Kelly, A.N., Bollinger, L.F., Chiu, J., & Dube., A. (2024). The right to effective behavioral treatment revisited: Ethical expectations for behavior analysts today. Behavior Analysis in Practice.

In their seminal work published in 1988, Van Houten and colleagues established foundational principles for the rights to effective behavior intervention, ensuring ethical and effective treatment for individuals with behavioral challenges. This revisitation of their pioneering article investigates the enduring relevance of these rights in contemporary practice and the evolving context shaping our considerations. Re- examining these principles reveals their continued pertinence and essential role in safeguarding the welfare of clients and their caregivers. In light of evolving therapeutic approaches and societal changes, it is crucial for behavior analysts to reaffirm their commitment to upholding these rights. By highlighting the challenges and barriers persisting in current practice, this paper aims to ignite a vital conversation within the field, fostering collaboration and innovation to identify solutions that protect the well- being and dignity of the individuals we serve. This reevaluation underscores the ongoing importance of these rights and encourages practitioners to critically assess how they are applied today. By acknowledging the obstacles and dilemmas that clients, caregivers, and professionals encounter in contemporary practice, we can collectively work toward solutions that ensure the ethical and effective treatment of individuals with behavioral challenges. This paper is a call to action, emphasizing the need for a renewed commitment to these rights and inviting dialogue to drive progress in the field of behavior analysis.

Arthur, S.M, Linnehan, A.M., Leaf, J.B, Russell, N. Weiss, M.J., Kelly. A.N., Saunders, M.S. & Ross R.K. (2023). Concerns about ableism in ABA. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities.

The overwhelming majority of professionals who serve the autistic community using applied behavior analysis (ABA) do so from a place of caring and compassion to improve the quality of life for the individuals they serve. As researchers and practitioners, the authors feel it is essential to acknowledge concerns that have arisen from neurodiversity activists and their families surrounding the effects of ABA on the autism population and claims that the goals and strategies in ABA are ableistic. This paper will highlight major issues neurodiversity advocates have reported regarding ABA, examine areas considered to be ableistic, and discuss ways ABA has positively impacted society while emphasizing the importance of listening and responding to expressed concerns of stakeholders.

Kelly, A.N., Shraga, E., Bollinger, L. (2023). Back to Basics: Ethics for Behavior Analysts. Elsevier.

In day-to-day practice, behavior analysts face many complex challenges that require both an accurate interpretation of ethical guidelines and a fair amount of independent judgment. Back to Basics: Ethics for Behavior Analysts guides readers on how to prevent conflicts and develop comfort where there is discomfort, while it also effectively and ethically disseminates information about the science of behavior analysis. The book includes both student and instructor resources, along with supplemental readings, podcast episodes, scenarios, essay prompts, and instructor quiz questions, making it a valuable resource for early career and seasoned analysts alike. Informed by the authors’ decades of practice, this book provides a guide on how to successfully navigate ethical dilemmas using real-life scenarios.

Kelly, A.N., Colon, C. (2022). Applied Behavior Analysis: Autistic Adult Perspectives. In: Leaf, J.B., Cihon, J.H., Ferguson, J.L., Gerhardt, P.F. (eds) Handbook of Quality of Life for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism and Child Psychopathology Series. Springer, Cham.

In our journey of speaking with autistic adults, we had the opportunity to learn a little about each of them, including their experiences receiving applied behavior analysis (ABA) services in their youth. Most of the individuals we interviewed received these services as ABA was first becom- ing available in the USA. Due in large part to par- ent advocates, insurance mandates began providing meaningful access to ABA services. The first state to pass an autism insurance man- date, which allowed access to ABA services, was Indiana in 2001. It would be another 18 years before the remaining 49 states also enacted mean- ingful autism insurance reform. The individuals we interviewed may have been among the first to receive ABA services, helping pave the way for more standardized practices. While there are numerous demonstrations on the effectiveness of ABA, these are often presented as data points on a graph. Our goal with this chapter is to connect these data points with the individuals whose data they represent, and to allow these individuals the opportunity to share with a wide audience, first- hand their perspectives.

Kelly, M. P., Martin, N., Dillenburger, K., Kelly, A. N., & Miller, M. M. (2018). Spreading the news: History, successes, challenges, and the ethics of effective dissemination. Behavior Analysis in Practice.

Behavior analysts are responsible for disseminating behavior analysis by making information about the science available to the public, professional peers, and government officials. The purposes of the current paper are to outline the dissemination efforts of professional associations in the field of behavior analysis; to highlight the parallel efforts to disseminate and establish behavior analysis as a profession, including the evolution and growth of certification; to share examples of dissemination successes; to describe some challenges that have been faced when disseminating behavior analysis internationally; and to suggest some strategies for ethical and effective dissemination of behavior analysis.

O’Leary, P., Miller, M., Olive, M. & Kelly, A. N. (2015). Blurred lines: Ethical implications of social media for behavior analysts. Behavior Analysis in Practice.

Social networking has a long list of advantages: it enables access to a large group of people that would otherwise not be geographically convenient or possible to connect with; it reaches several different generations, particularly younger ones, which are not typically involved in discussion of current events; and these sites allow a cost effective, immediate, and interactive way to engage with others. With the vast number of individuals who use social media sites as a way to connect with others, it may not be possible to completely abstain from discussions and interactions on social media that pertain to our professional practice. This is all the more reason that behavior analysts attend to the contingencies specific to these tools. This paper discusses potential ethical situations that may arise and offers a review of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB) guidelines pertaining to social networking, as well as provides suggestions for avoiding or resolving potential violations relating to online social behavior.

Kelly, A. N., Allen, R., Axe, J. & Maguire, R.W. (2015). Effects of presession pairing on challenging behavior for children with autism. Behavioral Interventions.

Presession pairing is an antecedent-based procedure in which an instructor engages with preferred items with a child for a few minutes before an instructional session. Although this procedure has been described in manualized treatment guidelines for working with children with autism, there are currently no direct investigations of whether this manipulation has a beneficial impact on target responding or the child's social interactions. Functional analyses with three children with autism showed escape or attention and escape as reinforcers for their challenging behavior. Preference assessments identified highly and moderately preferred stimuli. In the context of a multiple baseline across participants design, the participants exhibited fewer challenging behaviors when instructional sessions were preceded by presession pairing than when they were not. Academic responding showed modest increases. Subsequently, in the presence of presession pairing with a novel task, the participants emitted no challenging behavior and similar or higher levels of accurate academic responding. One participant was available for a maintenance session without presession pairing 5 months later and showed near-zero levels of challenging behavior and comparable levels of accurate academic responding. The implications of the findings and future directions are discussed.

Hassert, D., Kelly, A.N., Pritchard, J.T., & Cautilli, J. (2008). The licensing of behavior analysts: protecting the profession and the public. Journal of Early and Intensive Behavior Intervention.

Applied behavior analysis is a hybrid tradition with roots in many mental health disciplines. Even with these diverse origins, the professional practice of behavior analysis remains distinct and identifiable. Given these factors the professional practice special interest group (SIG) for the Association for Behavior Analysis International has proposed a model-licensing act. The behavior analyst model-licensing act (BAMLA) seeks to restrict the title of “licensed behavior analyst” but not the practice of behavior analysis. This argument has legal basis and precedent. Recently many papers have appeared supporting behavior analytic licensing; however, none to this point have addressed the issues of a licensing board’s ability for rule creation and management and aid of impaired professionals, nor their ability to assist in fostering professional identity. This paper seeks to explore these views.