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Hey all!
Livestream got interrupted last night when my internet died. To make it up, we are going to do TWO livestreams next week and revisit experimental designs as planned last night. These will be on Tuesday and Thursday!!
Thanks for making it if you were there - I tried to make it work with what I had, but it felt like a wreck, so I apologize! Hopefully this makes up for it. Have a great weekend and catch ya next week!
-Nick
As you might have noticed, things have changed a bit around here! My focus right now with Understanding Behavior is to build content to help students pass the BCBA exam! But that's not all - really, it's just the beginning! I will always stay true to my mission to make behavior analysis education (i.e. the ability to "Understand Behavior") accessible and will continue to do so! Some content will be geared not only to people actively studying behavior analysis in an academic setting, but to anyone who has an interest in Psychology.
I'm so excited about this new mission and thank you so much for tagging along on this journey with me!! ♥♥♥
Hey you reading this!
I've had a lot of time to reflect since the stream with Neuroclastic last Friday. I've listened to the uproars, both well and not well-intended. I've listened to criticisms from the autistic and neurodivergent communities, as well as my own colleagues. I've had conversations with several BCBAs, including some neurodivergent and novel faces to discuss how this could have gone better and how to respond to the community. After all this reflection, I felt that it was important for me to give my current perspective.
First off, I'd like to thank Terra, TJ, and Kate for their time to discuss a controversial topic with someone who was known to be against it. That takes a lot of bravery! I've had the privilege to work with the autistic community for about 10 years now, but recently have pursued other work in the past year and a half. Time moves fast! I realized that much of the language I've used based in the medical model can be offensive and damaging to the people I care deeply about. These past several days, I've spent more time learning about ableism and what kind of language is offensive. It requires a shift from my training and practice in the medical diagnosis of autism to fully respect autism as a social identity. Reflecting on the stream, I know that I could have done better and want to apologize to anyone that I offended on Friday. Anti-ableism, including anti-ableist language is something that I'll continue to work on as a professional and as a person. Like all people, I'm a work-in-progress and will likely slip up - thanks for extending some grace to me. My goal is not to offend, it's to help.
I felt that our conversation/debate on Friday fell off track numerous times. On thinking what could have been done better, I would have loved to have had a more clear agenda, more focus on the issue to be discussed (RPM), and a moderator that could have tamed the debate of four passionate individuals. In my initial post, there were quite a few assumptions being made that were unfair. Although I thought these were rooted in solid logic, it discredited the fact that Trevor could be a fluent communicator hurt by the post. I'd like to extend an apology to him as well. I applaud what Neuroclastic has done to elevate the voices of those with less privilege than me. Part way into the stream it started to become clear that we didn't come in with related objectives. They came in to defend nonspeakers against my crass accusations, while I was there to talk about the research and potential for harm related to RPM. We set ourselves up for a shit-show and we certainly got it. Unfortunately, hindsight is 20/20 and what happened cannot be changed - the only option is to move forward.
The main reason I wanted to have this conversation/debate was to have an audience for the difficult conversation about the Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) as a teaching method for communication. This hasn't changed. The data suggest that this method of communication can be extremely damaging in so many ways. Since communication in this method almost always requires prompting in some form, we cannot be sure that the message being communicated is coming from the person we intend it to come from with our current research. This has to be tested on an individual level and I recommend that families who have yet to have an unbiased party do so should seek that out. Facilitated communication (FC), a completely debunked treatment shares an alarmingly high amount of similarities to RPM. FC has literally killed autistics, gotten them sexually abused, and has torn families apart. I believe that the same risks are present with RPM and there has yet to be a study that has proved otherwise. In addition, by teaching RPM, we're depriving autistic individuals of a human right: the right to communicate their own messages.
I do not have direct experience with these methods because as a BCBA, I'm only able to implement practices with sufficient evidence. My experience studying the science of human behavior and practicing as an early language specialist display significant evidence to believe that these training procedures create the prompt dependency we see with so many (although not every) nonspeaking speller. Responsiveness to the current body of evidence is important; I wholeheartedly believe that every individual should be taught a communication system that considers evidence, personal preferences, current ability, independence, and demonstration of progress. If we don't see independent communication, that means that a program has failed to provide that individual with a human right. I'll be following up with a video exploring the research and the reasons why professional communities such as ASHA and the BACB prevent professionals from using this practice.
Overall, I think there are things for everyone to learn from the debate on Friday. I learn best through failure and trust me - I failed and learned a lot. Rather than let it put me down, I'm using this opportunity to learn and grow. This only inspires me to become more connected, to better listen to those that I advocate for, and to continue this fight against abusive practices. Neuroclastic's fight to elevate marginalized voices should continue as well. I hope that anyone interested in being an ally to the autistic and larger neurodivergent community can see past my failures on Friday and join me on this venture. If not, I understand that what I did lost your trust, and I hope to earn it back some day.
With love,
Nick Ostosh BCBA - Understanding Behavior
Understanding Behavior is the latest place to prep for the BCBA exam and learn about how behavioral principles apply to every facet of our lives.
Behavior is everywhere, but society doesn't really have a good grasp on the things that influence it. Understanding Behavior is about bringing more science into psychology and offering individuals the tools to better understand themselves and those around them. With a more evidence-based method of viewing our problems, frustration will melt and why people do things will become clear as day, offering a better world to live in for all. Are you ready to understand behavior? Make sure to subscribe to follow along!!