In this thought-provoking ethics CEU event, we will explore the complex history, conceptual foundations, and ethical implications of teaching eye contact in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Using Francesca degli Espinosa’s 2025 article “Eye Contact: To Teach or Not to Teach? That is Not the Question” as our foundation, we will reexamine how eye-looking behavior has been conceptualized and taught in early intervention programs.
Participants will engage in guided discussions, case-based analysis, and ethical decision-making exercises to critically evaluate past and current practices. We’ll explore how historical errors—such as using nonsocial reinforcers, prioritizing compliance, or misunderstanding the function of eye contact—may have limited the social and developmental opportunities for autistic learners.
Shifting the question from “Should we teach eye contact?” to “How can we ethically establish socially reinforced eye-looking?”, this event encourages participants to consider both developmental science and ethical practice in designing individualized, respectful, and effective interventions.
Learning Objectives
