Have you ever been in a situation where the rights of the client were not fully considered?
Every client has the right to effective and evidence-based treatment (Bailey & Burch, 2016) that will promote the client’s independence. Often, the intervention plan might be quite rigid, promoting routine and daily and hourly schedules. Although following a set schedule seems to be quite restrictive in what the client is allowed to do during the day, this method is widely used for good results. One situation that I found to be somewhat unethical and the rights of the client might not have been fully considered was when I worked with a client that was part of two different programs: one was the ABA 1:1 intervention and the other program was a group program meant to be a school-like environment. For setting the goals in the 1:1 program, the case manager of the child was responsible; however, for the group program, the certified teacher was responsible, and the case manager had “no say.”
How can a behavior analyst respect the rights of their client, while also ensuring appropriate treatment?
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Behavior analyst should always follow the ethics code of our profession anytime we are working with a client. First of all, the behavior analyst should determine if the case is within her/his area of expertise, then she/he should make the rights of the client clear to all parties. After that they should use the most efficient and evidence based procedures, respect the dignity of the client, explain all the procedures to the caregivers and obtain approval for the implementation of the programs (Bailey & Burch, 2016). They should likewise implement programs that promote independence, use the least intrusive or restrictive procedures, encourage and honor communication, and requests anytime during therapy. So, in this case, I saw that implementation of a schedule that teaches structure and routine is very helpful; however, the client should also be given the freedom to make independent choices regarding leisure or play activities.
References
Bailey, J. S., Burch, M. R. (2016). Ethics for behavior analysts (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Bannerman, D. J., Sheldon, J. B., Sherman, J. A., & Harchik, A. E. (1990). Balancing the right to habilitation with the right to personal liberties: The rights of people with developmental disabilities to eat too many doughnuts and take a nap. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis , 23 (1), 79-89.
