By Segun Fatuase
Basically, Life is all shades of attitudes and behavior. There is a science to it called
Behavior analysis which studies the behavior of human and non-human organisms, simply “ to understand, explain, describe and predict human behavior’’. This goes beyond inputs and insinuations of good or errant behavior, in the way and manner people freely assess others.
Once people wading or passing through life’s situations like depression, anxiety, social isolation, heightened stress recognize that these are conditions needing urgent attention and response from professionals in the area of behavioral analysis, the society will be better for it.
Studies and research efforts over the years point to the fact that the well-being of society rests largely on reciprocal social communication. Behavior Analysts have even identified autism spectrum disorder(ASD) as a neuro-developmental disorder with a potential to make children behave in a certain manner requiring medical attention (instead of thinking that witchcraft was involved).
Globally, the setting up of the Association of Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) which sets standards for educational programmes in Behavior Analysis, gave the right perspective to the study and treatment of different human behavioral conditions.
The African perspective of behavioral conditions is now being promoted by the likes of Dr. Usifo Edward Asikhia, the Clinical Director of the International Training Center for Behavior Analysis.
Dr. Usifo Edward Asikhia
In his paper presented at the 50th Annual Convention of the Association of Behavior t heAnalysts International in Philadelphia, IUSA between May 24-27, 2024 , Asikhia noted that the shifting landscape of Behavior Analysis and stressed the need to ensure continuous access to effective ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) training and services in impoverished nations, including Nigeria.
in his informed view, Asikhia noted that ‘’Global application of Behavior Analysis is evolving, and its trajectory has brought forth a cause for concern, particularly in impoverished nations. The age-old wisdom, “the poor shall never cease out of the land,” resonates with renewed significance as we explore the challenges faced by poor nations’’. The Don, in his paper tiled: “That The Poor Nations May Not Cease Receiving Effective Behavior Analysis Training And Services In The Land’’, therefore suggested the necessity for quality access to training and access to affective Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for the treatment of Autistic children in Nigeria as well as continuous access to effective ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) training and services in impoverished nations.
The situation in African nations, according to Asikhia, has become very alarming given the current great increase in population of the African continent. While quoting the October 2023 special section of the New York Times which hinted that the population of the African continent will increase enormously in coming decades, he urged that efforts and more attention should be paid to Africa.
Specifically, he said Nigeria, with over 200 m population, is “multi-dimensionally poor,” meaning they suffer simultaneously from multiple disadvantages including a lack of access to clean energy, housing, health care, water and sanitation.
Roughly 10 million Africans are estimated to be in the ASD bracket. Nigeria is about 15.5% of African population; therefore, about 1.5 million Nigerians may have been involved. About August 31st, 2011, the BACB Certificant Registry indicated that just one BCBA Certificant (among others unknown officially) exists in Africa to address the needs of about 10 million children with ASD in the African continent.
Asikhia therefore called for a strategic review and change of approach to the advancement and sustenance of the science of Behavior Analysis in developing nations, including Nigeria.