This chapter claims that behavior analysts are uniquely positioned to contribute to modern adult disability services, particularly in residential and community-based settings that emerged following deinstitutionalization. The chapter reviews the historical shift away from large institutional care toward individualized community supports and notes that this transition created both opportunities and ethical challenges for service providers. The authors argue that contemporary adult services increasingly emphasize person-centered values such as autonomy, dignity, informed choice, community participation, and quality of life, requiring behavior analysts to move beyond narrow behavior-reduction models and engage more deeply with individualized outcomes, environmental design, and meaningful skill development.
The chapter also emphasizes that effective adult services require balancing safety, habilitation, liberty, and personal preference in complex real-world contexts. Rather than relying solely on restrictive or compliance-oriented interventions, the authors advocate for functional assessment approaches that help identify individualized supports, socially meaningful goals, and opportunities for greater independence. The work highlights areas where behavior analysts can contribute substantially, including organizational systems, staff training, reinforcement-based support models, verbal and nonverbal assessment, and idiographic data analysis. At its core, the chapter frames modern ABA in adult services as increasingly aligned with person-centered planning and dignity-of-risk perspectives, where behavioral technologies are used not simply to reduce problem behavior, but to help individuals build richer, more autonomous, and personally meaningful lives.
Related Domains: Community Connections, Self-Care
Law, S., Malady, M., Böhr, B. (2020) Opportunities and Considerations for Applied Behavior Analysis in Person-Centered Adult Services in Residential Settings. In Maragakis, A., Drossel, C., & Waltz, T., Applications of Behavior Analysis to Healthcare and Beyond. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing Company