This is an encore presentation from ABAI 2024, Philadephia:

Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) is at a crucial point in its development as a field. The number of Master's level certificants has grown from 28 in 1999 to over 60,000 in 2023 (BACB , 2023). There are board certified behavior analysts in every state and most territories of the United States. ABA has become ubiquitous in this country's education system and is considered a standard of care for children with autism (Layden et. Al., 2023; Meyers et. Al., 2007)). At the same time, ABA has come under heavy criticism. Autism and neurodiversity rights groups have pointed to ethical concerns with behavior analysis, and stories of harm by former clients and practitioners of ABA services are present across social media ((Latimer, 2019; Ram, 2020; Wilkenfield & McCarthy, 2020). This paper explores this issue through the lens of social justice and how the field may be vulnerable to epistemic injustice by lacking systems and structures to adequately attend to the voices of the vulnerable populations it serves. The authors describe how the framework of cultural humility, the practice of attaining assent, and the science interbehaviorism could be beneficial in moving ABA forward towards greater social validity and decreased potential for harm.