Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

DOI

10.21203/rs.3.rs-8874349/v1

Publication Title

Research Square

Pages

19 pp.

Abstract

Interprofessional practice (IPP) is necessary to ensure assessment and interventions are designed and implemented both efficiently and effectively. We sought to investigate how Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) engage in IPP. Both professionals may provide evaluations and interventions related to communication in schools and community-based healthcare systems. We disseminated a survey to BCBAs and SLPs to elicit information about their collaboration with each other. Topics included: (a) frequency of collaboration and communication with the other professional; (b) confidence engaging in IPP; (c) interprofessional training experiences; (d) barriers and facilitators to collaboration with the other profession; and (e) willingness to accept recommendations from the other professional. Our findings indicate that both BCBAs and SLPs want further training on how to communicate effectively to designate tasks and execute intervention plans. SLPs identified lack of a shared philosophy as a barrier to collaborating with BCBAs, which was not reported by BCBAs as a barrier to collaborating with SLPs. Both professionals are more likely to accept the other’s recommendation when they are already collaborating frequently. Additional findings, recommendations for practice, limitations, and areas for future research are discussed.

Rights

© 2026 The Authors.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.

Data Availability

Article states: "Supporting data can be accessed by emailing the corresponding author."

Comments

This is a preprint, it has not been peer reviewed by a journal.

Under review at Journal of Behavioral Education.

Original Publication Citation

Snyder, S., Huber, H., Pfeiffer, D., & Murray, D. (2026). The state of interprofessional practice between behavior analysts and speech-language pathologists. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8874349/v1

ORCID

0000-0003-1080-4961 (Pfeiffer)

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