"Dear Don" Ethics Panel


Original Air Date: November 30, 2023

CEU offered: 1.5 Ethics CEU

Webinar Duration: 90 minutes

CE Instructors:

  • Tyra Sellers, PhD, BCBA, JD
  • Darren Sush, PsyD, BCBA-D
  • Mary Jane Weiss, PhD, BCBA-D, LBA


Abstract:

This is the inaugural session of the "Dear Don" Ethics Panel. Moderated by the co-leaders of CASP's Ethics Special Interest Group (SIG), participants will receive in-depth instruction on the 11-step process of ethical decision-making based on the steps provided by the BACB. Intended to be a quarterly event, our panel of experts will demonstrate the use of this ethical decision-making model to address submissions from participants on ethical dilemmas they are currently facing in the field. Participants will be given a worksheet to implement the modeled process when facing future dilemmas.

Learning Objectives

  1. Participants will describe how to conduct a risk-benefit analysis when facing an ethical dilemma.
  2. Participants will identify all stakeholders when considering a possible ethical dilemma.
  3. Participants will outline possible considerations related to diversity, equity, and inclusion when assessing an ethical dilemma.
  4. Participants will identify the critical components for developing an action plan to address an ethical dilemma.


Instructor(s)

Tyra Sellers, JD, PhD, BCBA-D

Tyra P. Sellers is the CEO of the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts. She earned a B.A. in Philosophy and M.A. in Special Education from San Francisco State University, a J.D. from the University of San Francisco, a Ph.D. from Utah State University, and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst®. Her professional and research interests focus on professional ethics, training and supervision, assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, and variability. Dr. Sellers has over 20 years of clinical experience working with individuals with disabilities in a wide variety of settings. She has held positions as an Assistant Professor at Utah State University and as the Director of Ethics at the Behavior Analyst Certification Board®. She is honored to have been the recipient of professional recognitions, such as OBM Network’s “Innovation Research Award” (2022); Utah Association for Behavior Analysis Student Committee “UtABA Mentor Award” (2019); Association for Behavior Analysis International Student Committee “Outstanding Mentor Award” (2019); Utah State University “Special Education 2014-2015 Teacher of the Year” by vote of undergraduate students. She has published several journal articles, co-authored four book chapters, co-authored the book titled Building and Sustaining Meaningful and Effective Relationships As A Supervisor and Mentor and the workbook titled pair titled The New Supervisor Workbook and The Consulting Supervisor’s Workbook. She currently serves on the editorial boards for several peer-reviewed journals.

Mary Jane Weiss

Mary Jane Weiss, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LABA is the Dean of the Institute for Applied Behavioral Science and Director of the Ph.D. Program in ABA at Endicott College, where she has been for 12 years. She also does research with the team at Melmark. She has worked in the field of ABA and Autism for 38 years. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Rutgers University in 1990 and she became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in 2000. She previously worked for 16 years at the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center at Rutgers University. Her clinical and research interests center on defining best practice and humane ABA techniques, integrating compassionate care and cultural responsiveness into ABA service delivery, exploring ways to enhance the ethical conduct of practitioners, training staff to be optimally effective at instruction and at collaboration, understanding and partnering with neurodiverse voices, and maximizing family members’ expertise and adaptation. She is passionately committed to empowering parents as interventionists in their child’s treatment. She is also interested in finding interventions that parents find to be acceptable, enjoyable, and accessible. She serves on the Scientific Council of the Organization for Autism Research, is on the board of the Association for Science in Autism Treatment, is a regular contributor to the ABA Ethics Hotline, is on the editorial board of Behavior Analysis in Practice, and is an advisor to the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies.

Clinical Program Senior Manager, Cigna Darren Sush, PsyD, BCBA-D

Darren Sush, PsyD, BCBA-D is a licensed clinical psychologist and a board-certified behavior analyst (doctoral) with over 15 years of experience developing and participating in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services for children and adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities. Dr. Sush is the Clinical Program Senior Manager with Cigna, leading the Autism/ABA Psychology Review team, and is the co-author of 'A Workbook of Ethical Case Scenarios in Applied Behavior Analysis'. He is an adjunct faculty member in the Behavioral Psychology program at Pepperdine University, and an associate professor in the ABA and Clinical Psychology programs at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, teaching doctoral and master’s courses in applied behavior analysis and psychology.