Coming to ABA thru the gateway of dog training, it was a real eye opener to find out so many people had bad feelings about even the acronym without knowing what it meant because of its colored history with developmentally challenged kids— I’ve talked to dog trainers who use ABA but would never call it ABA for this reason. I know that this isn’t what this post is really about but felt worth mentioning. I can say that, while, like you, I believe it has an important place in the world of autism AND should be more woven into lives outside of the special ed world, I also think that its early history in that particular field led to bad PR that still impacts the way people outside this world have — people who don’t know what the science of behavior is, or who think it’s a pseudo science! If only it were taught in grade schools alongside of biology … Anyway, thanks for this essay. I got a lot out of it.
Well said. Hopefully we will learn from the successes in autism and in insinuating PBS into public schools, and create other stable niches for behavior analysis so the field does not become one dimensional.
I don't dispute any particular point, but the quiet part that should be said out loud concerns, "If you build it, they will come." Mechanisms were created that enable lots and lots of behavior analysts to get paid for doing autism. Similar mechanisms have not been created in other domains where behavior analysis has, at times, flexed its conceptual and practical muscles. Until that changes, I don't see how any self-respecting determinist can be upset because contingencies work. One scary wrinkle: What if the autism gravy train stops running before alternative support structures arise? Various entities are asking hard questions about all of the money being spent on ABA for autism. If you think the world is scary with tons of behavior analysts being handsomely rewarded for working in autism, imagine a world where a bunch of those people become unemployed. I suspect you'll see some odd and questionable behaviors arise as a burgeoning worker pool fights over a shrinking supply of reimbursement.
I agree, and I tried to at least allude to that possible outcome in the article. That is why I stir the pot more than cook dinner. I don't know what the solutions are. If this lever goes on extinction, we will certainly see a lot of other levers pressed. Some might pay off in a good way, others, as you point out, not so much.
It is not so much that we need less autism service delivery, we need much more of everything else.
Excellent read. "Behaviorist Analyticus," enjoyed that and "the Complex..." Agree on all points, even the one about those in leadership positions. Putting one's literal money where their mouth is -- refusing to participate in the Complex, or opting out at as many choice points as possible-- is isolating and requires a shift in one's reinforcers, speaking from personal experience.
I am not suggesting anyone should refuse to participate. It is a noble enterprise. As I said to Tom (above), it is not so much that we need less autism service delivery, we need much more of everything else.
Right, I was not saying you did. I praised the article and added, from personal experience, that not participating in the Complex is difficult and results in big shifts in reinforcers (e.g., social SR+ from other BAs). Sure, a noble enterprise, but many of us find some of the contingencies of practice to be an MO for seeking alternative applications. Yes, BA in ASD is a good thing, but I was getting at how the contingences of the Complex make some of us want to opt out and that is difficult to do. This was not a firebomb, it was an agreement.
Thank you for writing this. This got me thinking a lot about funding. I’ve seen American ABA influence ABA in other parts of the world. I’m hopeful that ABA processes in other parts of the world will eventually influence ABA here and can maybe impact the field positively that way, particularly as it comes to reimbursement for services and not being so cornered by insurance companies.
Coming to ABA thru the gateway of dog training, it was a real eye opener to find out so many people had bad feelings about even the acronym without knowing what it meant because of its colored history with developmentally challenged kids— I’ve talked to dog trainers who use ABA but would never call it ABA for this reason. I know that this isn’t what this post is really about but felt worth mentioning. I can say that, while, like you, I believe it has an important place in the world of autism AND should be more woven into lives outside of the special ed world, I also think that its early history in that particular field led to bad PR that still impacts the way people outside this world have — people who don’t know what the science of behavior is, or who think it’s a pseudo science! If only it were taught in grade schools alongside of biology … Anyway, thanks for this essay. I got a lot out of it.
Well said. Hopefully we will learn from the successes in autism and in insinuating PBS into public schools, and create other stable niches for behavior analysis so the field does not become one dimensional.
You have said out loud what many of us think. It needed to be said. Let the flame-throwing begin!
I don't dispute any particular point, but the quiet part that should be said out loud concerns, "If you build it, they will come." Mechanisms were created that enable lots and lots of behavior analysts to get paid for doing autism. Similar mechanisms have not been created in other domains where behavior analysis has, at times, flexed its conceptual and practical muscles. Until that changes, I don't see how any self-respecting determinist can be upset because contingencies work. One scary wrinkle: What if the autism gravy train stops running before alternative support structures arise? Various entities are asking hard questions about all of the money being spent on ABA for autism. If you think the world is scary with tons of behavior analysts being handsomely rewarded for working in autism, imagine a world where a bunch of those people become unemployed. I suspect you'll see some odd and questionable behaviors arise as a burgeoning worker pool fights over a shrinking supply of reimbursement.
I agree, and I tried to at least allude to that possible outcome in the article. That is why I stir the pot more than cook dinner. I don't know what the solutions are. If this lever goes on extinction, we will certainly see a lot of other levers pressed. Some might pay off in a good way, others, as you point out, not so much.
It is not so much that we need less autism service delivery, we need much more of everything else.
Excellent read. "Behaviorist Analyticus," enjoyed that and "the Complex..." Agree on all points, even the one about those in leadership positions. Putting one's literal money where their mouth is -- refusing to participate in the Complex, or opting out at as many choice points as possible-- is isolating and requires a shift in one's reinforcers, speaking from personal experience.
I am not suggesting anyone should refuse to participate. It is a noble enterprise. As I said to Tom (above), it is not so much that we need less autism service delivery, we need much more of everything else.
Right, I was not saying you did. I praised the article and added, from personal experience, that not participating in the Complex is difficult and results in big shifts in reinforcers (e.g., social SR+ from other BAs). Sure, a noble enterprise, but many of us find some of the contingencies of practice to be an MO for seeking alternative applications. Yes, BA in ASD is a good thing, but I was getting at how the contingences of the Complex make some of us want to opt out and that is difficult to do. This was not a firebomb, it was an agreement.
Excellent points and very well written, Dr. Normand!
Thank you for writing this. This got me thinking a lot about funding. I’ve seen American ABA influence ABA in other parts of the world. I’m hopeful that ABA processes in other parts of the world will eventually influence ABA here and can maybe impact the field positively that way, particularly as it comes to reimbursement for services and not being so cornered by insurance companies.