Prof Karola Dillenburger is presenting an invited address at the Polish Institute for Child Development annual Symposium. Her talk is entitled: 

"Safeguarding the professional integrity of behaviour analysts: Why this is important nationally and internationally" 

Abstract

The professional integrity of behaviour analyst is threatened from a number of different directions. The huge increase in demand for the profession in autism services has led to some sloppy quick-fix training practices. Consequently, some practitioners engaged in poor practices, that led to a significant backlash from the autism community. 

Safeguarding the profession requires well-trained ethically and culturally competent practitioners who are well trained in good scientific conduct and regulated by competent and legally recognised oversight bodies. 

Behavior analysts are not recognized or regulated as a distinct profession worldwide. For the past 20+ years, European behavior analysts adhered to the standards set by the USA-based Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). However, foreign (e.g., USA-based) certifications cannot be, and were never, recognized legally by any European jurisdictions. The decision by the BACB to discontinue eligibility of non-residents to sit the BCBA® exam brought the realisation of these legal facts into sharp focus. The main reason was that the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) accreditation that covers professional recognition in the USA would be withdrawn from BACB certifications, if the BACB continued to allow non-resident foreign nationals to sit the BCBA exam. 

This talk explores necessary process to gain professional recognition of behavior analysts in two European countries. It stems from the Erasmus+ funded EuroBA project and its Professional Advisory Group (PAG). The EuroBA project aims to develop common standards and competences for behavior analysts to facilitate national regulation and mutual recognition across Europe.

Programme