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In recent years the number of children diagnosed with ASD has increased
dramatically. This growing need has conversely increased the number of
individuals and organizations providing applied behavior analysis
services. While there are a number of highly qualified individuals and
agencies, not all are able to provide the same high quality services.
Different local and national organizations are making efforts to
standardize the quality of applied behavior analysis services provided
to individuals with autism spectrum disorders. The Behavior Analyst
Certification Board, Inc. is a national organization that has set forth
a list of requirements as well as a certifying exam to qualify
individuals as Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA). Additionally,
individual state departments of health and education authorities have
also identified quality guidelines and indicators that are intended to
provide standards for ABA service providers. In spite of these
regulations and guidelines, many individuals and organizations remain
under equipped to provide high quality services. What follows are some
basic guidelines to use and questions to ask when selecting a service
provider or program:
- Who is designing and running the program?
- How is the program individualized?
- How are the skills to be taught selected?
- What opportunities are there for children to interact with non-disabled peers?
- What role does the family assume in the program?
- How is progress monitored and recorded?
- How are challenging behaviors addressed?
- What training do the individuals providing the therapy have?
- How is collaboration with other service providers achieved?
1. Who is designing and running the program?
- The supervisor should be a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) or qualify to sit for the exam, or the agency should have a BCBA on staff to monitor programming.
- Supervisors should have experience working with a number of children across a wide range of skill levels.
- The supervisor should work directly with the child on a regular basis to insure that the teaching techniques are effective and to ascertain current levels of functioning.
- The supervisor should meet with the team on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
- The supervisor should provide ongoing training to the team
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2. How is the Program Individualized?
- Prior to beginning programming a child's areas of strength and functional need should be assessed.
- Goals should be written based upon these assessments.
- Program intensity should be determined based upon level of individual need.
- Obstacles to learning should be carefully examined and accounted for.
- Teaching strategies and environments should be assessed in order to maximize learning.
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3. How are the skills to be taught selected?
- Skills targeted should be functional.
- Skills should be selected based upon the child's areas of strength and functional need.
- Family members' concerns should be incorporated into the goal selection process.
- Skills targeted should be applicable across environments.
- Skills targeted should increase independence.
- Skills targeted should increase social relatedness.
- Skills targeted should increase child's access to reinforcing activities and environments.
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4. What opportunities are there for children to interact with non-disabled peers?
- Children of various ages and abilities benefit from access to peer interaction.
- If a child is not in school, facilitated play sessions should occur.
- A parent or therapist should initially be present in order to facilitate the interaction.
- Specific skills should be worked on during facilitated peer interactions and data should be recorded to document progress.
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5. What role does the family assume in the program?
- Families should have direct input in the goal selection process.
- Families should receive specific training so they have the skills necessary to address behaviors and generalize skills.
- Families should spend time working directly with their child.
- Families should have a venue for voicing concerns and to have their questions answered.
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6. How is progress monitored and recorded?
- Data should be kept on the child's performance in individual skill areas.
- Data should be assessed to determine rates of acquisition and whether interventions and teaching techniques are effective.
- Progress reports or information indicating goals mastered should be provided.
- Assessments should be conducted at regularly scheduled intervals.
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7. How are challenging behaviors addressed?
- A functional behavior assessment should be conducted prior to implementing an intervention program.
- An intervention that can be implemented across environments should be developed.
- No intervention should be instituted if the family is not comfortable with the treatment procedures and does not consent to their use.
- Prior to implementing a behavior intervention plan, all individuals involved should receive detailed training regarding the treatment protocol.
- Measures should be put in place to insure that all the individuals in contact with the child are using consistent behavior intervention procedures.
- Data should be collected throughout phases of the intervention program to ensure that the intervention is effective in changing the targeted behavior.
- Behaviors should be addressed in a hierarchical order, starting with those that interfere with the child's ability to learn.
- Behaviors targeted for change should be those that will enable the child to participate in a less restrictive environment and enable them to have greater access to additional sources of reinforcement.
- The most effective, up to date, and well researched techniques should be employed.
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8. What training do the individuals providing the therapy have?
- All individuals providing applied behavior analysis services should be knowledgeable in the principles used.
- Organizations providing services should insure that individuals are providing a consistent level of therapy.
- Individuals should be receive ongoing training in the most up to date applications of the principles.
- Therapists should be observed and evaluated on an ongoing basis.
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9. How is collaboration with other service providers achieved?
- The individual or agency providing services should be willing to be part of the collaboration process.
- Individual team members should have a venue through which to communicate on an ongoing basis.
- Time to meet with other service providers should be scheduled on a regular basis.
- Where appropriate, skills targeted should be consistent across service providers.
- Techniques used to address behaviors should be used consistently across service providers.
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