Learning from the Czech Republic’s experiences with growing applied behavior analysis services for children with autism

Abstract

Prior to 2016 applied behavior analysis (ABA) was relatively unknown in the Czech Republic. However, the region’s ABA community has grown exponentially over the last six years. This growth may be attributed to the work of families and professionals linked to the region’s autistic community. This progress has not been without challenges. Along the way, there have been numerous vocal opponents across various fields. Despite pushback, the headstrong ABA community has managed to: establish ABA professional organizations, hold ABA conferences, train various professionals in ABA, and pass laws surrounding the profession and its practice. Through efforts such as holding free community-based workshops, creating ABA-centric continuing education trainings for other helping professions, recruiting local media coverage, collaborating with other organizations, presenting multiple exemplars of case studies using ABA-based methods across disciplines, and lobbying the government for change, ABA is on its way to becoming a more available option for supporting those with autism in the area. This paper shares the trials and tribulations of the region, hoping that the experiences and actionable points here can help move similar nations towards ABA dissemination and professional establishment.