Dear Ms. Mcquigge,
We are writing in response to your article recently published on The Globe and Mail, “Ontario family launches human rights complaint over access to therapy for son with autism.” Thank you for choosing to cover this topic. Similar situations, in which parents are concerned that the needs of their children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are not being met in school, happen frequently and globally. With that in mind, it is a matter worthy of media attention and we appreciate that you wrote this article.
Your article offered balanced coverage of arguments made for and against applied behavior analysis (ABA), as any good media piece should. Advocates of ABA can tout decades of highly-controlled scientific research published in peer-reviewed journals to support their claims of its effectiveness. With that in mind, we appreciate your inclusion of Nicole Bardikoff’s statement, purporting that ABA is the “’gold standard’ for behavioral interventions,” and that it has been “well studied and found to yield positive results.” This is indeed a fact, and is one reason the U.S. Surgeon General specifically endorsed ABA as an effective treatment for reducing inappropriate behavior and increasing communication, learning, and appropriate social behavior in individuals with autism almost twenty years ago (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999).
We would like to bring up two statements in your article that may be a source of confusion for readers. First, the article states, “But Bardikoff said the ABA field is not currently regulated, and even terms such as ‘board certified behavior analyst’ are misnomers as there is currently neither a board nor a certification in place.” As written, this statement is false. While there may be various guidelines across service providers to regulate who may provide services on behalf of their specific entity, there is in fact international regulation for receiving board certification as a behavior analyst. Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) must meet specific criteria in coursework, field experience, testing, and continuing education, to become and remain board certified. You can find this information on the website of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB), as well as information on the Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) credential you mentioned, if you would like to share it with readers. Canada-based providers who call themselves Board Certified Behavior Analysts should be certified by the BACB.
Secondly, you wrote that “ABA is a type of treatment meant to teach autistic children to regulate behaviors that are believed to be socially significant.” In fact, ABA is a comprehensive framework for not just regulating but actually acquiring skills across a myriad of domains such as language, social skills, play, motor skills, cognition, self-care, and academics. Suggesting that regulation of behavior is the be all end all of the scope of this discipline is inaccurate.
Again, we want to thank you for your attention to this topic. We hope all the best for Jack Skrt and his family in obtaining the services that most effectively meet his needs.
Sincerely,
Renee Wozniak, PhD, BCBA-D and David Celiberti, PhD, BCBA-D
Association for Science in Autism Treatment
References
U.S.Department of Health and Human Services. (1999). Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General – Executive Summary. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health. Rockville, MD.
