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

Bailey & Burch, 2010a, p. 59

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?

Bailey & Burch, 2010a, p. 60

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

Bailey & Burch, 2010b, p. 59

Ethics Scenario

Bailey & Burch, 2010b, p. 58

• 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)

• 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

Van Houten et al. (1988)

BACBEXAM.

Total Competence

• Means to go beyond passing the BACB exam

• Exam is a test of minimal competence in behavior analysis

Bailey & Burch, 2010a, p. 60

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=100365

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

Bailey & Burch, 2010a, p. 62

Maintaining Competence

Bailey & Burch, 2010b, p. 59

Ethics Scenario

Bailey & Burch, 2010b, p. 60

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?

Bailey & Burch, 2010a, p. 63

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

Bailey & Burch, 2010b, p. 78

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.