Seven Dimensions Are Not Enough: Actively Disseminating Applied Behavior Analysis

Detrich and his team wrote a position paper. They asked a simple question: when does an ABA procedure stop being a lab project and start being real-world help?

They looked at the seven classic dimensions that define ABA. Then they added an eighth: active, planned, wide adoption. Without it, they say, the work is still just pilot research.

The paper finds a gap. Hundreds of studies show a method works, yet schools, clinics, and homes still do something else.

The authors argue the field must treat adoption as part of the science. Plan for it, budget for it, measure it. Only then is the intervention truly "applied."

Jones et al. (1992) reviewed 36 studies and proved constant time delay works. Detrich et al. would call that pile of evidence "still pilot" because most teachers have never heard of the procedure.

Perez et al. (2015) surveyed Massachusetts practitioners. Two-thirds said functional analysis gives the best data, but only one-third use it. Detrich’s paper explains why: we train people to do the tech, but not to sell, scale, or sustain it.

Meuret et al. (2001) showed mainstream teachers resist autism integration. Detrich’s framework predicts this; if adoption is an afterthought, teacher pushback kills the plan before it starts.

Next time you design a behavior plan, add a dissemination row to your Excel sheet. Who else needs to use this? What training, cost, and wording will make them say yes? Track those numbers like you track prompt levels. When your data show both client progress and staff uptake, you have met the new eighth dimension.