(REC) Aligning Parenting and Analysts Utilizing Connection and Self-Care

There often seems to be a divide in the field of ABA between practitioners and parents of clients. In particular, a line is drawn between what “parenting” looks like as opposed to “therapy.” This causes the goal of treatment to be shifting caregivers’ parenting to be more in line with ABA interventions as they are traditionally implemented. This approach can lead to conflict with caregivers and may also decrease effectiveness of interventions by valuing clinical objectivity over emotions and lived experience. This divide becomes particularly evident when a practitioner is also a parent and internal conflict results. This presentation will explore ways to bring parenting and ABA into alignment which emphasize connection and self-care. It will also highlight how this can improve the efficacy of our interventions.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify competing contingencies in application of ABA technologies and personal parenting
• Label strategies for bringing them in alignment
• Describe benefits for practice with clients and parent training