ABA Finding Its Heart During a Pandemic: An Exploration in Social Validity.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented practitioners of applied behavior analysis (ABA) with new and uncharted challenges. Upholding ethical responsibilities while navigating an international public health crisis has opened areas of uncertainty that have no precedent. Although there is general guidance on how to respond ethically from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) in their publication specific to the COVID-19 crisis (BACB, 2020, March 29, Ethics Guidance for ABA Providers During COVID-19 Pandemic, retrieved from https://www.bacb.com/ethics-guidance-for-aba-providers-during-covid-19-pandemic-2/), there remains a huge responsibility on the individual practitioner to make potentially life-changing decisions. In that regard, practitioners are urged to ensure that they rely on socially significant and valid decision-making processes. The goal of this article is to provide an exercise in accounting for stakeholder feedback and connecting with patients and families regarding their input on the acceptability of treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The exercise is in the form of a structured parent interview to help practitioners account for the setting variables and social validity of treatment during a crisis. It is our ethical responsibility to remember this critical dimension of our science and practice.

The Role of Compassion and Ethics in Decision Making Regarding Access to Applied Behavior Analysis Services During the COVID-19 Crisis: A Response to Cox, Plavnick, and Brodhead.

Cox, Plavnick, and Brodhead (2020, "A Proposed Process for Risk Mitigation During the COVID-19 Pandemic") published a position statement in the emergency section of Behavior Analysis in Practice in response to the COVID-19 crisis. They argued against a blanket interpretation that in-person applied behavior analysis services for all patients should continue during the pandemic. They strongly argued that the risks of continued services are almost always prohibitive and that only in rare cases would the continuation of in-person services be warranted. Colombo, Wallace, and Taylor (2020, "An Essential Service Decisions Model for Applied Behavior Analytic Providers During Crisis") soon thereafter published a response to the article pointing out the potential dangers associated with the position of the article by Cox et al. They included a detailed decision model to assist providers in making nuanced and informed data-based decisions that provide the opportunity to honor the ethical responsibility for not abandoning patients. We echo the importance of the Colombo et al. response and add points of response centered on balanced ethical decision making informed by compassionate family-centered care.