BABAT & B.F. Skinner Student Paper Award

Jacqueline Weber

Title: Staff Training in Assent and Assent Withdrawal Behavior in Children with Disabilities

Abstract

In recent years, there have been calls to action regarding the integration of compassionate care and assent into behavior analytic practice. Assent, in medical and educational interventions, is associated with an absence of coercion and with a willingness to engage. It is a core foundational value of humane and compassionate intervention across human service professions. A recent review of the research literature (Morris et al., 2021) revealed that attention to assent in Applied Behavior Analytic (ABA) research is scarce. Critiques of the field have implied an inadequate focus on assent in clinical practice as well. There are definitional and measurement challenges associated with assent that are barriers to the integration of it into clinical work. In this study, instructors were trained to identify individualized indices of assent and withdrawal of assent for learners in their care. The focus on individualized indices represents an advance and reflects the highly tailored nature of behavior analytic intervention. Staff members were also taught to shift instructional strategies when assent was withdrawn. The study represents an empirical successful demonstration in training staff to identify and to honor both assent and withdrawals of assent. Limitations and future directions are discussed, in terms of measurement, training, and clinical practice. Implications for clinical practice and practitioner training are reviewed.

Keywords: Assent, Assent-based intervention, Staff training, Behavioral skills training, Autism