The world we live in comprises of different people with diverse background and as behavior analysts we must learn about different cultures to better serve our clients and co-exist with our colleagues. In an ideal world, diversity, inclusion and equity should not be up for discussion if all humans accepted and respected each other. However, that is not the case most of the time due to some group of humans feeling superior to others. According to Van Ewijk (2011) diversity is defined based on context (p.681). In other words, there is no explicit definition for diversity and definition changes based on where it is to be used or one’s perspective about life. Some may define diversity based on race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, religion while others define in relation to life experiences. Another word that needs to be defined is equity which is defined as the impartiality and justice in the treatment of people regardless of their background according to the Merriam- Webster dictionary. For behavior analysts, there is a need to instill equity in the education system received as well as in the daily practices. This is to help them learn to treat their clients fairly and provide efficient services regardless of their own belief systems. Similarly, inclusion is also necessary in the practices of behavior analysts and ensures there is a reduction in discrimination. The reflection will dive into the expected directions of training and fieldwork when it comes to diversity issues in applied behavior analysis, providing home supported applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapies to diverse families who are ethnically and linguistically different, polishing the skills of cultural consciousness in behavior analysts, diversity and equity in behavior analysis and the cultural humility in applied behavior analysis.
According to Conners et al. (2019), the behavior analyst certification board (BACB) does not have data on behavior analysts that are from the ethnic minority (p.768). This is ironic as behavior analysts take data every day for their clients and the board is made up of behavior analysts. In other words, one would assume they would take data for ethnicity since they encourage the importance of data collection and analysis. Furthermore, the BACB taking data would help them adjust policies pertaining to behaviour analysts to ensure they are more inclusive. It would also provide an avenue for the BACB to understand other cultures from the perspective of these minorities as they can provide more insight into their lives in terms of ethnicity, sexual orientation, race etc. Similarly, behaviour analysts from the minorities can enlighten the BACB on the challenges they face so they are more conscious when it comes to certain policies. The article also highlighted cultural competency as a necessity (p.768). This is particularly crucial to behaviour analysts because the clients and their caregivers are likely to be compliant of an intervention if they feel you understand every aspect of their lives. Moreover, cultural competence helps with that. In other words, if an item being used as reinforcement is not culturally acceptable, parents or caregivers would not be compliant with it. An example I had a paediatric client that was Muslim. His mother did not want his carers to wear shoes around the house and preferred, they wore slippers. She sent carers that did not bring slippers home and would take care of her child alone even though she was not fully competent in all his care needs. The article also spoke on the need for diversity courses to be incorporated in the curriculum (p.774). This is because teaching aspiring behaviour analysts in universities makes it easier to streamline education. Practicum can also help them practice what they are learning so it becomes an integral part of their daily practice. Moreover, in universities there are already diverse people so initiating group work and discussions would help students learn about different cultures.
The article by Dennison et al. (2019) highlighted the importance of communication in ABA (p.890). Communication is an essential part of behaviour analysis, and any barrier in communication can affect the effectiveness of an intervention. Communication not only entails language in native language but also the language used by behaviour analysts. When behaviour analysts are speaking to caregivers or parents about their wards care, they need to avoid using behaviour analytic jargons and terms as not all parents or caregivers are educated or understand English. It is also crucial to ask parents and caregivers to repeat whatever instruction you give to ensure they understood whatever you said. Moreover, parents or caregivers may be able to express themselves well in their native language so getting a professional interpreter is likely to get parents or caregivers to feel comfortable with treatment and open up about their ward’s needs. The article also spoke up about some personal barriers that may lead to non-compliance (p.888). In my opinion, a parent is unlikely to follow through a treatment plan if the plan is not aligned to their daily schedule. Imagine setting up an appointment with a working mother who works remotely at her working hours at home, she is likely to be hesitant to allow the meeting to go ahead as she would not have time to participate, and it may disrupt her work. The article also gave insight on the lack of research involving culturally sensitive practices (p.888). This was not surprising because ABA originated from the United States (US) so most of the practices are based on the US culture. Historically, the US was not enthusiastic on diversity, inclusion and equity issues which was evident in the segregation of certain minorities. Even though the country has tried to change in recent times, the system is still biased to the minority and as such limited funds are pushed into research involving minorities. Additionally, the article also noted the need for behaviour analysts to identify the consequences of socioeconomic and sociocultural stressors on clients and their families. Practitioners must be sensitive to all aspects of socioeconomic background when designing treatment plans. An example is using items as reinforcers parents cannot afford because they survive on food stamps or are unemployed. This will not only put a strain on the parents financially, but it would also mean the treatment would not be followed.
Hughes Fong et al. (2016) elaborated on the fact that some problematic behaviours may not be a problem in certain cultures (p.85). I can identify with these as certain behaviours that may be problematic in the US is acceptable in Ghana and vice versa. In Ghana, you stay with your parents until you get married but, in the US, children leave their parents’ home sometimes as early as 14 years. Any parent who sends their children away before marriage is seen as irresponsible especially if the child ends up being wayward because they moved out too early. The Ghanaian culture also promotes a tight relationship with extended family members such as aunties, uncles and grandparents. Also, parents are supposed to live with their children in their homes when they are elderly, and it is unheard of to send your parent to a care home which is not even popular in the country. Giving these parameters, a behaviour analyst providing care for a Ghanaian family must bear all these in mind and not try to use interventions that promotes total independence before the client is married otherwise, compliance to this intervention may not happen. Another common behaviour most Ghanaians exhibit is co sleeping with their children. This is because they believe in promoting bonding and security for their children. In contrast in the US, children’s independence is promoted from infancy. Additionally, the article noted the need for behaviour analyst to recognize their own biases (p.86). This statement resonates with me as there are a lot of westernized behaviours that I do not agree with so what I do is to always tell myself I am providing care and treatment to human beings and that’s what is important. This helps me to look beyond the people I am treating.
Consequently, Masuda et al. (2020) stated that racism hinders economies, academic achievements and cause mental health issues (p.336). This is because qualified individuals sometimes are not employed for jobs due to their skin color. This leads to brilliant individuals not working to build economies. Also, rejection due to skin color in all aspects of life, can lead to mental stresses. Additionally, governments end up investing in mental health services and countries may lose manpower to suicide because of the mental stresses. For example, when I was working as a care coordinator, I noticed all the people in the ethnic minorities were hardly promoted. In other words, all the ethnic minorities that had worked there for years had been at the same level since they started. I remember one thing that resonated was that whenever they went for job interviews and they were in contention with a white person in the company, they were never chosen regardless of how much qualifications or experience they had. One was portrayed as difficult because of refusal to agree with senior management team on certain policies that were not beneficial to the team. I remember a time in a team meeting someone in the ethnic minority suggested something, it was rejected outrightly but as soon as another person of white ethnicity said the same thing, it was said to be a brilliant idea. Racism is learned and I believe it can also be unlearned. The authors expressed the fact that racism can be learned through respondent learning (p.337). This is evident in the way the color black has been associated with evil, dirt and an unpleasant event. This has translated into how people of Afro ethnicity are treated. Black is a neutral stimulus which over the years has been associated with negativity, people have now been conditioned to see the color as something bad that people should fear.
According to Szabo (2020), women devote their time to service work than full professor positions (p.337). In my view, women are nurturers, so they like to be on the ground providing direct services. Also, society has made the profession as a professor a man’s job and certain cultures frown on women taking such positions. Similarly, I was happy to see some women as authors in Journal of Experimental Analysis of behavior (JEAB). Even though the author suggested the number is low, the fact that 13% of women are authors is good. I know how time-consuming research can be and some of these women may be mothers and wives. However, the fact that they can combine research with their social life should be applauded.
The article by Wright (2019) highlighted the importance of self-reflection by behavior analyst (p.806) which Hughes Fong et al. (2016) also recommended. Self-reflection promotes accountability and ways to improve services. The article also indicated the design of behaviour interventions does not address cultural differences (p.805). This supports my argument earlier that ABA originated from the US and all interventions are standardized to US culture. I am amazed by the fact that the ethical code for behaviour analysts prohibits discrimination of any kind, but it seems the training and education provided by the BACB standards has been promoting discrimination unconsciously. I am saying this because it took all these years before they added diversity, equity and inclusion CEUs recently.
I would commend the article by Conners et al. (2019) for giving specific gaps and limitations which can be improved on. I noticed in two of the articles (Dennison et al. 2019; Conners et al. 2019) the BACB are yet to gather data on BCBA ethnicities and races which I believe is necessary. I am just wondering if it is because registered BCBA do not provide such information on their applications or because the board does not see it as a necessity.
In conclusion, staff of ABA are diverse and as such inclusion and equity should be promoted for effective services to be provided for clients. The BACB and other stakeholders should enforce the guidelines on diversity, inclusion and equity by being role models of it.
References
Van Ewijk, A. R. (2011). Diversity and diversity policy: diving into fundamental differences. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 24(5), 680-694.
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Equity. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved October 6, 2024, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/equity
Conners, B., Johnson, A., Duarte, J., Murriky, R, & Marks, K. (2019). Future directions
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Dennison, A., Lund, E.M., Brodhead, M.T., Mejia, L., Armenta, A., & Leal, J. (2019).
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Hughes Fong, E., Catagnus, R.M., Brodhead, M.T., Quigley, S., & Field, S. (2016).
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Matsuda, K. Garcia, Y., Catagnus, R., & Ackerlund Brandt, J. (2020). Can behavior
analysis help us understand and reduce racism? A review of the current literature.
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Szabo, T.G. (2020). Equity and diversity in behavior analysis: Lessons from Skinner
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Wright, P.I. (2019). Cultural humility in the practice of applied behavior analysis. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 12, 805-809.
