46 WHITE SAVIORISM

Lessons Learned and Continued Reflections

Abstract

It is important to note that this is a starting point to a conversation on white saviorism, as well as a snapshot in time, from the perspective of a white American woman who has worked outside of her home country for the past decade. Mistakes have been made over the years in international ABA dissemination work and this chapter is written from lessons learned and knowledge gained. In the field of Applied Behavior Analysis, philosophical doubt is one of the six attitudes of science which must be used to ask questions and seek the truth. This chapter does not claim to be everything one needs to learn about white saviorism, but it is a humble start and a call to action for additional research and input. This chapter will outline information about white saviorism and pose questions to help you challenge your preconceived views. It will discuss barriers to understanding white saviorism and share lessons and examples about individual and group behavior, with the goal of combating and preventing white saviorism in the world.

Keywords

white saviorism

Chimamanada Ngozi Adichie

philosophical doubt

white supremacy

Majority World

white savior complex

Minority World

media

orphanage

river children

Renee Bach

cultural differences

ethical

sustainable

systemic racism

oppression

first world

third world

About

Whitney Hammel Anny

Whitney Hammel Anny

MSEd, BCBA, IBA, LBA

Whitney Hammel has over 10 years of experience directly working in the field of autism, mostly with the New England Centre for Children, along with many years of education. Whitney holds a BS in Early Childhood Development and Special Education from the University of Idaho, a MSEd in Severe Special Education from Simmons College, and completed two additional years from University of West Florida to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) specializing in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) service delivery.

Her work experience ranges from ages 20 months to 22 years; working in a residential facility, home/community settings with families, consulting in general education classrooms for inclusion, implementing social skills groups, supervising future BCBA candidates, and working in ABA centers across 4 countries (United States of America, United Arab Emirates, India and Ghana)