Practitioner Webinar Series
Biases and Blind Spots: Practicing With Cultural Competence and Cultural Humility in ABA
Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi, Ed.D., BCBA (ULEZI, LLC)
November 12, 2020
2:00pm - 3:00pm Eastern
Biography: Nasiah is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, with a doctorate degree in education from Loyola University of Chicago. She holds a master’s degree in special education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a master’s degree in educational leadership from the American College of Education. She is a graduate of the infant studies specialist program at Erikson Institute of Chicago. In addition to her BCBA credential, she is an Illinois licensed special education teacher and an Illinois early intervention provider and state evaluator. Professionally, she has served as a special educator, clinician, educational administrator, and professor of special education. Her clinical experience spans infancy through adulthood. Currently, she is the CEO & Founder of ULEZI, LLC, and serves as a court appointed special advocate for children in the Illinois foster care system. She is also a board member for the Illinois Association for Behavior Analysis. She is a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion and is deeply committed to using her skills and experiences, paired with the science of applied behavior analysis, to assist, uplift and transform the lives of the people she supports and serves in positive and meaningful ways.
Abstract: Having a diverse pool of practitioners in the applied behavior analytic community can lead to positive treatment outcomes for consumers. Despite literature supporting consumer choice of practitioner, there continues to be gross underrepresentation of Black practitioners in the field of applied behavior analysis. Underrepresentation happens at all levels, from leaders of most local agencies to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, and beyond. Practitioners in the field are overwhelmingly White women. Given the BACB does not require any coursework in cultural competency, it is likely White practitioners enter the field not present to how their own biases and blind spots can impact their service provision to Black and Indigenous People of Color. Lack of awareness by White practitioners not only undermines the necessary work and development of therapeutic alliance needed to facilitate positive treatment outcomes but may also serve to create aversive conditions that turn BIPOC off to the science of applied behavior analysis altogether. This webinar will provide practitioners practical guidance to begin addressing their own biases around variables such as race, culture and religion that may manifest in their work with BIPOC. Practitioners can expect to gain skills, awareness, and sensitivity that enable them to more effectively serve consumers with cultural competence and humility, irrespective of their current level of cultural awareness.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: (1) describe and define the terms cultural humility and cultural competency; (2) list effective strategies to raise awareness to and address one’s own implicit biases and blinds spots in practice; (3) discuss how practicing from a framework of cultural competence and cultural humility can lead to positive treatment outcomes.
CE Package
This item is available to current ABAI members only.
Learning Center Video and Quiz