Behavior analysts are not recognized or regulated as a distinct profession in Europe. For the most part, European behavior analysts adhered to the standards set by the U.S.-based Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). However, the BACB certification has not been recognized officially in any European jurisdiction. The recent decision by the BACB to discontinue eligibility of non-U.S. residents to apply for the BCBA exam by the end of 2022 has brought the issue of professional regulation outside of the United States into sharp focus. This article offers a snapshot in time of professional recognition of behavior analysts in 21 European countries. It stems from the Erasmus+ funded EuroBA project and its Professional Advisory Group (PAG). The EuroBA project aims to develop common standards and competences for behavior analysts to facilitate national regulation and mutual recognition across Europe.

Following the Behavior Analyst Certification Board's decision to change its requirements for certification, a three-year (2020-2023) Erasmus+ project was initiated, involving researchers from universities in six European countries: Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and the UK (Northern Ireland). The objectives of the current project are to ensure transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications for behavior analysts in Europe, to improve future support of persons with special needs, as well as mobility and employability of professionals. In practice, this includes developing professional standards and competency profiles for entry-level and masters-level European behavior analysts, referenced to the European Qualifications Framework, and developing a mulitingual entry-level online course; an updated version of Simple Steps Autism. Furthermore, a professional advisory group consisting of behavior analysts from another sixteen European countries has been created. This presentation will provide an overview of the contents and the current status of this collaborative international project.

Following the Behavior Analyst Certification Board's decision to change its requirements for certification, a three-year Erasmus+ project was initiated, involving researchers from universities in six European countries: Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and the UK (Northern Ireland). The objectives of the current project are to ensure transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications for behaviour analysts in Europe, to improve future support of persons with special needs, as well as mobility and employability of professionals. In practice, this includes developing professional standards and competency profiles for entry-level and masters-level European behaviour analysts, referenced to the European Qualifications Framework, and developing a mulitingual entry-level online course. Furthermore, a professional advisory group consisting of behaviour analysts from another fourteen European countries has been created. This presentation will provide an overview of the contents and the current status of this collaborative international project.

Deficits in eye contact are a common feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and has been found to negatively affect learning opportunities. Previous research has shown shaping without prompting to be effective in teaching eye contact to children diagnosed with ASD (Fonger & Malott, 2019). The current collaborative study between Behavioral Momentum, India, and Stockholm University, Sweden, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, evaluated the effects of a shaping procedure, implemented by parents trained and supervised via telehealth, to teach two preschool-aged children with ASD to make eye contact in naturalistic social play interactions. A changing criterion design across settings was used. For each child, eye contact was taught in three different child-preferred play settings where the parent was a necessary component. The target behavior was divided into Mve successive shaping phases. Both children acquired eye contact for a duration of 1 to 2 seconds across several settings. Results suggested a high degree of social validity, as measured by the participating parents' selfreports as well as individualized indices of happiness observed in the two children.Furthermore, this study conMrms that when cultural aspects are taken into consideration, telehealth can be used to train and supervise parents across geographical regions.

Deficits in eye contact are a common feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) which has been found to negatively affect learning opportunities. Previous research has shown shaping without prompting to be effective in teaching eye contact to children diagnosed with ASD (Fonger & Malott, 2019). The current collaborative study between Behavioral Momentum, India, and Stockholm University, Sweden, evaluated the effects of a shaping procedure, implemented by parents trained and supervised via telehealth, to teach two preschool-aged children with ASD to make eye contact in naturalistic social play interactions. A multiple baseline design across settings was used. For each child, eye contact was taught in three different child-preferred play settings where the parent was a necessary component. The target behavior, eye contact, was divided into five successive learning phases. Both children acquired eye contact for a duration of 1 to 2 seconds across several settings without direct prompting. Results suggested a high degree of social validity, as measured by the participating parents' self-reports as well as indices of happiness observed in the two children. Furthermore, this study confirms that when cultural aspects are taken into consideration telehealth can be used to train and supervise parents across geographical regions.

Previous research indicates that indices of happiness (IOH) can provide useful information regarding the social validity of behavioural interventions. One way to measure happiness might be to simply ask the participants how they are feeling. However, when focusing on populations lacking the skills to effectively communicate their internal emotional states, such as young children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), indices other than verbal self-reports are necessary. Monitoring observable behaviours likely correlated with states of happiness can be one method. In this study, IOH were measured in two young children diagnosed with ASD, in a naturalistic parent-implemented play-based shaping intervention to improve eye contact. IOH were measured in three different social play activities per child. The parents were trained and supervised via telehealth. IOH were individualized and operationally defined for each child, based upon parent responses to a pre-intervention questionnaire, and monitored via video recordings. Interobserver agreement was 92% (range 88-100%). The results, as measured by the observed pre and post intervention IOH, as well as parents' self-reports, indicate a high degree of social validity. This study was a collaboration between Stockholm University and Behavior Momentum India, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic.