Association for Behavior Analysis International

The term "evidence-based practice" now appears in the professional literature of every discipline that attempts to change human behavior in some dimension (e.g., health, social, communication, etc.). In recent years, behavior analysts have begun discussing the role of evidence-based practice within our field. Differing views about the definition of "evidence-based practice of ABA" have been raised as well as the question of how the evidence-based practice of ABA should influence practitioners. This presentation invites leading scholars within ABA to define evidence-based practice and to discuss the implications of their definition on the practice of behavior analysis. By answering questions like "What is a practice?" "What constitutes evidence?" and "How should the evidence-based practice of ABA influence practitioners' decision-making in their daily work?", Tim Slocum and Tristram Smith will demonstrate that the answers are essential to our field but more murky than they appear on face value. In addition, they will identify the role researchers must play if an evidence-based practice of ABA is to be realized in a meaningful way. They conclude by providing recommendations about how we should proceed as practitioners, researchers, and as a field if we expect to fully adopt the evidence-based practice of ABA.

The primary target audience is practitioners who are required to make decisions regarding evidence-based practice as a part of their daily work. A secondary audience is researchers who conduct research and/or submit for federal funding in this area.

Dr. Slocum will suggest that evidence-based practice of behavior analysis (EBP-BA) be defined as a decision-making process that integrates (A) the best available evidence with (B) clinical expertise and (C) client values and context. This definition corresponds with definitions of EBP in other professions including medicine and psychology, supports the foundational principles of applied behavior analysis, and provides a framework that can be applied to virtually all of one's professional practice as a behavior analyst. In this definition, behavior analysts' practices are understood to encompass all of their professional behavior. It states that behavior analytic practice should be based on the best available evidence. The quality, volume, and relevance of evidence varies greatly across the decisions that behavior analysts make--what is constant is that behavior analysts should seek out and use the best of what is available. This approach to EBP-BA suggests that ABA researchers (A) advance best available evidence through primary intervention research, (B) investigate how clinical expertise, client values, and context can be most effectively integrated into professional decision making, and (C) develop ways to make the best available evidence functionally accessible to practitioners.

Although behavior analysts often say we engage in evidence-based practice, we express differing, sometimes contradictory views on what constitutes "evidence" and "practice." In order to provide useful guidance to consumers, providers, third-party payers, and researchers, we need to be clear on what is or is not a practice and what is or is not suitable evidence. This talk will critique applied behavior analytic interventions that behavior analysts have identified as evidence-based practices. It argues that establishing such practices involves more than analyzing the effects of discrete intervention procedures on behavior; it requires synthesizing findings into a package that is demonstrably usable by independent providers and useful to consumers. Recognizing the need for synthesis offers behavior analysts many promising opportunities to build on our existing research in order to increase the quality and quantity of evidence-based practices.