Ethical Decision Making: The Role of Community-Informed Practice in Deaf and Autism Services

Description

“Ethical Decision Making: The Role of Community-Informed Practice in Deaf and Autism Services” offers 1.5 ethics learning CEUs. Participants will learn about clinical considerations to create a more inclusive environment regarding PFA/SBT. This panel was facilitated by Hillary Laney. The panelists include Mari Cerda, Brian Middleton, Summer Mingo and Jacqueline Wunderlich.

About Your Presenters…

Hillary Laney, BCBA, is passionate about providing services to clients with significant behavioral needs which prioritizes dignity, safety, rapport, and assent. She received her M. Ed from the University of Washington and has extensive experience as a practitioner and in supporting practitioners, agencies, and schools to provide more comprehensive services to those who need them most. Hillary currently serves as the Vice President of Functional Assessment and Treatment at Centria Autism. She is responsible for staff development and training oversight across the agency in the implementation of assent-based interventions including; Universal Protocols, Practical Functional Assessment, and Skill-Based Treatment. In the past year, Hillary has overseen the training of over 300 supervising clinicians and her team has supported over 300 successful Practical Functional Assessments. In her free time, she volunteers moderating the PFA & SBT Community, an online group of over 20,000 members, which provides free content for members to learn and grow in assent-based practice.  

Mari Cerda is an Indigenous woman, Autist, wife, mom of 3, and board-certified, trauma-informed behavior analyst who consults with neurotypical professionals to support the development of neurodivergent affirming and compassionate practices. A former special education teacher of 13 years, Mari moved into this work when she realized that her own Autistic experience could help others develop better supports and acceptance for the Autistic community. Mari is also the co-founder of The LEAP (Lighthouse for Equitable Access and Practices) Institute, a non-profit whose mission is to increase equitable access for marginalized groups entering the field of applied behavior analysis through quality supervision support and testing scholarships. LEAP is also working to shift the culture around the supervision relationship in the field of ABA. When she is not working on one of many projects, Mari enjoys retreating into her home with her family and spending time in her gardens to recharge.

Brian Middleton is a human. He believes that this view is essential to increase prosocial engagement. Brian is also neurodivergent. He is AuDHD (autistic & ADHD) and has a reading disability and has hearing impairments. Brian worked as a special education teacher for 7 years, 5 of which was as a middle school behavior specialist, before transitioning to being a full-time behavior analyst. He has a dual Bachelor’s degree in social science composite and special education and a Masters of Education with administrative endorsement from Southern Utah University, and a post-master’s certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis from University of Cincinnati. He presently works as a BCBA in disability services and he specializes in assent-based, neurodivergent centered services, and in behavior analytic applications of Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Relational Frame Theory (RFT).

Brian started the Bearded Behaviorist social media profile in 2018 in response to some frustrating experiences that occurred during his post-graduate schooling. He encountered consistent indicators that the education being provided was not consistently applying principles of behavior to learning, including ignoring the need for individualization and providing support for disabled populations in the program. Bearded Behaviorist has since become known for creating engaging learning, exploration, and advocacy for diversity, equity, and inclusion through applying a prohuman and prosocial approach to behavior analysis. Brian is an active advocate for changing our culture to be one where everyone can thrive. In addition to serving as a member-at-large, he is the president of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Special Interest Group (SIG) as of mid-May, 2023. Brian is also the the recipient of the 2022 Diversity Aware from the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) for his advocacy work and efforts to bring to light and ending of unethical practices and relationships within the field such as the use of Contingent Electric Shock (CESS) in disabled people and other human rights violations perpetrated by the Judge Rottenberg Center and supported by ABAI.

Brian believes that in order for there to be a future for autistics and other neurodivergent populations that future must include all neurotypes. That neurodiversity, like biodiversity, creates healthy environments where individuals and cultures can thrive. Three of his favorite things to say are, “we learn, grow, and build together”, “reinforce the change you want to see in the world”, and “human first, human always”.

Summer Mingo is the Co-Founder of South Georgia Behavior Associates, situated in the heart of rural South Georgia. She works primarily in Autism and IDD services and is a passionate advocate for responsive, community-informed practices. She is an advocate for elevating practices through the neurodiversity paradigm, and actively champions its implementation and education. She firmly believes in bridging the gap between the communities she serves and the realms of research and treatment. She has a dedication to fostering connections across disciplines, promoting understanding, and advancing practical implementation of the tenets of neurodiversity to inspire positive meaningful change within the communities she serves.

Jacqueline (Jacqui) Wunderlich is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and lifelong learner. Some of her values include transparency, healthy skepticism, hopeless earnestness, and informed action. She received her BA in Psychology from Gallaudet University and her MA in Special Education from Ball State University. Jacqui is currently enrolled as a doctoral student at Gallaudet University studying Critical Studies in the Education of Deaf Learners with a focus on Deaf students with disabilities. She is passionate about advocating for diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility within the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. In order to meet this overwhelming need, Jacqui founded Signs of Communication, LLC which provides behavioral training and consultation to families and organizations working with deaf and hard of hearing learners.

Learning objectives

Participants will be able to:

1. Learn about clinical considerations to create a more inclusive environment regarding PFA & SBT.
2. Be able to identify additional contextual considerations as it relates to the process of PFA/SBT when working with the autistic and the deaf community within their clinical practice.
3. Be able to describe features of PFA & SBT that may not be accessible to the population they work with and how to adapt the protocol to fit their clients.
4. Be able to identify how to seek out appropriate resources to align treatment with the values and culture of their clients.
5. Be able to state how these considerations connect with the ethics code and behavior analytic principles.
6. Be able to label steps that can be taken to shift toward individualized programming, planning, and shaping within PFA/SBT.

The PFA & SBT Community is an Authorized Continuing Education Provider from the BACB® and IBAO®. Our BACB® provider ID is OP-23-10256. For concerns regarding CEUs, you can contact us here.

Thank you to Jacqueline Wunderlich for the front page visuals.