Occam's Razor

Dr. Ozonoff starts off the talk with a great tool, Occam’s razor, that all people should consider use not only in the clinical aspect of their life but in all aspects of their life.  It can be difficult to deal with a child who has comorbidity but unfortunately most people who are brought to a clinic have more then one diagnosis.  Dr. Ozonoff make a great point when stating that most people who have to go to a clinic will have more then one diagnosis because they need more assistance or treatments due to these disabilities.  The idea of Occam’s razor can be difficult to use since many diagnosis can overlap and have similar features. 
Conducting an FBA is becoming a standard practice in the field of special needs and education.  Occam’s razor principles are often used when conducting an FBA because to truly change a behavior it has be broken down to simplistic actions that can be measured.  Sometimes complex behaviors are broken down into smaller more simple steps and an BCBA or Behavior Specialist will have to work on one part of this behavior at a time.  When conducting an FBA it is often best to have a team to help put together a whole picture.  Diagnoses of a individual should be considered when conducting and FBA, however it is not a reason behind the behavior. 
When dealing with any individual it is always important to take in all the information on all diagnosis and consider all possibilities of other diagnosis.  It is always important to consult a professional to obtain a proper diagnosis.  In my position I do not diagnoses students but I do have many students that have multiple diagnosis.  I use this information to help create personalized tasks, activities, and behavior plans for the individual.  One example is a student i have that has a phobia of dogs.  It has been diagnosed as a phobia, as well as other clinical diagnosis such as ASD, and we have to be very careful of where we go on field trips, when, and who is there based on this diagnosis.  We work on proper reactions as well in task work daily.  It can always be difficult to deal with individuals with comorbidity however most people who deal with special needs have to adjust accordingly, but using Occam’s Razor helps and if you hear hoof beats you should think horses (unless you are in Africa cause it might be zebra).