assent CON
RETURNING
2026

May 8, 2026 from 9AM - 4PM live online, join us for Assent for RBTs 2026:
6 BACB Professional Development Units (PDUs) for Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs), all focused on honoring client assent, dissent, and assent withdrawal.

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Abstract:
The Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (ECBA) defines "Assent" as: "Vocal or nonvocal verbal behavior that can be taken to indicate willingness to participate in research or behavioral services by individuals who cannot provide informed consent (e.g., because of age or intellectual impairments)," (BACB, 2020, p. 7). The RBT role in assessing, documenting, and responding to client assent, dissent, and assent withdrawal is a critical part of ethical best practice in behavior analysis. This single day online workshop will prepare RBTs to identify functions of behavior as it relates to assent, dissent, and assent withdrawal. RBTs will learn about best practice for moment-to-moment ongoing assessment of assent, as well as reinforcement of assent, dissent, and assent withdrawal. RBTs will learn about data collection, graphing, and timely reporting of assent, dissent, and assent withdrawal data in order to support their BCBAs and teams in data based decision. The RBT Ethics Code (BACB, 2021) and the Core Principles of the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (BACB, 2020) will both be reviewed as it pertains to client assent, as well as to cultural humility in the assessment of and responsiveness to client and caregiver assent and dissent. Current research will be reviewed in an accessible and understandable format, so that RBTs will be able to implement skills practiced in the professional development workshop.
During the professional development workshop, participants are welcome to ask questions about assent, dissent, and assent withdrawal. It is of note that this workshop is not ethically a space where specific case consultation can be provided, and so participants are asked to keep their questions general and not client-specific.

Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will distinguish between topography-based definitions of assent and functional definitions of assent
2. Participants will describe assent, dissent, and assent withdrawal as verbal behavior
3. Participants will identify assent, dissent, and assent withdrawal as it pertains to the basic functions of behavior
4. Participants will select relevant portions of the RBT Ethics Code (BACB, 2021) and Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts (BACB, 2020) that pertain to assent
5. Participants will distinguish between informed consent, assent, and consent as an everyday term and skill
6. Participants will identify and respond to subtle signs of moment-to-moment assent and dissent
7. Participants will demonstrate at least 2 forms of data collection and graphing for assent, dissent, and assent withdrawal
8. Participants will identify instances where health, safety, and interpersonal boundaries must be prioritized, and identify next steps for collaborating with their BCBA and teams on delayed integration of dissent or assent withdrawal data

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Instructor:
Worner Leland, MS, BCBA, LBA (MO) is a past collaborative writer and educator with the Assent Lab. They are a co-founder and owner of SECE and Collab Lab which provide values-aligned continuing education and professional development, and is one of the co-founders of the annual Assent Conference. They are an autistic, agender behavior analyst whose work focuses on ethics, consent and assent education, sexual health and wellness and relationship education, harm reduction education, restorative justice, and harm mitigation and accountability in behavior analysis.

They are a former Adjunct Professor at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and at National Louis University. They are a current Editorial Board Member for Behavior Analysis in Practice, and a past Peer Reviewer for Behavior and Social Issues and for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, and they have been both an Invited Presenter and an Invited Panelist at the Association of Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) Annual Conference. They have also been an Invited Presenter on the topics of Assent and Consent at the Ohio Applied Behavior Analysis (OHABA) Annual Conference, the British Columbia Applied Behavior Analysis (BC-ABA) Annual Conference, the Upper Peninsula Association of Behavior Analysis (UPABA) Annual Conference, the Louisiana-Mississippi Association for Contextual Behavior Science Conference, the Nebraska Association for Behavior Analysis (NEABA) Annual Conference, the California Association for Behavior Analysis (CALABA) Annual Conference, the Autism Conference of Utah Valley University, and the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis (FABA) CoFABA Annual Conference.

Their assent education and training work began as a part of their work at Upswing Advocates with Dr. August Stockwell, which was directly shaped by the research and data of the Organization for Research and Learning (ORL) with support from Michael Fabrizio, M.A., BCBA, LBA, CCEP, CHC, CHPC, CHPSE & Kelly Ferris, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA, as well as from direct work with and supervision by Brigid McCormick, MA, BCBA, LBA of Precision ABA. Their work has continued to be shaped by direct collaboration with Fabrizio, Ferris, & McCormick, as well as Janani Vaidya, MS, BCBA, IBA and Liz Lefebre M.A., BCBA- LBA on writing, education, and the inaugural Assent Conference. Their work and perspectives have also been shaped by all former Assent Conference Presenters, Dr. Cas Breaux, MA, MS, PhD, BCBA, LBA-NY, LBA-LA; Dr. Mari-Luci Cerda BCBA, LBA, Michael Fabrizio, M.A., Kelly Ferris, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA, BCBA, LBA, CCEP, CHC, CHPC, CHPSE, Jeff Gesick, MS, BCBA, Dr. Faris Kronfli, PhD, BCBA-D, Dr. Michelle Kuhn, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA, Liz Lefebre M.A., BCBA- LBA, Lizbeth Vega Lopez, BS, RBT, Brigid McCormick, MA, BCBA, LBA, Brittney Pauli, BS, RBT, Dr. Malika Pritchett, PhD, BCBA, LBA-TX, Melisa Santacroce, M.S. CCC-SLP, BCBA, Dr. Cayenne Shpall, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA, Janani Vaidya, MS, BCBA, IBA, and Kai Williams, B.S., as well as assent and consent researchers and educators within and outside of behavior analysis. They highly recommend you follow all of their work, and seek out ongoing consent and assent education.

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