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Research & Training Center on Positive Behavior Support for Autism & Developmental Disabilities
Stony Brook University
Dept of Psychology
Stony Brook, New York
11794-2500
Email Us autismcarr@sunysb.edu
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Melissa Bishop/DoIT
Last Modified 04/24/2003 15:43:50 EDT
What Every Parent Needs to Know
Research by Ivar Lovaas at U.C.L.A. as well as others has shown that intensive early behavioral intervention can have major positive effects on the development of young children with autism. This has generated tremendous demand by families who seek applied behavior analysis (ABA) intervention for their child with autism. Unfortunately, many people who now offer ABA intervention are not properly trained. Therefore, parents who believe that their child is receiving state-of-the-art intervention are disappointed when they discover that the person offering services does not have the expertise that they had assumed was the case. Much valuable time is wasted during the critical period of life when the child could most profit from exemplary ABA services. Dr. Carr, who was trained by Dr. Lovaas, and has published papers with him, suggests several guidelines that can be useful in selecting a therapist or supervisor of therapists for your child.
- Check the Editorial Boards of the major behavioral scientific journals in the field: Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behavior Modification, Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, Research in Developmental Disabilities. If the person you are considering is on one or more of these Boards, it is an indication that they are highly regarded by their expert peers in the behavioral field. Alternatively, if the person you are considering has been trained when they were a student by one or more of these Editorial Board members, it is an indication that they are likely to have the high level of expertise in ABA and PBS that is needed to increase the chances of a successful outcome.
- Check to see whether the person you are considering has a long track record of publishing work on ABA and/or PBS in the journals just mentioned and whether they have presented data on successful outcomes at professional conferences devoted to behavioral intervention. If so, it is an indication that the highly regarded individuals who generally review papers for journals and conferences have some confidence in the person you are considering.
- Check to see whether the person you are considering has a bona fide clearly documented track record of practicing ABA and/or PBS over the years. Keep in mind that behavioral intervention has been around for over 35 years. So, if the person you are considering has been dealing with people with autism for many years but only recently has shown an interest in ABA or PBS, it may be a sign that they are simply jumping on the bandwagon, hoping to capitalize on the current popularity of the approach. Beware of people whose "expertise" is the result of having attended a workshop or taking a few courses in behavioral approaches. This is not enough. Expertise can only be developed when a person is properly trained by credible people and has years of practice producing data that credible peers in the field view as being worthy of publication and/or presentation.
- Of course, there is no guarantee that even if a person meets all of the suggested guidelines, a successful outcome will occur. However, if the person you are considering as a therapist or supervisor of therapists is competent in several of the areas described, you will greatly increase your chances of helping your child to receive the services they need for a successful outcome.