Embracing AltBA
Embracing AltBA: Going Beyond Traditional ABA
“That doesn’t sound like ABA”
This is a phrase I frequently hear when discussing my work with disenchanted behavior analysts. They’re fed up with the sclerotic systems of education and healthcare where policy and procedure reign supreme, and the mantra, ‘that’s how we’ve always done things,’ is mindlessly enacted. They want more.
The field of ABA is facing various flashpoints. There’s instability in the areas of public perception, inconsistencies in training, licensure and certification, and the financial constraints of government or government-adjacent funding sources. Like all flashpoints, these tensions will run high, erupt, and ultimately initiate the next cycle of behavior analysis. I’m confident that this next cycle will reform the field. Am I an optimist? I’ve been called worse.
Over the next decade, we should expect to see two or three ABA agencies monopolize the market nationwide. This will be United Launch Alliance, an agreement between the aerospace giants, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, that negotiated no-bid contracts with the Department of Defense. That was, until the bubble burst in 2006 when SpaceX launched the Falcon 1. Much to the ULA’s chagrin, AltSpace delivered and continues to deliver on what ‘legacy aerospace’ promised and continues to promise.
Like the ULA, ‘legacy ABA’ is here to stay. It has become an institution, and institutions don’t die. But, like AltSpace, AltBA (will that catch on?) is wedging its way into the marketplace and will lead the reform. Fortunately, it turns out that this reform is something the market can handle.
But, when my serial entrepreneur partner suggested private practice, I balked at the idea. I had no business or finance experience, no marketing background, and no real capital for a startup. Either I would bootstrap and succeed, or fail and return to a legacy ABA job. I decided to take the risk.
My introduction to AltBA was unintentional and yet pivotal. First, I happened upon Precision Teaching (PT). But, when I heard Neil DeGrasse Tyson say, “Measurement is the lifeblood of all science. In fact, those sciences that have not yet achieved a system of measurement cannot claim themselves to be mature subjects,” I understood that he wasn’t speaking in platitudes (The Verge, 2012). I realized then that I couldn’t afford to not measure behavior using the PT system of measurement.
And, I also couldn’t afford to have a narrow practice. As I studied PT, I discovered new applications of psychological science from practitioners operating on the frontiers of therapy and education. There, I found a serendipitous and decades’ old relationship between PT and behavior analysis, instructional design, education, RFT and ACT. It became clear that these are the six pillars of an AltBA practitioner.
Of course, AltBA and private practice comes with investment and risk. Steve Hayes once said, “time is not a predictor of competence.”
This line of work is not for everyone. It involves significant time and financial investment way beyond the exam, but it pays dividends. For those renegade behavior analysts looking to subvert the status quo, work with a variety of individuals, and make discoveries, private practice offers a pathway towards balance and fulfillment, and the future of AltBA.
Sophie Steele, MA., BCBA, IBA