You are a BCBA reviewing a manuscript that was written by on…

You are a BCBA reviewing a manuscript that was written by one of the students you supervise. You are reviewing it before she submits it to a well-known ABA journal. This journal is adamant about picking out studies that include quality research. They do this by rating the quality indicators. Your student’s paper looks really good but the student seems to be missing the description of the intervention procedures. If the journal were to see this manuscript, what would they say?

A student you are supervising comes to you to ask for advice…

A student you are supervising comes to you to ask for advice in conducting their single-case research. Your student is working with a client who needs immediate intervention. The client has been exhibiting challenging behavior (i.e., hitting, screaming, biting) that is tangibly maintained. Your student has already written up a proposal to intervene with FCT for the desired items. However, the client is nonverbal and has been communicating with PECS and an SGD on his iPad. Your student is not sure what single-case design would allow her to intervene with FCT immediately as well as measure effects of FCT with PECS and an SGD. You tell her that the best design would be…

You are an RBT that works with a BCBA who has an educational…

You are an RBT that works with a BCBA who has an educational background in psychological testing. You are working with an individual who engages in severe SIB in the form of biting his arms and legs, typically drawing blood. These wounds often become infected, therefore, the local physician prescribed ABA therapy for this individual. The BCBA observes the client and recommends conducting an FA and a psychological assessment that will identify the diagnostic criteria for temporary psychosis during the SIB episodes. These tests are performed at the ABA clinic in a separate room with a nurse on site in case of emergency. Is there an ethical violation in this situation?

A behavioral therapist is worried because her client has beg…

A behavioral therapist is worried because her client has begun to work on increasing his tacting repertoire, but the client seems to be engaging in a response that may be functioning as a mand. What would the therapist need to evaluate to determine if the behavior is a tact?

You are a BCBA working with a 25-year-old female client in a…

You are a BCBA working with a 25-year-old female client in a group home. She has a boyfriend that comes over, but the staff only let them visit in the common living room so they can “keep an eye on them”. Your client has asked the staff to allow her boyfriend back in her room so that they can be alone. The staff continue to say “no”. What is the most relevant ethical principle present in this dilemma?

You are a BCBA who works for the school district. You get a…

You are a BCBA who works for the school district. You get a call from a teacher asking you to come to the classroom ASAP and help her with a student who is “acting up” in class. The teacher hangs up the phone and you don’t get any other information. What is the first thing you should do after getting the phone call?

You are a BCBA consulting with one of your client’s parents…

You are a BCBA consulting with one of your client’s parents in the home setting. You just began providing services to them and you have observed some of the interactions they have had with their child during intervention implementation. You are including parent training in your services, so you have weekly meetings to debrief with them and discuss topics to improve fidelity and answer any questions. This past week, the parents were implementing extinction procedures for their child that wanted to escape taking a bath. The child screamed and hit until the parents were exhausted, so they let him elope. You explain that the need for consistency in extinction is important. You also tell them that is important to consider their child’s behavior and function, but it is just as important to…

You are a BCBA working for a local school district. You are…

You are a BCBA working for a local school district. You are completing an FA on a student who yells the answer to the teacher’s questions without raising her hand. When the student does this, the teacher sends her to the back of the classroom to sit in timeout. You really want to decrease this behavior. What is the best intervention strategy for decreasing calling out behaviors based on the hypothesized function?