I got the distinct honor and pleasure to talk to a very fine and increasingly well-known behavior analyst, Emily Wilson. I’ve been fortunate enough to present several times with Emily in recent years. One of the main topics of our discussions has been about the importance of assent in education. To assent is to give a physical demonstration of consent. This means that if someone doesn’t offer verbal or written consent, perhaps they’re not capable of giving it. We should strive for assent in our education programs and also look at the withdrawal of assent as communication instead of just refusal behavior.
Emily Wilson has been a BCBA since 2016 and has worked with autistic individuals and others using the principles of ABA. Today, she’s the current chair and founder of the Tidewater Behavioral Analysts Collaborative. She’s also worked with Dr. Megan Miller, who was recently on the show as well. In this episode, Emily shares her personal experience with the importance of assent, as well as things she’s received in her own training that didn’t sit right with her. She also explains the difference between assent and consent and some of the contrasts between the current field of ABA and the past.
Join us next week for Part 2 with Emily Wilson.
What’s Inside:
- What is assent and the importance of assent in education.
- The difference between consent and assent.
- How Step 7 can be looked at as a troubleshooting step.
Mentioned in this episode
