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| Summary of the BACB’s Consideration of Specialty Certification |
August,
2007 Page 5 |
By James Johnston, Ph.D., BCBA Background When the BACB was established, it built on the existing applied behavior analysis certification program that had been operated by the State of Florida for some years. Consistent with its transitional agreement with the State of Florida, the BACB’s new national program offered certification at both baccalaureate and Master’s degree levels. In recent years individuals with diagnoses of autism spectrum disorders have come to define the largest group receiving ABA services from BACB certificants. In a recent survey conducted in 2006, 55% of the respondents indicated they worked in the area of autism services. A Specialty Certificate? With this background, more than two years ago the BACB began considering whether it should offer a specialty certificate that recognized specialized competencies related to providing ABA services to individuals with autism and/or other developmental disabilities. In addition to the question of whether a specialty certificate was a good idea, it was not clear whether competencies in the areas of autism services versus other developmental disabilities should be combined or addressed separately. The BACB’s interest in this issue arose partly because many certificants were clearly providing specialized services, thereby creating an opportunity to acknowledge achievement of specialized competencies. However, a number of certificants were also concerned that not everyone who had passed the certification examination and was providing such services might have the specialized competencies represented by the ABA literature and generally accepted best practices. This concern was especially strong among practitioners working in the area of autism services. 2006 Survey The BACB approached these issues with a deliberate process. The first step involved posing a series of questions as part of a larger 2006 survey of certificants. Included were questions regarding the potential value of a specialty credential, the possible |
requirements for obtaining and maintaining it, the fees that certificants might be willing to pay for it, and possible areas for specialization. The two most highly ranked areas for specialization were autism and other developmental disabilities. Based upon this information, the BACB board of directors decided to take the first step toward investigating the potential for specialty certification in these area Under the guidance of the BACB’s Psychometrician, Fae Mellichamp, MS, this panel completed a modified DACUM process. DACUM (short for Developing a Curriculum) is a type of occupational analysis performed under the guidance of a trained DACUM facilitator that describes an occupation and the body of knowledge required to perform that occupation. Through this process, the goal was to discover whether that body of |