Scenario

Ali is a 5-year-old child diagnosed with autism that engages in several problem behaviors in a public-school classroom setting. The current classroom includes one teacher, a teacher's assistant, and a paraprofessional with 12 students in the class. This is a self-contained classroom, and all of the students in the classroom have various needs. Ali's most severe problem behavior includes self-injurious behavior of hitting herself in the forehead. This behavior is often mild in magnitude but sometimes more forceful to the point that it leaves a mark. Currently, the behavior occurs about 15 times per day. Ali's parents are concerned that this behavior may be causing headaches and other pain.

You have been hired by the school district to create a plan for Ali's behavior and to train staff on the intervention. After observing the behavior, you meet with the principal and classroom teacher to discuss your findings. You notice that the behavior mostly occurs during group lessons or when the teacher is not attending to Ali. The function of the self-injurious behavior is hypothesized to be attention.

You determine that the most appropriate behavior intervention is a Differential Reinforcement of Other behaviors (DRO) procedure for the absence of head hitting. Since the function is hypothesized to be attention-seeking, you also believe that extinction should be combined with the DRO. You understand that there is a potential for an extinction burst in cases like Ali's. Therefore, before proceeding, you want to make certain that you have informed consent from all relevant parties and that everyone involved is well trained in the intervention.

Refer to Sections 1 and 2 of the code ( Linked) to discuss your professional responsibility and your responsibility in practice in Ali's case. Then, refer to Sections 3 and 4 to discuss your responsibility to your client(s), and your ethical responsibility to supervise and train the staff.

• Identify the ethics codes from Section 1, 2,3, and 4 that are relevant to the scenario.
• Using specific information from the scenario, describe how the relevant codes apply to the situation.
• Explain how you will ensure your adherence to the codes.

https://www.bacb.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Ethics-Code-for-Behavior-Analysts-230119-a.pdf