You may have been wondering what I am talking about when I keep referring that my private autism consultant is “Board Certified”. Here is some more info:
The Behavior Analyst Certification Board®, Inc. (BACB®) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation established to meet professional credentialing needs identified by behavior analysts, governments, and consumers of behavior analysis services. The BACB adheres to the national standards for boards that grant professional credentials. The BACB certification procedure undergoes regular psychometric review and validation, pursuant to a job analysis survey of the profession and standards established by content experts in the field.
The BACB’s mission is to develop, promote, and implement a national and international certification program for behavior analyst practitioners. The BACB has established uniform content, standards, and criteria for the credentialing process that are designed to meet
- The legal standards established through state, federal and case law;
- The accepted standards for national certification programs; and
- The “best practice” and ethical standards of the behavior analysis profession.
There are two levels of Certification at this time:
Board Certified Behavior Analyst®(BCBA®): (Master’s Degree needed)
The Board Certified Behavior Analyst is an independent practitioner who also may work as an employee or independent contractor for an organization. The BCBA conducts descriptive and systematic (e.g., analogue) behavioral assessments, including functional analyses, and provides behavior analytic interpretations of the results. The BCBA designs and supervises behavior analytic interventions. The BCBA is able to effectively develop and implement appropriate assessment and intervention methods for use in unfamiliar situations and for a range of cases. The BCBA seeks the consultation of more experienced practitioners when necessary. The BCBA teaches others to carry out ethical and effective behavior analytic interventions based on published research and designs and delivers instruction in behavior analysis. It is strongly recommended that the BCBA supervise the work of Board Certified Associate Behavior Analysts and others who implement behavior analytic interventions.
Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst®(BCABA®): (Bachelor’s Degree needed)
The BCABA conducts descriptive behavioral assessments and is able to interpret the results and design ethical and effective behavior analytic interventions for clients. The BCABA designs and oversees interventions in familiar cases (e.g., similar to those encountered during their training) that are consistent with the dimensions of applied behavior analysis. The BCABA obtains technical direction from a BCBA for unfamiliar situations. The BCABA is able to teach others to carry out interventions once the BCABA has demonstrated competency with the procedures involved under the direct supervision of a BCBA. The BCABA may assist a BCBA with the design and delivery of introductory level instruction in behavior analysis. It is strongly recommended that the BCABA practice under the supervision of a BCBA, and that those governmental entities regulating BCABAs require this supervision.
The BACB has also developed ethical guidelines for responsible conduct to follow. You can find a listing of board certified individuals on their website that you can search. According to this registry, there is one Board Certified Behavior Analyst on Prince Edward Island. Marlene Breitenbach is employed as a Special Education Autism Specialist for the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. It is my understanding that she oversees the school age autism service.
At this time, there are no preschool autism specialists on PEI who have board certification, nor is there any indication that the government has a plan to have these individuals certified in the future.
Board Certification does provide a family with a level of accountability. A level at which is much higher then what the Preschool IBI Service currently offers. It also provides standards. There are no provincial standards in regards to staffing on PEI.
It is time for ACCOUNTABILITY of the Preschool IBI Service.
