Beyond Compliance: Assent-Based ABA in Practice

Beyond Compliance: Assent-Based ABA in Practice *Please note: there are no CEUs available when watching this on YouTube. For free CE credits, please visit: https://openceu.com/courses/beyond-co... Danielle Virnelson presents a 30-minute CE training for BCBAs on “Beyond Compliance,” defining assent as ongoing, observable agreement to participate and contrasting compliance-based ABA (task completion prioritized) with assent-based ABA (willing participation, engagement, and affect included). She addresses concerns that assent is unscientific or prevents teaching necessary skills, arguing it is grounded in behavior-analytic concepts and aligned with the BACB Ethics Code on best interest, dignity, autonomy, and least restrictive procedures, with trauma-informed implications. The script outlines how to identify assent and withdrawal signals across verbal and nonverbal learners, reframes escape behavior through an assent lens, and explains teaching essential skills (e.g., toothbrushing) with gradual exposure, reinforcement, predictability, and adjustment when withdrawal occurs. It provides six practical shifts, discusses language that shapes clinical culture, warns of common implementation pitfalls, and emphasizes training and supervision of RBTs as key to consistent assent-based practice. 00:00 Introduction 00:53 Learning Objectives 01:47 About This Training 02:43 About the Presenter 03:49 Why Is This Topic So Polarizing? 05:27 What Assent Is NOT 07:05 What Assent IS 08:55 Why Assent Matters Clinically 10:36 Assent vs. Compliance: A Side-by-Side Look 12:12 What This Looks Like in Real Life 14:03 Recognizing Withdrawal of Assent 17:09 What About Necessary Skills? 18:49 Example: Tooth Brushing — Compliance-Based Approach 20:29 Example: Tooth Brushing — Reframed with Assent 22:17 Easy Assent-Based Shifts You Can Make Today 25:54 Common Pitfalls to Avoid 27:50 For RBTs Specifically 29:43 Key Messages 31:24 Thank You