Providing Culturally Sensitive PBS to Families

Filmed at Setting the Stage for Success: Positive Behavior Support in School, Home and Community – October 19, 2018

Part of ACT’s Positive Behavior Support Learning Stream

Mariko Tachi and Noreen Dunn provide key components of culturally sensitive PBS, paired with personal and anecdotal examples. These include:

  1. Developing rapport informed by the family’s culture.
  2. Incorporating cultural beliefs, practices, and parenting practice into development of PBS.
  3. Incorporating the key stakeholder’s cultural beliefs when training for implementation.

Mariko Tachi, MEd, BCBA; Parbs Bains, MEd, BCBA; Noreen Dunn, MEd, BCBA

Mariko Tachi has her BCBA and a Masters in Special Education from UBC. She has been providing in-home intervention based in ABA for children diagnosed with autism and their families in the Lower Mainland for the past decade. Since 2015, she has been travelling to Japan to provide interventions to families and has presented numerous workshops.

Noreen Dunn has been supporting children with ASD and other developmental disabilities in home, school, and community settings for over 13 years. A BCBA with a MEd in Special Education from UBC, Noreen has a keen interest in empowering and supporting families; she is currently working with a group of professionals in BC to make PBS more accessible to families from diverse cultural backgrounds.

Parbs Bains is a BCBA with over 16 years of experience in the field of special education, supporting families in the home, school and community settings. She holds a MEd in Special Education from UBC. Parbs is a member of Umeed, an interdisciplinary group created to identify cultural and linguistic barriers facing families of individuals with autism in BC.

Part 1: Introduction – Need for Services in Increasingly Diverse Communities, Key Features of PBS with Families

Part 2: Collaborative Partnerships with Families

Part 3: Functional Assessment, Meaningful Lifestyle Outcomes, Multi-Component PBS Plan & Implementation Support

Part 4: Putting PBS into Practice, Learning about the Family’s Interaction and Communication Style

Part 5: Family Decision Making, Support Networks

Part 6: Child-Rearing Practices, Cultural Expectations, Roles and Responsibilities of Family Members

Community Resources: