
Approaching Former Adult Client
Post Series: Ethics Scenario Archive
- 1.Approaching Former Adult Client
- 2.Medical Marijuana
- 3.Pro Bono Work
- 4.Supervision Has Multiple Relationships with Family Receiving Services
- 5.Parent Training Concerns
- 6.Parents Not Implementing Procedures
- 7.Soliciting Parent Testimonials
- 8.Retaliation Towards Mandated Reporting
- 9.Family Rejecting Safety Measures
- 10.Parental Collaboration
- 11.Hostile Work Enviornment
- 12.Creating Protocol to Prevent and Treat Trauma with Limited Functional Language
- 13.Parent ABA Practice Questions in OT & Speech
- 14.Potential Gifts From Clients on Social Media
- 15.Helping Close Relationships With ABA Tips
- 16.Parent Utilizing CBD & THC
- 17.Client Pre-Authorization Denied For Much Needed Services
- 18.Supervisee Slaps Child in School Setting
- 19.Changing Direction of Treatment from Previous BCBA
- 20.BCBA Subpoenaed in Family Court
- 21.Terminate Services Due To Parent Behavior
- 22.Parents Offering Token Items During Check Out/Transition
- 23.Family Doesn’t Want Details Released To Funding Source Without Permission
- 24.Resources for IRB Approval for Independent Researchers
- 25.Speech Therapist Refusing To Do PECS
- 26.BCBA Receives Cease & Desist
- 27.Unlicensed, Certified BCBA Provide Supervision
- 28.Rapid Prompting Method (RPM)
- 29.Parent as Witness to Accident
- 30.Website Testimonials
- 31.Student Using Social Media Inappropriately
- 32.Hiring Behavior Analyst Trainees at a School District
- 33.College Recommendation Letter for Client
- 34.Connecting Families That Are Clients
- 35.Employer Requiring Same Number of ABA Hours for All New Clients from New BCaBA
Scenario
I moved to Arizona seven years ago, but I started my career here providing habilitation services to adults. However, for the past six years, I have been working with only children. Two weeks ago, I saw one of my previous adult clients working at my neighborhood grocery store. I am aware we’re not allowed to approach families of children we work with, because someone could guess we provide services to them based on knowing what our career is. However, this is an adult I haven’t worked with for seven years. If my main focus has been working with children for six years, is there an issue with approaching my former adult client if he is alone?
Response
- I see no ethical problem with being a nice person and saying hello! You can decide where to go from there based on his response to seeing you.
- To be a devil’s advocate, the BACB compliance code has no expiration date for maintaining client confidentiality. A client may not want to acknowledge a connection publicly even years later. However, just saying hello is of course friendly, and not likely to cause harm especially when the client relationship is long over. Perhaps you could even say hello without saying the client’s name; then if they recognize you and want to talk, great! If not, explaining how you know them publicly may not be appropriate.