ACT in ABA: Quixotic or Pragmatic?

Abstract This session positions Acceptance & Commitment Training (ACT) as a pragmatic extension of ABA—not psychotherapy—and shows how to operationalize ACT processes within our seven dimensions. Dr. Szabo links the ACT hexaflex (acceptance, defusion, flexible selfing, present-moment awareness, values, committed action) and Relational Frame Theory to directly observable repertoires, so practitioners can talk about private events while still measuring public behavior. He offers a decision tree: start with direct contingency management; when results stall and clients can relationally frame, use brief ACT assessment (e.g., the Matrix, ACT FA analogs) to identify covert barriers, then return to function-matched contingencies strengthened by ACT-consistent skills (omnibus rule revision, values-driven goals, toleration). Practical tools include writing ABA-congruent goals (no “ACT goals”), building contingency contracts that embed values and committed action, coding language/behavior for “tells” and “reads,” and adopting a “fellow traveler” stance in supervision and service. The upshot: use ACT to make ABA work better, with stronger generalization and maintenance.