Gina Green

Ph.D., BCBA-D

KEYNOTE

Abstract

“Evidence-based practice” has become a popular buzz-phrase. Many groups have developed guidelines for treating various conditions that are described as “evidence-based,” and that phrase is being used to market many interventions. Some laws and policies even mandate that practices be “evidence-based.” This would seem to be a good thing for behavior analysts and consumers of behavior analytic services. But is it? Although “evidence-based practice” originally referred to practices that have proved effective in scientific studies, developers of some practice guidelines have defined “evidence” in a way that excludes most behavior analytic research. The implications of those definitions, the question of why the science of behavior analysis is ignored by so many guidelines developers, and what behavior analysts might do to remedy the situation are the topics of this presentation.

Learning Objectives

1. State a widely accepted definition of evidence-based practice.

2. State why behavior analytic research is excluded from many evidence-based practice guideline protocols.

3. Name two actions behavior analysts can take to ensure the behavior analytic research is considered in the development of evidence-based practice guidelines.

Biography

Gina Green received a PhD in Psychology (Analysis of Behavior) from Utah State University in 1986 following undergraduate and master’s-degree studies at Michigan State University. She is currently a consultant in private practice, having been a faculty member in Behavior Analysis and Therapy at Southern Illinois University; Director of Research at the New England Center for Children in Southborough, Massachusetts; Associate Scientist at the E.K. Shriver Center for Mental Retardation in Waltham, Massachusetts; Research Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School; a Lecturer in Public Health and Special Education at San Diego State University; and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts. She has authored numerous publications on the treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities and brain injuries as well as the experimental analysis of behavior. Dr. Green co-edited the books Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism and Making a Difference: Behavioral Intervention for Autism and is a co-author of Strategies and Tactics of Behavioral Research and Practice (4th ed). with James M. Johnston and Henry S. Pennypacker. She serves or has served on the editorial boards of several professional journals in developmental disabilities and behavior analysis and the advisory boards of several autism programs and organizations as well as the B.F. Skinner Foundation. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral, former president of the Association for Behavior Analysis and the California Association for Behavior Analysis, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, a founding Director and former CEO of the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts, and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Council for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health, and the Association for Behavior Analysis. Other recognitions and awards include Psychology Today’s “Mental Health Professional of the Year” (2000); honorary Doctor of Science degree from The Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland (2005); California Association for Behavior Analysis Award for Outstanding Contributions to Behavior Analysis (2013); New York State Association for Behavior Analysis John W. Jacobson Award for Contributions to Behavior Analysis (2013); Berkshire Association for Behavior Analysis & Therapy Sidman Award for Enduring Contributions to Applied Behavior Analysis (2014); Friend of the Kendall Centers, Modesto, CA (2014); Autism Speaks Provider of the Year (2014); Behavior Analyst Certification Board Michael Hemingway Award (2017); American Psychological Association Division 25 Don Hake Translational Research Award (2017); California Association for Behavior Analysis Gerald L. Shook Advocacy Award (2018); ABA in PA Initiative Trailblazer Advocate Award (2019); and Autism Law Summit Award for Sustained Outstanding Advocacy (2023). Dr. Green lectures and consults widely on autism and related disorders, behavioral research, effective interventions for people with disabilities, and public policies affecting the practice of applied behavior analysis.

Duration: 1hr 15 min

PDUs/CEs: 1.5

Target audience: Behavior analysts, assistant behavior analysts, behavior technicians, students of behavior analysis, policymakers