“…Relative to targeting hand-flapping for reduction broadly, teaching discriminated responding and the ability to codeswitch between contexts (Kingsdorf, 2014;Neely et al, 2020) better aligns with the neurodiversity perspective. This approach recognizes that there is nothing inherently problematic about repetitive behavior and that, in many contexts, there is no reason such behavior should be avoided.…”
Section: Teaching Clients To Discriminate Between Contextsmentioning
The behavior analytic literature on neurodiversity remains limited. This article aims to begin filling the lacuna. We will introduce the neurodiversity perspective and demonstrate an important congruence between the behavior analytic and neurodiversity perspectives on autism. Despite this congruence, applied behavior analysis is often targeted for criticism by proponents of the neurodiversity perspective. A central concern raises questions about the aims of behavior analytic interventions for clients with autism. Is it appropriate to teach clients with autism to behave as if they were neurotypical? Concerns about the aims of behavior analytic interventions mirror concerns that have been raised about the aims of language education in schools. Drawing on the literature regarding linguistically diverse classrooms, we will critically evaluate the abolitionist neurodiversity critique of ABA. We conclude by considering both concrete and theoretical implications for the ethics of behavior analytic work with autistic clients.
“…Relative to targeting hand-flapping for reduction broadly, teaching discriminated responding and the ability to codeswitch between contexts (Kingsdorf, 2014;Neely et al, 2020) better aligns with the neurodiversity perspective. This approach recognizes that there is nothing inherently problematic about repetitive behavior and that, in many contexts, there is no reason such behavior should be avoided.…”
Section: Teaching Clients To Discriminate Between Contextsmentioning
The behavior analytic literature on neurodiversity remains limited. This article aims to begin filling the lacuna. We will introduce the neurodiversity perspective and demonstrate an important congruence between the behavior analytic and neurodiversity perspectives on autism. Despite this congruence, applied behavior analysis is often targeted for criticism by proponents of the neurodiversity perspective. A central concern raises questions about the aims of behavior analytic interventions for clients with autism. Is it appropriate to teach clients with autism to behave as if they were neurotypical? Concerns about the aims of behavior analytic interventions mirror concerns that have been raised about the aims of language education in schools. Drawing on the literature regarding linguistically diverse classrooms, we will critically evaluate the abolitionist neurodiversity critique of ABA. We conclude by considering both concrete and theoretical implications for the ethics of behavior analytic work with autistic clients.
“…When ELL children with ASD learn in their native language and later in English, they are often able to transfer underlying knowledge and skills from one language to the other (Kingsdorf, 2014). Overall, interventions can be more useful initially in the child's native language (Kingsdorf, 2014), as a young child spends most of his or her time with family members and therefore is more likely to receive highquality language input in the home language. Quality language input has been shown to be key in promoting language development in bilingual children with disabilities (Durán et al, 2016).…”
Section: Barrier 6: Practitioners' Understanding Of and Empathy For The Impact Of Sociocultural And Socioeconomic Stressorsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Ultimately, it is critical that ELLs with ASD be provided tools to communicate effectively across environments and fully engage in the home, school, and community (Kingsdorf, 2014). Encouraging monolingualism in bilingual families has been shown to limit opportunities to respond and thus decrease the level and quality of language input that a child with ASD receives (Kremer-Sadlik, 2005).…”
Section: Barrier 6: Practitioners' Understanding Of and Empathy For The Impact Of Sociocultural And Socioeconomic Stressorsmentioning
The selection and adoption of culturally appropriate targets and practices, especially for home-based or parent-supported services, is an emerging interest in the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA). Variations in cultural norms, caregivers' ability to participate in home-based service delivery, and family and practitioner linguistic competencies are some of the areas that the culturally competent ABA therapist must consider when designing a home-based program of therapy. Given the paucity of empirical research related to cultural competency in ABA service provision, the goal of the current article is to provide practitioners, their supervisors, and researchers with information to overcome many perceived barriers to successfully working with clients whose home languages or cultures differ from that of the dominant U.S. culture. Practical examples, integration of research from ABA and allied fields, and terminology are used to support these points and provide actionable guidance grounded in empirical literature.
“…Such criticism may account for the shift in terminology in practitioner‐orientated discussions of ABA; Kingsdorf, for example, initially presents Skinnerian reinforcement theory as a ‘science’, but later refers to his ‘philosophy of language’ (, p. 143, p. 146). Kingsdorf's insistence that the linguistic and cultural diversity of ASD pupils should be recognised within ABA methodologies (, p. 143) resonates with Connor's (, p. 126) concern about differential levels of cultural capital and non‐recognition of forms of ASD. Nevertheless, Kingsdorf () fails to problematise key Skinnerian concepts.…”
Section: Autism As Political Settlementmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Kingsdorf's insistence that the linguistic and cultural diversity of ASD pupils should be recognised within ABA methodologies (, p. 143) resonates with Connor's (, p. 126) concern about differential levels of cultural capital and non‐recognition of forms of ASD. Nevertheless, Kingsdorf () fails to problematise key Skinnerian concepts. Chomsky (), by contrast, pursues the logic of Skinner's account of verbal operants in order to expose the difficulties that this concept poses when applied to teaching and learning:Reasoning in the same way, we may conclude that the parent induces the child to walk so that he can make some money delivering newspapers.…”
Jordan insists that teachers should be free to exercise their professionalism and that respect for difference is integral to that professionalism. For Connor, this implies teachers who can critically consider the discourses available to them as practitioners. The authors draw upon the philosophising of Gilles Deleuze to develop an account of teaching and learning as an autonomous creative process in which teachers contribute to rather than strictly control outcomes. This account of teaching as processual following resonates with Jordan's vision of equity for autistic or neuro‐atypical pupils and compassionate professionalism. It rests less easily with intensive behaviourist‐training programmes and educational cultures premised on the assumption that outcomes can, and should, be pre‐determined and precisely engineered. From a Deleuzian perspective, ethical practice is the interplay of conceptual, perceptual and affective knowledge, and it is suggested that intuitive practice involves a similar interplay along with numerous contextual considerations. A Deleuzian theory of simulation is initially outlined and accords with the emphasis placed by Jordan on reimagining an educational system in which all pupils are valued and supported to develop their varied talents and teachers are free to assess the suitability of particular methods for individual pupils.
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