Choosing Alignment in Behavior Analysis
Values, practice, and the Rejected Conference at Do Better
In 2025, many conversations within behavior analysis and autism services continued to circle around the same themes: ethics, power, systems constraints, and the gap between what practitioners are taught and what they are expected to do in practice.
At Do Better, these conversations were not treated as abstract or theoretical. They showed up repeatedly in learning spaces, mentorship meetings, and community discussions. Over time, it became clear that practitioners needed more opportunities to share their work, reflect openly, and examine how values shape decision-making in applied behavior analysis.
The Rejected Conference emerged from that need.
Values as a Practical Concern in Applied Behavior Analysis
Ethics in behavior analysis are often discussed as rules to follow or standards to meet. In practice, ethical decision-making is much more contextual. Practitioners are balancing client needs, family expectations, organizational demands, funding limitations, and system-level policies, often simultaneously.
Throughout 2025, Do Better hosted learning spaces where behavior analysts discussed these realities openly. Conversations focused on questions such as how to maintain client dignity under productivity pressure, how to move away from coercive practices when systems still reward compliance, and how to apply ethical guidelines in situations that are not clearly addressed by policy.
These discussions highlighted the importance of alignment. Alignment between values and practice. Alignment between what practitioners believe is ethical and what they are supported to do in real settings.
The Rejected Conference as a Practitioner-Led Learning Space
The Rejected Conference was designed as a practitioner-focused conference that centered applied work rather than polished performance. The goal was not to showcase perfect outcomes or idealized models. The goal was to create space for practitioners to share what they are actually doing, adapting, and questioning in their own settings.
Presentations and workshops highlighted practitioner-led initiatives, systems change efforts, clinical adaptations, and reflective practice across a range of service environments. Topics were grounded in real constraints and real decision-making, rather than abstract theory.
This approach allowed learning to feel accessible and relevant. Practitioners could see their own challenges reflected in the work being presented and recognize that meaningful contributions to behavior analysis often come from practice, not just formal research channels.
Rethinking Dissemination in Behavior Analysis
Traditional dissemination in applied behavior analysis often prioritizes academic or highly formalized spaces. While these spaces serve an important role, they do not always capture the full scope of innovation happening at the practitioner level.
The Rejected Conference offered a different model. One that valued practitioner experience as a legitimate source of knowledge. One that treated implementation, adaptation, and reflection as essential components of professional learning.
This model aligns with a growing movement within behavior analysis toward practice-to-research approaches, where insights from real-world application inform broader conversations about ethics, effectiveness, and social validity.
Why Alignment Matters for Autism Services
In autism services, alignment is not optional. The decisions behavior analysts make have direct implications for autonomy, dignity, and quality of life for autistic individuals and their families.
Practitioners are increasingly seeking approaches that are neurodiversity-affirming, trauma-informed, and responsive to individual needs. Achieving this requires more than technical skill. It requires learning spaces that support reflection, dialogue, and values-based decision-making.
The Rejected Conference contributed to this by creating a forum where practitioners could share how they are navigating these challenges and learning from one another in the process.
Carrying Alignment Forward
The Rejected Conference was not a one-time event. It reflected a broader commitment at Do Better to create learning spaces that support ethical reflection, practitioner voice, and values-aligned practice in behavior analysis.
As conversations around ethics, neurodiversity, and systems change continue to evolve, practitioner-led learning spaces will remain an important part of how the field grows. These spaces allow behavior analysts to learn from one another, challenge assumptions, and refine practice in ways that are grounded in lived experience.
Moving forward, Do Better will continue to support learning environments where alignment between values and practice is treated as a skill that can be developed, discussed, and strengthened over time.
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