Thursday, October 19, 2023Due to the lecture of Dr. Dean Adams for the Department of Education and Diversity at the Faculty of Education and the Research Center for Disability Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Iceland.
People who have been educated in behavior analysis and work in that field in Iceland (behaviourists) always oppose and are against the use of any methods that cause pain, discomfort or are harmful in any way.
Unfortunately, it is the case that in most subjects abuse of methods can occur, compares an organization such as the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC). Behavioral scientists in Iceland oppose the work that takes place at the JRC and accept criticism of the work that takes place there. We also think it is important to note that the work carried out at the JRC is in no way indicative of the work of behavioral scientists in Iceland or other Nordic countries.
Those who work in behavior analysis have their clients’ interests at heart, and it is their moral duty to protect clients from possible harm that comes as a result of poor knowledge and/or misuse of behavior analysis methods (cf. Statement from the Association for Behavior Analysis, 1989). Behaviorists follow a strict code of ethics, whether it is the company’s code of ethics that certifies that people have sufficient knowledge and training in behavior analysis (https://www.bacb.com/ethics/ethics-code/) or within the profession they work in, for example in psychology or education for example.
The goal of behaviorists is always to:
- Use methods that are least intrusive for the client and likely to improve their quality of life.
- Teach skills that are important to the client (for example, increasing the individual's independence and autonomy, teaching expression, giving the individual choice, teaching refusal).
- Improve the environment so that it is likely to result in reward rather than punishment.
- All services are individualized.
- Use proven methods based on peer-reviewed research when setting up any type of intervention/treatment. This means that every client has the right to an intervention that has been shown to have the intended effect and to be spared interventions that are not effective.
- Use methods based on behavioral reinforcement rather than other methods.
- We encourage all of you to familiarize yourself with the work that behavioral scientists do in Iceland, whether it is by asking those who have training and work in behavioral analysis or on the company's website www.atferli.is .
We encourage all of you to familiarize yourself with the work that behavioral scientists do in Iceland, whether it is by asking those who have training and work in behavioral analysis or on the company’s website www.atferli.is .
On behalf of the board of SATÍS
This statement was approved by the board of SATÍS on October 3, 2018.
The board of SATÍS consists of:
Berglind Sveinbjörnsdóttir, PhD, BCBA, chair
Steinunn Hafsteinsdóttir, MSc, BCBA, treasurer
Katrín Sveina Björnsdóttir, MSc, secretary
Ása Rún Ingimarsdóttir, MSc, BCBA, co-director
Hólmfríður Ósk Arnalds, MSc, BCBA, co-director
