Association for Behavior Analysis International

Autism and applied behavior analysis (ABA) seem to be strictly chained terms, although their function, when mutually related, can vary from adverse sentiments from fervent detractors to stadium-like cheers of enthusiastic zealots. We can read about both poles of reaction, and anything in between, everywhere from scientific journals to newspaper and magazines and on social platforms as well. These reactions are embedded in cultural, legal, and educational pillars that vary from nation to nation, from continent to continent. These contexts will be the background scene of the presentation which will address acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and relational frame theory (RFT) within what can be called mainstream ABA as commonly coded in two points of reference: the Cooper et al. (2020) manual and the description of the BA practice offered by the BACB and other US credentialing boards. ACT flourished from a branch of behavior analytics studies in the late 1980s on stimulus equivalence and rule governance as a behavioral application to psychotherapy of a theory of cognition and language known as RFT. Growing evidence has recently advocated for an expansion of the professional profile of behavior analysts (e.g., Tarbox et al. 2020) to include ACT model of intervention in their practices. In an ever-evolving scientific context there are at least two levels of analysis that this consideration of the contributions of ACT to the professional field can offer, and which will be analyzed in detail: (1) the role that RFT and ACT play in the bigger picture of behavior analysis at the scientific level, and (2) the impact that the application of protocols derived from the studies in the field can have on expanding, ameliorating, or differentiating the available sets of assessment and training procedures, with a special focus on Autistics/individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Ultimately, the reflections that will be shared will pose an interesting question from a non–US-centric perspective: Is there such a thing as a professional profile for a behavior analyst?

Board certified behavior analysts; licensed psychologists; graduate students.