Rethinking Social Validity in ABA: Who Decides What Matters in ABA?

You became a BCBA® to improve lives—to help individuals build meaningful skills and access greater autonomy. But somewhere between billing codes, data sheets, and team meetings, it’s easy to lose sight of the person at the center of it all.

What if the goals you're targeting—carefully written, insurance-approved, and behaviorally sound—aren’t actually meaningful to your client?

What if they're quietly telling you, in the only ways they can, that the work you're doing isn't working for them?

This post is an invitation to pause and re-examine what we define as “effective.” We’ll explore the research behind social validity, unpack the ethical codes that demand client-centered care, and offer practical strategies for ensuring that your goals don’t just change behavior—but honor the person behind it.

Key Takeaways

• Center the client’s voice in goal selection

• Monitor assent as ongoing feedback

• Reframe “noncompliance” with curiosity

• Balance stakeholder input ethically

• Reflect on the purpose behind each goal

• Measure satisfaction and engagement regularly

• Prioritize dignity alongside data

What Is Social Validity—and Why It’s an Ethical Imperative

Most behavior analysts are familiar with the term social validity—introduced by Wolf in 1978 as a way to evaluate whether the goals, procedures, and outcomes of our work are truly meaningful to the people affected. But familiarity doesn’t equal fluency, and in practice, social validity often fades into the background once data collection and program implementation begin.

That oversight is more than a missed opportunity—it’s an ethical risk.

A systematic review by Leaf et al. (2024) found that just 17.6% of studies published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis from 2010–2020 included any measure of social validity. This raises a critical question:

If we’re not evaluating whether an intervention is meaningful, how do we know we’re doing what’s best for the client?

We may be collecting pristine baseline data and running high-integrity sessions—but if the intervention isn’t aligned with the client’s values, preferences, or lived experience, we’re falling short of ethical practice.

Ethical Mandates Are Clear—But Easy to Misapply

The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts includes multiple sections that directly relate to social validity. But these standards are sometimes interpreted narrowly, or applied without true client-centered intent.

For example:

• Code 2.09 reminds us to involve clients and stakeholders throughout the service relationship—not just during intake or goal selection, but continually as goals evolve and contexts shift.

• Code 2.11 covers informed consent, but also speaks to the need for assent when appropriate. This is especially relevant when working with minors or individuals who do not have legal decision-making rights, but still express their preferences—verbally or behaviorally.

• Code 2.14 asks us to consider the diverse needs, context, and resources of the client and stakeholders. Yet in practice, those contextual factors are often overridden by system demands (e.g., insurance requirements, school expectations) that don’t always align with what the individual needs to thrive.

These are not just compliance items—they are clinical guidelines designed to ensure that behavior-change procedures are not only effective, but also equitable and relevant.

What We Miss When We Assume Social Validity Is “Handled”

• A well-written goal may still lack social validity.
  Even if it aligns with developmental norms or assessment results, it doesn’t mean it reflects what the individual wants—or would choose for themselves if given the opportunity.

• Assent isn’t a one-time checkbox.
  A learner may show initial willingness to participate but withdraw assent later. Behavior analysts are ethically obligated to detect and respond to those shifts—not push through in the name of “consistency.”

• Stakeholder involvement doesn’t replace client involvement.
  Parents, teachers, and funding sources are stakeholders—not proxies for the client’s voice. When those interests conflict, the Ethics Code prioritizes the client.

• Noncompliance may be a form of self-advocacy.
  What looks like resistance or “lack of progress” may actually be a client communicating that a goal, procedure, or teaching style is aversive or irrelevant.

• Cultural values shape what’s meaningful.
  Families and clients do not exist in a vacuum. Their ideas of “success,” “appropriate behavior,” or “quality of life” may differ significantly from those taught in graduate programs or assumed by supervisors.

Who’s Really Dictating the Goals?

If you were to pull back and look honestly at your current treatment plans, who would you say has the most influence over what gets prioritized?

In theory, the client should be at the center. But in practice, other voices often carry more weight.

Parents want specific behaviors addressed—sometimes urgently. Teachers need classroom compliance. Insurance companies require measurable, functional outcomes. And you, as the behavior analyst, are tasked with balancing all of it while trying to stay true to your client’s needs.

It’s not an easy position to be in. And without careful reflection, it’s easy to let someone else’s priorities quietly become the framework for your intervention—even when they don’t reflect what the client values, prefers, or would choose for themselves.

The Unseen Influence of Adult-Centered Goals

Many of the goals we’re asked—or expected—to implement are shaped by adult discomfort, not client-centered need. Some examples might feel familiar:

• Eye contact: Frequently requested by caregivers, despite no evidence that it supports meaningful communication for most autistic clients—and growing awareness that it can be distressing.

• “Quiet hands”: A goal framed as increasing focus, when in reality, it often functions to reduce visible stimming behaviors that make adults uncomfortable.

• Compliance goals: Positioned as “following directions” but used to reduce conflict, improve classroom management, or simply make things easier for adults.

• Reducing vocal stereotypy: Often prioritized to avoid social stigma, even when the behavior is non-intrusive and self-regulating for the client.

The challenge here isn’t intent—most caregivers and educators are acting out of love, concern, or pressure from systems they’re navigating too. But good intentions don’t automatically make a goal socially valid.

Ask Yourself: Who Benefits Most From This Goal?

A simple but powerful question: Whose life is improved by this intervention?

When the answer consistently points to others—not the client—it’s worth stepping back to examine whether social validity is being driven by the wrong source.

Here are some prompts to help assess whether a goal is truly client-centered:

• Was the client involved in selecting this goal in any way?
  (Even if they’re non-speaking, did you observe indicators of assent or preference?)

• If the client could choose to opt out of this target, would they?
  (Would they initiate the behavior independently, without prompting?)

• Does this goal support the client’s autonomy, safety, or access to meaningful reinforcement?
  (Or is it aimed at “fitting in” or meeting adult expectations?)

• Would this be a priority if the client were neurotypical?
  (Are we targeting behaviors that only feel urgent because they deviate from what’s considered “normal”?)

When the Client’s Voice Is Absent

In many cases, clients aren’t in a position to articulate their own goals—due to age, communication barriers, or legal limitations. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have preferences, or that their assent and engagement don’t matter.

This is where observational sensitivity becomes essential. Resistance, avoidance, or escalation may be less about noncompliance and more about dissent.

And if that dissent is happening consistently, it's not just a signal to adjust your procedure—it may be a red flag that the goal itself lacks social validity.

Client-Centered Doesn’t Mean Stakeholder-Excluding

It’s also worth saying: centering the client doesn’t mean disregarding caregivers, teachers, or funders. It means holding all voices, but recognizing whose outcomes we're ethically required to prioritize.

Strong, ethical practice includes transparent conversations with caregivers and stakeholders about:

• What the client appears to value

• What they’re communicating through behavior

• How goals can be reframed to meet shared outcomes without sacrificing client dignity

When done well, this approach doesn’t lead to conflict—it builds trust.

Assent: The Real-Time Measure of Social Validity

If social validity is about whether our work is meaningful to the individual, then assent is the client’s way of answering that question in real time.

You can survey caregivers. You can interview teachers. You can analyze outcome data. But the client’s willingness to participate—their assent—may be the most direct, dynamic, and honest indicator of whether your intervention holds any personal value.

And yet, assent is rarely built into treatment planning in a meaningful way.

Assent Is Social Validity in Action

Social validity is often framed as something to assess during program development or at the end of service delivery. But assent offers us something even more powerful: continuous feedback from the client themselves about how your intervention is landing in the moment.

When we see assent as part of the social validity process—not a separate concept—it changes how we design and deliver services.

Consider this:

• A client who consistently avoids a task may not be “noncompliant”—they may be communicating that the goal is aversive or irrelevant.

• A client who willingly engages in activities outside of session that you’ve targeted in treatment may be showing natural generalization because the goal was personally meaningful.

• A client who loses enthusiasm for sessions over time might not be bored—they might be withdrawing assent in subtle, overlooked ways.

If we ignore these patterns, we’re not just missing clinical cues—we're overlooking the most direct expression of social validity we have access to.

Why This Matters for Ethical Practice

The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts requires that we obtain assent when appropriate and design interventions that are acceptable and beneficial to the client. But the ethical principle behind these requirements is even broader: the obligation to respect autonomy, promote dignity, and do no harm.

A few guiding reflections:

• Are we adjusting procedures when assent is withdrawn—or are we escalating prompts to "encourage" or force participation?

• Are we treating behavioral indicators of dissent as data—or as something to reduce?

• Are we documenting assent as a variable that affects progress—or overlooking it entirely?

Assent is not just a procedural formality. It’s part of an ethical commitment to centering the client’s perspective, especially when that perspective can’t be captured through standard surveys or goal reviews.

Using Assent to Validate (or Question) Goal Selection

Assent isn’t only useful during implementation—it can and should inform the very process of deciding what to target.

Imagine two clients working on similar skills. One consistently initiates the activity outside of session, shows positive affect, and generalizes the skill across settings. The other avoids the task, shows stress behaviors, and only engages under high levels of prompting.

The data might show similar acquisition. But from a social validity standpoint, those two situations couldn’t be more different.

The presence (or absence) of assent during teaching can help you:

• Identify goals that are intrinsically motivating

• Detect when external pressures are overriding client needs

• Shift away from interventions that create distress or disengagement

• Adjust your criteria for success—not just “mastery,” but meaningful mastery

Take a Deeper Dive on Assent in ABA

If you’d like specific strategies for identifying and responding to assent and assent withdrawal in clinical work, Understanding Assent and Assent Withdrawal in ABA offers a deep dive with practical examples. It’s an excellent companion to this conversation on social validity—especially for behavior analysts looking to integrate client feedback more explicitly into their ongoing decision-making.

As behavior analysts, we pride ourselves on being data-driven. But social validity demands that we take a broader view of what counts as data. Assent—verbal, behavioral, subtle, or obvious—is one of the richest sources of information we have. And when we treat it that way, we don’t just meet ethical standards—we move closer to truly person-centered care.

The Cost of Getting It Wrong

When social validity is sidelined, the impact isn’t always immediate—but it’s almost always significant.

We might not see the consequences in our session notes or acquisition graphs. But they show up in other places:

• The client who shuts down when they see an RBT® arrive

• The caregiver who stops attending parent training sessions

• The increasing number of “noncompliant” behaviors logged week after week

These aren’t just indicators of treatment resistance. Often, they’re signs that the intervention—no matter how technically sound—isn’t aligned with the client’s values, needs, or emotional experience.

Social Validity and Mental Health: A Growing Concern

While ABA historically focused on skill acquisition and behavior reduction, we’re now confronting a reality the field can no longer ignore: disregarding social validity can cause harm.

Here’s what the research and the lived experience of autistic adults who are speaking out are telling us:

• Masking and Camouflaging: Autistic individuals often report suppressing natural behaviors (e.g., stimming, vocalizations) to meet external expectations. This masking is frequently a response to interventions that prioritized social conformity over authenticity.

• Burnout and Fatigue: When sessions require clients to constantly suppress their preferences or tolerate aversive tasks, the emotional toll can lead to exhaustion, withdrawal, or shutdown.

• Decreased Self-Advocacy: If a client learns that their dissent is ignored or punished, they may eventually stop expressing preferences altogether. This learned helplessness can undermine autonomy and reduce opportunities for meaningful choice-making later in life.

• Long-Term Anxiety and Depression: There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that coercive or compliance-based interventions—especially those implemented without attention to assent—are linked to long-term mental health challenges in neurodivergent populations.

The Hard Truth About "Success"

Some goals get mastered. Some treatment plans produce clean graphs. But if those outcomes come at the expense of the client’s emotional well-being, can we truly call that success?

Ignoring social validity doesn’t just lead to ineffective treatment. It can erode trust, damage relationships, and reinforce the very barriers we claim to be dismantling.

Centering What Truly Matters

Social validity isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s a measure of whether our work is aligned with the values, preferences, and lived experiences of the people we serve.

If we’re not actively assessing whether our interventions are meaningful to the client, we’re making assumptions. And in a field that prizes data, assumptions aren’t enough.

Throughout this post, we’ve explored what happens when social validity is ignored, how assent provides real-time feedback, and how to begin course-correcting with humility and purpose. The next step is building systems—simple, sustainable systems—to check in regularly and stay aligned.

Ready to Take Action? Start Here.

To make it easier to embed social validity and family-centered feedback into your ongoing practice, you can download these two free tools:

• ABA Session Parent Feedback Form
  Use this to gather regular input from caregivers about the relevance and impact of services, so you’re not waiting for an annual survey to spot problems—or successes.

• Social Validity & Satisfaction Data Analysis Spreadsheet
  Organize and interpret caregiver feedback over time to identify trends, monitor alignment, and make data-driven changes that reflect what matters most.

Access the Feedback Form and Spreadsheet Here

Want to Go Deeper? Listen to the Full Conversation

In the podcast episode that inspired this post, we get honest about what it looks like to miss the mark—and what it takes to reorient your practice. You’ll hear:

• Real stories of when social validity was overlooked

• Examples of how to reframe goals without sacrificing clinical integrity

• Strategies for responding when clients and caregivers want different things

• How assent and ethical practice intersect in day-to-day ABA work

🎧 Watch or listen to the full episode below:

References

Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2020). Ethics code for behavior analysts. https://bacb.com/wp-content/ethics-code-for-behavior-analysts/

Leif, E. S., Kelenc-Gasior, N., Bloomfield, B. S., Furlonger, B., & Fox, R. A. (2024). A systematic review of social-validity assessments in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis: 2010–2020. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 57(3), 542–559.