Sleep Programming: What you thought you knew!

With as many as 50% of children experiencing sleep problems at some point during childhood (Center for Disease Control, 2022) and up to 80% of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder experiencing sleep problems (e.g., Furfaro, 2020 and Reynolds, 2019), many Board Certified Behavior Analyst^®s find themselves treating behavioral sleep problems within the scope of Applied Behavior Analysis programming. However, Behavior Analysts do not receive training in the variables impacting healthy sleep such as average sleep needs by age, setting events which delay sleep onset and manipulate the reinforcing value of sleep, or sleep dependencies which contribute to pervasive night awakenings. In the absence of formal training on sleep and sleep-related variables during behavior analytical coursework, ethical barriers may arise. This Continuing Education event aims to unveil the potential for questionable ethical behavior when developing sleep plans for families. Additionally, this event will provide preliminary information about sleep which attendees will be able to use immediately to better evaluate sleep problems and create sleep plans guided by the ethical considerations outlined in the content.

Learning Objectives

1. Identifying your scope of competence when programming for sleep changes
2. Common misconceptions about sleep, which lead to ethical grey-areas
3. Avoiding ethical blind-spots