Special Education faculty and students present at Behavior Analysis Association Michigan

Special Education faculty and student members of the Collaborative Action for Radical Equity in Applied Behavior Analysis Lab (CARE ABA) presented at the Behavior Analysis Association of Michigan (BAAM) in Ypsilanti, Michigan on Friday, February 23. Dr. Rebecca Kolb, Dr. Jennifer McComas, Regan Baney, Hannah Beavis, Yuanzhen Wu, Bradley McMahon (pictured left to right), and Joy Johnson (Spectrum Support, The Chicago School, Empire State University) presented "Incorporating autistic perspectives to maximize benefits and minimize harms of ABA services: an interactive discussion." 

As part of the discussion, neurodivergent panelists spoke of their experiences receiving ABA (applied behavior analysis) services and as professionals providing ABA services. The panel also discussed recent criticisms of ABA and reflected on the paper Affirming Neurodiversity within Applied Behavior Analysis (Mathur et al., 2024).

As part of the presentation, panelists encouraged small group discussions and reflections on the audience's own connection to and experience with ABA, how the audience's own experiences have informed current work, and what community-informed means to them as it relates to ABA services.