Destination unknown: A behavior analysis journey into Autism education using Sulzer-Azaroff and Associates’ Applying Behavior Analysis across the Autism Spectrum: A Field Guide for Practitioners

Abstract

Following a workshop I conducted a few months ago, I was asked by an eager group of services agencies and parents, “We have funding, but do you know any good behavior analysts who can provide these services?” It seems to me that question is asked more often these days, which is a good thing—it's nice to be wanted. By many measures, behavior analysis has turned the corner; the demand for behavior analysts is broad, and the resistance to our science is fading. It was not so long ago that behavior analysts struggled to be heard while squelching rumors that behaviorism's wealth of promise had turned bearish. Today, we find ourselves in the public eye at a greater frequency and almost always in a highly favorable spotlight (e.g., see Department of Defense Report and Plan on Services to Military Dependent Children with Autism, 2007). Our services are in great demand, and (would you believe it?) we cannot produce behavior analysts quickly enough to meet the growing needs. An interesting dilemma: How do we maintain our standards for high-quality training of practitioners and resist the temptation to churn out practitioners, perhaps before they receive adequate supervision in the field? A related problem: The specifications and parameters of supervised experience have been delineated (Behavior Analysis Certification Board; BACB) to some extent, but beyond a task list, there is little to no uniformity in how to teach behavior analysis practitioners, especially those outside graduate training and internship programs. In Applying Behavior Analysis Across the Autism Spectrum: A Field Guide for Practitioners (Sulzer-Azaroff & Associates, 2008; hereafter, Field Guide), this dilemma has been addressed head on in a systematic and effective way. This clever and important book will open doors for shaping practitioners in their natural day-to-day settings and will go far to mediate the shortage problem that we currently face. From the lively narrative story that begins each chapter (a metaphor for the behavior analysis journey), to its inconspicuous programmed teaching design, Field Guide carefully escorts the new field practitioner (hereafter, practitioner) into the many challenges encountered in service delivery. Great care has been taken to preserve the fidelity of the science, principles, and practice of behavior analysis. In addition, Field Guide places a strong emphasis on best practices. Topics such as informed consent, literature review, data-based treatment decisions, supervision, practicing within ones competencies, and so on, establish the ethical foundation for the beginning practitioner. And if that is not enough to entice the practitioner to embark on the journey, Field Guide provides nearly every form and worksheet imaginable, thereby alleviating the burden of developing comprehensive formats and allowing the practitioner to get down to the business at hand—analyzing and changing behavior. There are numerous benefits from using Field Guide. Supervisors will immediately discover a cohesive and flexible program to provide guidance to practitioners across a variety of contexts. Practitioners will begin to conduct evidence-based behavior analysis treatment in a manner that defines best practice. Recipients of behavior analytic services will gain from behavior principles that have been applied in the most effective and conscientious way. In the long run, Field Guide can provide a foundation for integrating and establishing behavior analysis as the guide to effective decision-making at many levels. This, at least, was the outcome achieved at our program in which supervisors and practitioners shared in multiple successes including improved staff development techniques and competency-based training, improved academic and social skills, and more precise assessment of reinforcer preferences. The first portion of this review provides an overview of the Field Guide and a selection of the topics contained in each chapter. The second portion of this review is a brief summary of the results of using Field Guide in a practicum seminar conducted this past year at our program in Lafayette, Colorado.