Higher education and behavior analysis in Europe: creating a unified approach for the training of autism professionals

Abstract

Training of behaviour analysts for autism services, has improved notably within a European higher education context. However, regional discrepancies associated with economic, health care, social services, and institutional policies magnify the importance of creating appropriate unified training and consumer protection. Although the European Association for Behaviour Analysis (EABA) has endorsed the Behavior Analyst Certification Board's (BACB) designations, the absence of European and national regulations, recognition, and accreditation remain significant barriers to quality training and implementation. These challenges are particularly pertinent in light of BACB decision to limit certification to residents in the USA and Canada after 2022. Advances, challenges, and future directions are discussed within the context of higher education in the United Kingdom,

Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the WHO Caregiver Skills Training in Public Health Services in Italy

“…This likely reflects the variety of previous professional experiences of the clinicians, including receiving training and being directly involved in delivering ASD-specific behavioral interventions, rather than their seniority. As discussed more extensively in Salomone et al ( 2021 ), the uptake of CST intervention strategies by part of specialist professionals who nonetheless have received limited training in developmental/behavioral methods (Roll-Pettersson et al, 2020 ) presents with specific challenges.…”

Acceptability and feasibility of the World Health Organization’s Caregiver Skills Training implemented in the Italian National Health System

“…In HICs, while there may be more resources for implementation in community settings, it is still necessary to identify and address potentially culturally inappropriate or challenging elements (Stahmer et al, 2019). Until recently, in several European countries, including Italy, psychoanalytic methods were the primary approach taught in mental health and child development professions, and comprehensive training in behavioural principles at higher-education level is still lacking today (Roll-Pettersson et al, 2020). In the past decades, there have been substantial shifts in the clinical understanding of autism among Italian practitioners (Di Santo & Magoni, 2020), although 50% of child neuropsychiatry services still do not offer any kind of ASD-specific interventions and provision of behavioural or developmental interventions is patchy (Borgi et al, 2019).…”

Professional Development of Behavior Analysts in Europe: A Snapshot for 21 Countries

“…It is regrettable that a certain amount of unprofessional conduct has crept into service delivery in some places (Keenan et al, 2010;cf. Sallows, 2000) and a credible rejection of the use of aversive procedures in early records (Lovaas, 1987; European Association of Behaviour Analysis [EABA], 2022 ;Dillenburger & Keenan, 1994;Keenan & Dillenburger, 2020;Leaf et al, 2018;Odom, 2021) has meant that condemnation of ABA has gained traction in other quarters (Milton, 2012). This is unfortunate, in particular because the science of behavior analysis has a long history of rejecting the use of aversives.…”