Growing Applied Behavior Analysis Outside of North America: Examples of Culturally Competent andSustainable Practices for Supporting Practitioners, Caregivers, and Children in Central/Eastern Europe
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
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| Description | In the Czech Republic, as with many countries in Central and Eastern Europe, practices rooted in the science ofapplied behavior analysis (ABA) have had to fi ght to gain ground since the area's relatively recent rise fromcommunist oppression. While there are services (e.g., early care centers, specialized schools, etc..), theycustomarily provide low intensity care or non-evidenced treatments. Generally speaking, governments havehistorically spent their limited public resources on unvalidated services. Unfortunately, the voice of sciencehas been underused in selecting education or social services. As a result, the region has struggled amid thelandscape of an ABA service desert, being plagued by misinformation, hosting overworked and undersupported behaviors analysts, missing necessary funding, and facing the backlash of threatened professionalsfrom other disciplines. Regardless, driven advocates of ABA have successfully propelled dissemination andbuilt quality practical applications over the last decade. This presentation shares the burgeoning ABA projectsof the region looking at: (1) the local Technology Agency of the Czech Republic's (TACR) two year ABAtelehealth project, (2) the European Union Erasmus+ supported collaborative projects in ABA as EuroBA, the AClass, and Positive Parenting, and (3) a glimpse of the Czech Republic's process of legally recognizing theprofession of behavior analyst. Discussing this modern trajectory of the science, including potential roadmapsfor the advancement of ABA in similar locales, the development of culturally competent and sustainablepractices, and applied research outcomes, aims to inspire not only those supporting ABA development beyond North America and Western Europe, but also those looking to reflect on best ethical practices in telehealth,caregiver training, teacher training, and practitioner standards. |
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