{"title":"Advocacy and Open Science in the UK: Case Studies in the Autism Wars","authors":"Mickey Keenan, Karola Dillenburger","doi":"10.1007/s40617-023-00881-2","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Individuals on the autism spectrum experience a wide range of support needs and it comes as no surprise that opinions differ as to the best way to provide necessary supports. Some articulate self-advocates argue that societal acceptance of neurodiversity is the key issue. These views have clashed with those of parents and professionals who advocate for access to evidence-based interventions for profoundly autistic children and adults. The consequences of these kinds of differing opinions are so far-reaching that the term “autism wars” was coined. In this article, we argue that although acceptance of diversity is obviously important, this should include an openness to diverse scientific traditions, especially if lack of such openness limits public policy and adversely affects individuals and families. “Open Science” holds much promise in many fields, but its influence cannot be taken for granted when it comes to evidence-based support practices that are grounded in the science of behavior analysis. Benefiting from open science in autism research requires well-developed advocacy skills. To illustrate, we use case studies from the UK, where advocates of open science have met with intractable obstacles.</p>","PeriodicalId":47310,"journal":{"name":"Behavior Analysis in Practice","volume":" 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Behavior Analysis in Practice","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-023-00881-2","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHOLOGY, CLINICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Individuals on the autism spectrum experience a wide range of support needs and it comes as no surprise that opinions differ as to the best way to provide necessary supports. Some articulate self-advocates argue that societal acceptance of neurodiversity is the key issue. These views have clashed with those of parents and professionals who advocate for access to evidence-based interventions for profoundly autistic children and adults. The consequences of these kinds of differing opinions are so far-reaching that the term “autism wars” was coined. In this article, we argue that although acceptance of diversity is obviously important, this should include an openness to diverse scientific traditions, especially if lack of such openness limits public policy and adversely affects individuals and families. “Open Science” holds much promise in many fields, but its influence cannot be taken for granted when it comes to evidence-based support practices that are grounded in the science of behavior analysis. Benefiting from open science in autism research requires well-developed advocacy skills. To illustrate, we use case studies from the UK, where advocates of open science have met with intractable obstacles.
期刊介绍:
Behavior Analysis in Practice, an official journal of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, is a peer-reviewed translational publication designed to provide science-based, best-practice information relevant to service delivery in behavior analysis. The target audience includes front-line service workers and their supervisors, scientist-practitioners, and school personnel. The mission of Behavior Analysis in Practice is to promote empirically validated best practices in an accessible format that describes not only what works, but also the challenges of implementation in practical settings. Types of articles and topics published include empirical reports describing the application and evaluation of behavior-analytic procedures and programs; discussion papers on professional and practice issues; technical articles on methods, data analysis, or instrumentation in the practice of behavior analysis; tutorials on terms, procedures, and theories relevant to best practices in behavior analysis; and critical reviews of books and products that are aimed at practitioners or consumers of behavior analysis.