We were curious to know how many BCBAs working in early intervention had studied child development or early childhood education, giving them an understanding of the unique learning needs of the early childhood population. So we conducted an informal survey and got over 300 responses! Here's what we discovered:

Of the BCBAs that responded to the survey:

• 41.2% of BCBAs work mostly with children 0-6.
• Only 17.6% of BCBAs working in early intervention have a degree related to early childhood.
• That means that more than 80% of BCBAs working in early intervention might not know that young children have different learning needs than other age groups. 

From The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, Standard 1.05, Practicing Within Scope of Competence, compels BCBAs to "practice only within their identified scope of competence. They engage in professional activities in new areas (e.g. populations, procedures) only after accessing and documenting appropriate study, training, supervised experience, consultation, and/or co-treatment from professionals competent in the new area" (BACB, 2020).

Through Principles of Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Considerations for ABA Professionals, BCBAs will become more competent to work with the early childhood population by:

• Accessing foundational knowledge related to the unique developmental needs of the early childhood population
• Considering how their clinical practice may or may not be meeting those needs
• Gaining a foundational understanding of how to apply developmentally appropriate practice for young children in an ABA setting
• Receiving a certificate to document their training in the topic of developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood.

Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2020). Ethics code for behavior analysts. Littleton, CO: Author.

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