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No Less Worthy: Recommendations for Behavior Analysts Treating Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities with Dignity

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Abstract

In this article, the authors offer recommendations for behavior analysts on how to treat adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) with dignity. Initially, the importance of treating adults with disabilities with dignity is emphasized in terms of the impact on people with IDD, their family members, behavior analysts and other service providers, and the behavior analysis field in general. The recommendations are based primarily on the authors’ professional and personal experiences along with similar experiences of others involved either personally or professionally in the disability field. The focus is on ways in which behavior analysts speak and behave that reflect dignity versus the lack thereof as perceived by others and, where relevant, consensus opinion within the professional field of IDD. Ways for behavior analysts to acquire and maintain awareness of manners of speaking and behaving that reflect dignity within the local settings in which they work are also provided.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center, P.O. Box 425, Morganton, NC, 28680, USA

    Dennis H. Reid

  2. Little Star Center, Carmel, Indiana, USA

    Mary Rosswurm

  3. Center for Disability Resources (UCEDD), University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, USA

    David A. Rotholz

Authors
  1. Dennis H. Reid
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  2. Mary Rosswurm
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  3. David A. Rotholz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dennis H. Reid.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. Because there are no experimental participants associated with this article, informed consent was not applicable.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Reid, D.H., Rosswurm, M. & Rotholz, D.A. No Less Worthy: Recommendations for Behavior Analysts Treating Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities with Dignity. Behav Analysis Practice 11, 71–79 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-017-0203-y

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