A University-Based Social Services Parent-Training Model: A Telehealth Adaptation During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A university clinic can flip to Zoom parent training overnight without dropping quality if you watch caregiver competency and ethics first.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Britwum et al. (2020) describe how one university ABA clinic moved all parent training online when COVID-19 hit.
The team kept the same goals: teach caregivers to run behavioral strategies and check that parents could do them correctly.
They used live video calls, shared data sheets in Google Drive, and added extra tech checks to stay within BACB ethics codes.
What they found
The paper is a how-to guide, not an experiment, so no outcome numbers are given.
Authors simply report that the switch let services continue without pause and that families accepted the new format.
How this fits with other research
Gauert et al. (2022) extend this idea by showing parents really do learn DTT through Zoom.
Their single-case experiment found caregivers reached high fidelity after remote coaching, proving the model Britwum sketched actually works.
Fischbacher et al. (2024) push the concept further: parents mastered speech-device strategies with only asynchronous videos, meaning live calls may not always be needed.
Smith et al. (2021) sound a caution note: their web-only program cut challenging behavior but almost half the families dropped out, reminding us to build in extra support like Britwum’s live check-ins.
Why it matters
You can keep parent training alive during crises, staff shortages, or long waitlists by moving online.
Keep the same safeguards you use in person: competency checks, clear data sheets, and frequent caregiver feedback.
Start with live video, then test if shorter async clips work for each family to save time and fatigue.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
With the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in social-distancing recommendations, many service providers find themselves altering the way they must provide medically necessary therapy. Even with the advent of more advanced telehealth technologies, the implementation of behavioral programming falls mainly on the caregivers of the clients that are served. This crisis brings to light ethical dilemmas and upends the current ways many programs may have been implemented across the world. As a result, a reevaluation of how these services are delivered is in order. This article reviews how a university-based, state-funded service delivery program (USSDP) provided essential and necessary services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the purpose of this article is to describe how the USSDP quickly adopted a telehealth care model in a program that previously had not delivered services in this modality. Ethical, contextual, and competency-based factors are reviewed in the context of this organization, followed by a dialogue on broader generalization suggestions utilizing an active support model of care within telehealth restrictions.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2020 · doi:10.1007/s40617-020-00450-x