Ethical Dilemma No. 5
Many of the requests for my services as a behavior consultant come when agencies or schools are struggling with families and are at odds with what to do to help a child with his or her behavior difficulties. The agency or school provides the funding to pay for my services and is the one who initiates my involvement with the student. At times, my review of the case and the analysis of the data I have gathered lead me to believe that previous interventions were not well thought out and were primarily of a reactive nature. Indeed, they many have actually caused the situation to become worse. Several times, families have asked me point-blank as to the cause of the student’s behavior and my opinion of these previous interventions. How do I respond ethically, knowing that if I share my beliefs I risk alienating the agency or school and possibly giving the families more reasons not to trust the people involved with their child. (Baily & Burch, 2011, p. 335)?
1. What is the ethical dilemma you have identified (if more than one dilemma can be identified, focus on resolving 1).
The ethical dilemma in this scenario is that the behavioral consultant does not know how to respond to families when they ask him/her about the cause of their child’s behavior without risking his/her status as a consultant and compromising the fidelity of the agency or school that initiates his/her involvement. He/she believes that the causes of the children’s behavior that she has reviewed data on is a result of poorly past inventions and were primarily reactive in nature.
2. In your own words, what are the facts of the situation related to the ethical dilemma?
The facts of the situation related to the ethical dilemma are the following:
• The agency or school provides the funding to pay for the behavioral consultant’s services.
• Previous interventions were not thought out and were primarily of a reactive nature based on the behavior consultant’s review...