Brian Middleton, a neurodivergent individual who is AuDHD (ADHD & autistic), has a reading disability, and hearing impairments, is a firm believer in the importance of neurodiversity for fostering social engagement. With a background as a special education teacher and a behavior analyst, he is currently working as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA®) in disability services, he specializes in assent-based, neurodivergent-centered services and applies Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Relational Frame Theory (RFT) in his practice.
In addition to his professional work, Brian is an active member and president elect of the Open Educational Resources (OER) Special Interest Group (SIG) and has received the 2022 Diversity Aware award from the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS) for his advocacy and efforts in bringing to light and addressing unethical practices and human rights violations within the field including the use of Contingent Electric Shock (CESS) in disabled people. Brian initiated the Bearded Behaviorist social media profile in 2018, which has gained recognition for promoting engaging learning, exploration, and advocacy for diversity, equity, and inclusion using a prohuman and prosocial approach to behavior analysis.
Brian holds dual Bachelor's degrees in social science composite and special education, a Masters of Education with administrative endorsement from Southern Utah University, and a post-master's certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis from University of Cincinnati.
