Candidate Statement

Raymond G. Romanczyk, Ph.D., BCBA

Commitment and contributions to behavior analysis

My very longstanding commitment to applied behavior analysis has been expressed in multiple ways. My academic role as professor of clinical psychology has enabled the training of students at the undergraduate and graduate level to be a core aspect of my professional life. The undergraduate program I direct was the first to have its course sequence approved by the BACB.  Relatedly, over 15 years ago I introduced applied behavior analysis in the context of treating autism spectrum disorders to the medical curriculum in my role as an adjunct professor of psychiatry. I continue to teach medical students as well as nursing students.

Given my clinical interests in ASD and other child and adult disorders, I have been active in providing clinical and educational services for 30 years. In addition to maintaining a consulting private practice, I also direct early intervention, preschool, and school age intensive behavioral programs for children with ASD. I also direct an after school adjunctive program for children with learning disabilities.

Another important part of my contribution has been working with large organizations and local and state governments to understand the base of research evidence for the use of applied behavior analysis. One example of this was my participation in the development of the New York State Department of Health Clinical Practice Guidelines for Autism/Pervasive Developmental Disorders, which has been widely cited as an authoritative source supporting the clear efficacy of applied behavior analysis compared to other treatment approaches. All of these activities outside of my academic role keep me well grounded in the critical issues involved in the day-to-day provisions of clinical and educational services and the practical problems we face.

Research is an essential aspect of applied behavior analysis and an important aspect of my activities. My research ranges from investigating basic process to applied outcome. Here are a few recent publications to briefly illustrate some of my research and clinical interests:

Romanczyk, R.G., White, S. & Gillis, J.M. (2005).  Social Skills vs Skilled Social Behavior: A Problematic Distinction in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Early and Intensive Behavioral Intervention, 2, 3, 177-193.

Romanczyk, R.G. & Gillis, J.M. (2004).  Treatment Approaches for Autism: Evaluating Options and Making Informed Choices. In Dianne Zager, (Ed). Autism: Identification, Education and Treatment (3rd ed.). Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Romanczyk, R.G. & Gillis, J.M.,  (2004). Commentary on Drash and Tudor: An Analysis of Autism as a Contingency-Shaped Disorder of Verbal Behavior by Drash and Tudor. Journal of the Analysis of Verbal Behavior. 20.

Romanczyk, R.G., Arnstein, L.. Soorya, L and Gillis, J.  (2002). The Myriad of Controversial Treatments for Autism: A Critical Evaluation of Efficacy. In Lilienfeld, Lohr, and Lynn (Eds.), Science and Pseudoscience in Contemporary Clinical Psychology. NY, NY: Guilford Press.

Commitment to the BACB and certification

I was one of the earliest certificants, first within the previous state level system, and then under the current national system. Certification was not professionally necessary for me at this stage of my career, but I felt it important to model this behavior for my students and also lend my support to the development of ABA as a recognized discipline. Being certified allows me to be a more creditable advocate with regulatory bodies. I have been pleased to have worked with the Board formally and informally over the last 5 years, most recently as a Board of Directors Member. As part of my contributions I conducted a large survey of opinions about the experience requirements for certification and have focused my interest in improving the clinical competency of certificants.

Contributions I can make to the BACB 

I think my strongest contribution is that as a committed empiricist, while I am always critical of issues and claims, I am equally comfortable and participate in a number of disciplines, representing clinical psychology, behavior therapy, cognitive behavior therapy and neurosciences, in addition to my commitment to ABA. I can thus bring a perspective on professional issues and interaction with other disciplines that I believe is crucial to our long term growth and role in the continuum of human services. Unfortunately politics and professional rivalry are a part of human service delivery system, and are not always influenced by research data alone. I see part of my role as presenting counterpoint and perspective that adds to the breadth of discussion, and specific experience from other disciplines that have dealt with important professional issues.

BACB and its current and future direction 

At the appropriate time I think we must consider specialization certification before it is co-opted by other groups. While the certification of the generic behavior analyst was a critical step, more is being demanded by the consumer. I see this as our single greatest weakness – certificants providing services outside the scope of their training, or providing poor services because the consumer cannot currently differentiate behavior analysts on this important dimension. Related to this is we must encourage the development of a true professional advocacy program similar to that of virtually every other professional discipline. Such advocacy is critical to our long-term success and recognition as an equal among professional disciplines.