[u09a1] Week 9 Assignment 1: Risk-Benefit Analysis of a Controversial Intervention

Consider this scenario: A family has contacted you about the care of their grandfather, Juan, who has Alzheimer’s disease. The nursing home staff report that Juan engages in frequent elopement from the nursing home facility when unattended, and verbal aggression that has caused disruptions to the other nursing home residents. A review of the files shows that the nursing home contracted with a BCaBA who did not conduct a functional behavior assessment but advised setting limits, being consistent with rules, and blocking Juan from engaging in problem behavior. The nursing home staff decided to incorporate these strategies by restricting Juan from accessing the courtyard or roaming the halls, leaving him to stay all day in his room with only accompanied walks to therapies and the dining hall. Juan’s behaviors escalated and they have stated they will be ordering the use of chemical restraints to block occurrences of the problem behavior.

For this assignment, complete the following:

• Consider Bailey and Burch’s (2016) risk-benefit analysis model, taught in ICS. Use this Risk-Benefit Analysis Template [DOCX] to outline the risks and benefits of a behavior analytic procedure (remember chemical restraints are not behavior analytic).
• Prepare a formal letter to the family with your recommendations. Include a copy of the worksheet you used with your notes to conduct the risk-benefit analysis.
• Analyze, within the letter, at least five BACB ethical code elements that are relevant to your discussed behavior analytic procedure and this scenario.

Assignment Requirements

Your assignment should meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• APA formatting: References and citations are formatted according to current APA style guidelines. Review the Evidence and APALinks to an external site. section of the Writing Center for more information on how to cite your sources.
• Resources: 2–4 recent, scholarly or professional resources.
• Length: 4–5 double-spaced pages, in addition to a title page and a references page.

Refer to the MS in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Research GuideLinks to an external site. for help finding resources.

Refer to the Risk-Benefit Analysis of a Controversial Intervention rubric to ensure you understand the grading criteria for this assignment.

Reference

Bailey, J. S., & Burch, M. R. (2016). Ethics for behavior analysts (3rd ed.). Routledge.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and rubric criteria:

• Competency 2: Analyze ethical responsibilities related to practitioner-client relationships and practitioner-family relationships.
  • Outline the risks and benefits of a behavior analytic procedure for the given scenario using the risk-benefit worksheet.
  • Provide a recommendation to family members in letter format based on the given scenario.
• Competency 3: Evaluate assessment and intervention methods using the BACB ethical code.
  • Analyze, within the letter, the use of a behavior analytic procedure using at least five relevant BACB ethics codes.
• Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly and consistent with expectations for professionals in the field of psychology.
  • Demonstrate an academic writing style through well-organized prose that follows assignment guidelines.
  • Demonstrate compliance with current APA style, citation, and referencing guidelines.