A Few Important Lessons on Ethics, ABA & Life, Based on 50 Years in the Field (1.5 CEU’s)

This presentation begins with my personal experiences and growth in the field of applied behavior analysis beginning in the early 70s. We will review what ABA and ABA services were like in the early years, review some ways that ABA and the practice of ABA has evolved in the past 50+ years. One initial focus of this presentation is on the ethics of being competent. We will cover some of the negative repercussions of what is unfortunately too common-that is, poorly developed and poorly implemented behavioral services and we will discuss some ways to improve our skills, knowledge and competencies in ABA. We will discuss other lessons for participants such as recognizing the true value of reinforcement (and why we are so poor at practicing what we preach), the need to stand out and to become fascinating when it comes to ABA, and most importantly, the importance of giving to others.