Compassionate Approaches to Supporting Culturally Diverse Families Living with Autism

May 7, 2021 10:00am-11:30pm PDT

Presented by Daniel Mendoza, BCBA, Jessica Carter, BCBA, Carolina Gonzalez, BCBA, Jacqueline Ramirez, MS, and hosted by Jonathan Tarbox, BCBA- D

Description of Event

Ample research has supported the effectiveness of behavioral approaches to training parents of individuals with autism. However, traditional behavioral approaches have often focused on parent “compliance” with treatment protocols, while sometimes failing to acknowledge the unique values and cultures of the individual family. This panel discussion brings together a diverse group of researchers and practitioners to discuss the need for a more compassionate approach to supporting parents of individuals with autism within applied behavior analytic (ABA) programs.

Join Jonathan Tarbox, Ph.D., BCBA-D, University of Southern California and FirstSteps for Kids, Daniel Mendoza, BCBA, Special Needs Network, Jessica Carter, BCBA, Special Needs Network, Carolina Gonzalez, BCBA, Special Needs Network, and Jacqueline Ramirez, MS, Positive Behavior Supports Corporation and University of Southern California in discussing the need for a more compassionate and culturally humble approach, the panelists will provide specific practical strategies for putting parents and their unique perspectives at the center of daily practice. The panelists will provide strategies for placing parent values, needs, concerns, and culture at the forefront of behavioral parent training, without sacrificing effectiveness or behavioral rigor.

Learning objectives:

Attendees will be able to describe why prioritizing family values and concerns is critical to parent support and training

Attendees will be able to provide examples of more-compassionate and less-compassionate procedures for parent training

Attendees will be able to describe why it is important to humbly consider culture when supporting families

Attendees will be able to describe one procedure for self-reflection in the context of compassionate and culturally humble parent support

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Presenters

Daniel Mendoza, BCBA

Daniel Mendoza is the Clinical Director for Special Needs Network Applied Behavior Analysis program. Over the last six years, he has been part of an interdisciplinary behavioral health team; including behavioral analysts, clinical psychologists, social workers, and pediatricians, providing behavioral health treatment to children diagnosed with autism. During his 20-year career in he has provided services to individuals diagnosed with a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders. In his time, he has developed skill sets ranging from direct behavior intervention to program development, management, and leadership. At Special Needs
Network Daniel has headed programs such as Youth Employment Leadership and Empowerment Program (YELEP) targeting youth in underserved communities and introducing them to careers in behavioral health. Through this program, Daniel has introduced, mentored, supported youth through their undergraduate and graduate careers in behavior analysis with the eventuality of becoming Board Certified Behavior Analysts. Developing leaders from within the community to provide behavior analytic services in the community is one of his career priorities. His efforts have been pivotal in developing other programs such as Camp JPAC, providing summer enrichment activities to children diagnosed with autism and their typically developing peers. He has extensive experience training and managing large teams of professionals while developing cohesiveness and maintaining operational efficiency. Daniel seeks to make a change in South Los Angeles where he grew up through providing high-quality evidence-based services and continual leadership development of future behavior analysts.
Most recently he has joined the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion SIG leadership board for the California Association of Behavior Analysis with the goal of creating equitable spaces for individuals from underserved communities.

Jessica Carter, BCBA

Jessica Carter is a BCBA who has worked with individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder from ages 2-21 years old. Jessica graduated from Grand Canyon University with her master’s in psychology. Jessica has worked in a variety of settings including public schools, charter schools, and in-home sessions. Through collaborating with parents and other professionals, Jessica hopes to make meaningful changes to behavior to help participants have a better overall quality of life.

Carolina Gonzalez, BCBA

Carolina Elizabeth Gonzalez is the Assistant Clinical Director for Special Needs Network in the Applied Behavior Analysis program. Early in her career, she began working with children who were behind up to 2 years in English and comprehension. Soon after she started with SNN by volunteering with the Special needs network during the all-inclusive summer camp program. It was important for her to serve her community and give back to younger generations. Carolina since has been with the Special needs Network for 8 years and has worn many hats. Throughout the 8 years has led the art program, participated in parent advocacy mentoring, lead social skills program, became a behavior analyst, directed quality assurance department, and has assisted in leading new behavior analyst into their roles. Carolina seeks to continue to represent her community and empower the youth with the goal to continue to create equality for families and mentor the youth in Applied Behavior Analysis.

Jacqueline Ramirez, MS

Jacqueline Ramirez is a recent graduate of USC’s master’s in ABA program. She has presented at CalABA and ABAI discussing the importance of considering culture across practice and service delivery. She has also co-authored a paper titled Multilingual Diversity in the Field of Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism: A Brief Review and Discussion of Future Directions. Jacqueline is currently training staff at her service provider to engage in culturally humble and anti-racist behaviors during service delivery, and within society.

Jonathan Tarbox, Ph.D., BCBA-D

Dr. Jonathan Tarbox is the Founder and Program Director of the Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis program at the University of Southern California, as well as Director of Research at FirstSteps for Kids. Dr. Tarbox is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Behavior Analysis in Practice and a Board Member of the ABA Task Force to Eradicate Social Injustice. He has published five books on applied behavior analysis and autism treatment, is the Series Editor of the Elsevier book series Critical Specialties in Treating Autism and Other Behavioral Challenges, and an author of over 90 peer-reviewed journal articles and chapters in scientific texts. His research focuses on behavioral interventions for teaching complex skills to individuals with autism, applications of Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) inside of applied behavior analysis, and applications of applied behavior analysis to issues of diversity and social justice.

Past Events

Racial Equity in ABA: Practical Strategies for Hiring, Developing, and Retaining Black Professionals

November 20, 2020 10:30am-12:00pm PDT

Presented by Iris Owens, BCBA, Erika Braxton-White, Brandon Whitfield, BCBA, and hosted by Jonathan Tarbox, BCBA- D

Description of Event

Newly released demographic data on the makeup of certified professionals in the applied behavior analysis (ABA) profession show that the percentage of professionals in the field who identify as African American lags far behind the percentage of the US population who are African American. A 2019 study by the University of Colorado Boulder found that autism rates among communities of color within the United States have increased by double digits in recent years, with Black Americans now exceeding whites in most states, and Hispanic rates increasing faster than any other group. Attracting and retaining diverse therapists, supervisors, and BCBAs to support these families should not be any different than attracting entry-level staff and management in any other field, yet our industry consistently finds itself struggling to create agencies that are ethnically reflective of the communities they serve.

Join Dr. Jonathan Tarbox, Program Director of the University of Southern California’s Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis program; Brandon Whitfield, Clinical Director of Autism Spectrum Therapies; Iris Owens, Clinical Behavior Analyst at Harbor Regional Center; and Erika Braxton-White, Manager of Diversity and Inclusion at Harbor Regional Center, for an open and honest discussion about what creates barriers in recruiting and retaining diverse staff, and how we can work together collectively to create a pipeline for entry and advancement of clinicians of color within the field.

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The national dialogue on racial inequality is equally applicable to the field of ABA as it is to society more broadly and we have an opportunity to make a real, practical contribution through the ABA agencies in which we work. We need to support people of color in their pursuit of an advanced education in order to promote a more equitable future. All ABA professionals can participate in the discussion, take practical action, achieve results, and contribute to a more just and equitable future.

At the end of this interactive workshop, attendees will be able to:

– Identify specific actionable steps toward becoming more inclusive leaders

– Identify specific actionable steps for seeking and using employee feedback to create more inclusive organizational cultures

– Identify specific actionable steps for your agency to attract, hire, support, and retain diverse employees

– Get answers to questions about the barriers your agency is experiencing

Registration is $30 per attendee. 1.5 BACB SUPERVISION AND ETHICS CEUs are available. 100% of registration fees are going to be used to fund the USC Graduate Student Scholarship and to compensate non-USC speakers for their time. None of the revenue raised will go to the university or any university employees. Please consider making an additional donation to fund the USC ABA Graduate Student Scholarship. Please contact Veronica Padilla at vp34798@usc.edu with any questions. Click this link to REGISTER NOW

Presenters

Iris Owens, BCBA

Midwest-born with Southern roots, Iris Owens currently calls L.A. home where she obtained an M.A. in Teaching and her BCBA followed by an M.A. in Human Behavior and is currently pursuing a Diversity and Inclusion certificate from Cornell University. When not tackling her mission to visit all 50 states, Iris works as a BCBA Consultant at Harbor Regional Center where she teaches caregivers about ABA and advocates for equitable and appropriate services for her clients. Somewhere in the mix is her awesome 30-year-old son who happens to have autism along with a couple of cats and a penchant for naps.

Erika Braxton-White

Ms. Braxton-White has spent more than 10 years working in the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) space. She spent five years with American Honda Motor Coworking as their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Communications Manager, and the last four years of her career supporting the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) Regional Center system to develop a more culturally competent staff and service provider network through training and DEI program development.

Brandon Whitfield, BCBA

Brandon is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst from Long Beach, California. He has worked in the field for over 10 years. Currently, he works for Autism Spectrum Therapies as a Clinical Director overseeing the south Los Angeles and beach cities regions. He devotes his time to community outreach and creating opportunities for people of color to grow into leadership positions within the field of applied behavior analysis.