Ethics in Neuropsychology-Informed ABA Practice

Neuroethics, Neurocognitive Diagnosis, and Responsible Use of Assessment Findings

This 3-part on-demand webinar series helps behavior analysts use neuropsychological, psychoeducational, medical, developmental, and diagnostic information ethically and effectively in ABA practice. The series brings together whole-learner treatment planning, responsible interpretation of assessment findings, and broader neuroethical issues in neurocognitive diagnosis and rehabilitation.

The first two parts focus on how BCBAs can ethically integrate clinical, neuropsychological, psychological, psychiatric, medical, developmental, and psychoeducational information into ABA programming without stepping outside their professional role. Participants will review BACB Ethics Code considerations related to scope of competence, collaboration, referral, consultation, individualized treatment, and responsible use of assessment findings.

Participants will also learn how common psychoeducational scores and report findings may inform instructional planning, task analysis, prompting, reinforcement, accommodations, goal selection, generalization, and progress monitoring. Measures such as the WISC and Woodcock-Johnson are discussed in terms of treatment relevance, while maintaining clear ethical boundaries around diagnosis and test interpretation.

The third part introduces neuroethics as a discipline concerned with ethical issues arising from neuroscience and neuropsychology. Participants will examine ethical questions related to neurocognitive evaluation, diagnosis, rehabilitation, clinical uncertainty, assessment content, and the responsibility to bring neuropsychology into neuroethics and neuroethics into neuropsychology.

Together, the series supports more ethical, collaborative, and person-centered ABA practice. The focus is not on training BCBAs to diagnose or administer psychological tests, but on helping clinicians understand the treatment relevance of assessment findings, ask better interdisciplinary questions, and design programming that reflects the learner’s cognitive, academic, adaptive, emotional, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental profile.

Format: 3-part on-demand webinar series
Length: 5 hours, 45 minutes total
CEUs: 7 BACB CEUs
Presenters: Dr. Vanetta LaRosa and Dr. Goldberg
Audience: BCBAs, BCBA-Ds, BCaBAs, clinical supervisors, ABA program directors, school-based behavior analysts, psychologists, educators, interdisciplinary team members, and professionals supporting learners with autism, ADHD, learning disabilities, intellectual disability, executive-function weaknesses, emotional or behavioral concerns, or complex developmental profiles

Included Sessions

• Part 1: Ethical Integration of Neuropsychological and Clinical Information in ABA Practice, Dr. Vanetta LaRosa, 2 hours 10 minutes
• Part 2: Understanding Psychoeducational Scores for ABA Programming, Dr. Vanetta LaRosa, 35 minutes
• Part 3: Neuroethics and the Ethics of Neurocognitive Diagnosis, Dr. Goldberg, 3 hours

Learning Objectives

• Describe how neuropsychological, psychoeducational, medical, developmental, and diagnostic information can inform ethical ABA treatment planning.
• Identify BACB Ethics Code considerations related to scope of competence, collaboration, referral, consultation, individualized treatment, and responsible use of assessment findings.
• Recognize the ethical limits of using neuropsychological and psychoeducational reports in ABA practice, including the distinction between treatment planning and diagnosis.
• Explain how executive functioning, attention, memory, language, sensory processing, emotional regulation, neurological history, and diagnostic complexity may affect behavior, learning, and treatment response.
• Interpret common psychoeducational score types at a practical level, including standard scores, percentile ranks, confidence intervals, index scores, cluster scores, age equivalents, and grade equivalents.
• Describe how assessment findings from tools such as the WISC and Woodcock-Johnson may inform instructional planning, prompting, reinforcement, accommodations, goal selection, generalization, and progress monitoring.
• Define neuroethics and explain its relevance to neuropsychology, neurocognitive assessment, diagnosis, rehabilitation, and clinical decision-making.
• Identify ethical issues that may arise from the substance and content of neurocognitive evaluation and rehabilitation.
• Use interdisciplinary collaboration to ask better clinical questions and design ABA programming that reflects the learner’s cognitive, academic, adaptive, emotional, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental profile.

Disclaimer

This training is for professional education only. Assessment instruments are discussed only at the level of general clinical purpose and treatment-planning implications. No proprietary test items, scoring forms, protocols, stimulus materials, rating-scale items, or administration procedures are reproduced. Participants should consult official publishers, manuals, and professional standards for authorized test administration, scoring, and interpretation.