et al. (1988)• Provided a list of client rights to guide the

appropriate use of behavior analysis• Individual has a right to:

– Therapeutic environment

– Services whose goal is personal welfare

– Treatment by a competent behavior analyst*

– Programs that teach functional skills

– Behavioral assessment/ongoing evaluation

– The most effective treatment procedures

Van Houten et al. (1988)

• Van Houten and colleagues (1988) suggest competent behavior analysts possess:– Appropriate education AND experience– Knowledge of behavioral principles– Knowledge of assessment and treatment– Knowledge of research methodology– Professional ethics– Practicum training and supervision– Experience with relevant client population


• Van Houten et al. (1988) also recommend doctoral-level behavior analysts for complex cases

• Competent doctoral-level behavior analysts also possess:– Expertise in subtle details of assessment and

treatment

– Training skills to ensure the competence of those delivering services

– Responsibility for consulting and following-up services in complex cases


BACBEXAM.

Total Competence

• Means to go beyond passing the BACB exam

• Exam is a test of minimal competence in behavior analysis


How to Be Competent in Behavior Analysis

• Read

• Continuing education opportunities

• Books

• ABAI conference and other conferences

• Regular dialogues with colleagues

• Professional journals

• Workshops

Bailey & Burch, 2010a, pp. 60-62

Keeping Up with Current Literature

• Contacting the most recently published literature = stay competent in behavior analysis

• Carr & Briggs (2010) provide strategies for making contact with the most recent literature

Carr & Briggs (2010)• PsycINFO subscription

– Expensive– Organizational subscription

• Create a list of commonly access journals– Subscribe to these– Free journals– Online journals

• Alma mater library• Google Scholar• Self-management procedures

Continuing Education

• February, 2013 – BACB Newsletter– 32 CE credits per 2-year recertification cycle

for BCBAs/BCBA-Ds; 20 for BCaBAs

• http://www.bacb.com/index.php?page=100438– CE providers/events

http://www.bacb.com/index.php?page=100438


Conference Attendance

• ABAI– 40th Annual Convention– May 23 – 27, 2014 in Chicago

• APBA– 4th Annual APBA Convention– March 27 – 29, 2014 in New Orleans

• BABAT– 34th Annual BABAT Conference– October 17 – 18, 2013 in Amherst

Workshops

• Workshops in your specialty or in new areas

• Caldwell College upcoming workshops– Student prices– CE credits– Networking opportunity

Total Competence in Your Specialty

• Define your area of expertise– Let’s try!

• Consider courses taken and (supervised) practicum experiences you have had

• Subscribe to specialty journals– E.g., TAVB

• Accrue years of experience working in a specific area in various settings


Maintaining Competence


Ethics Scenario


Are You Competent in Your Specialty?• Read current research in best journal on topic?

• Own books on the topic? Read them?

• Attended workshops on the topic in the past year?

• Personally trained by a qualified BCBA?

• Identify experts on this topic? Contact them?

• Colleagues consult you on this topic?

• Given state or national presentations on the topic?


Declining Cases

• Based on client’s best interest

• When?– Behavior problem exceeds your expertise– You have not had training on an issue

• How?– With client’s full knowledge– Refer to a qualified provider– Consult with other professionals


Maintaining Your Competence

• Monitor your practice!– If something is unethical or ineffective, change

it– Have others review your practice and your

collected data

Summary• Competence is needed:

– In behavior analysis, in general– In your specialty– In terms of the population of clients– In research and research methodology– In training and supervising– In teaching

• If you do not feel competent:– Seek out a mentor in the area or further training– Refer the case– Decline the case

Professional Liability Insurance

http://www.apbahome.net/liability_insurance.php

• Even for competent practitioners, things may go wrong

• APBA member discount



ReferencesAssociation for Behavior Analysis International. (2013). Special

interests. Retrieved from http://www.abainternational.org/constituents/special-interests.aspx

Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010a). 25 essential skills & strategies for the professional behavior analyst. New York, NY:

Routledge.

Bailey, J., & Burch, M. (2010b). Ethics for behavior analysts (2nd Expanded Edition). New York, NY: Routledge.

Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2013). BACB newsletter – Special edition on new standards. Retrieved from http://www.bacb.com/newsletter/BACB_Newsletter_2-13.pdf

ReferencesBehavior Analyst Certification Board. (n.d.). Maintaining

Certification. Retrieved from http://www.bacb.com/index.php?page=100365

The Berkshire Association for Behavior Analysis and Therapy. (n.d.). The 34th annual BABAT conference. Retrieved from http://www.babat.org/conference/conference2013.html

Carr, J. E., & Briggs, A. M. (2010). Strategies for making regular contact with the scholarly literature. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 3, 13-18.

Van Houten, R., Axelrod, S., Bailey, J. S., Favell, J. E., Foxx, R. M., Iwata, B. A., & Lovaas, O. I. (1988). The right to

effective behavioral treatment. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 21, 381-384.

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