Commitment, Collaboration, and Problem Resolution to Promote and Sustain Access to Multifaceted Applied Behavior-Analytic Services Utilizing Telepractice

03Original abstract

Access to clinically recommended applied behavior analysis (ABA) services has been significantly impacted for many consumers in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Local shelter-in-place orders and safety concerns have resulted in a movement toward telepractice models across educational and medically necessary ABA services, including at the level of the behavior technician. With this novel mode of technician-level intervention, practitioners have faced many learner, caregiver, and setting variables that have served as barriers to accessing telepractice intervention. Given the novelty of and limited empirical investigations on technician-level telepractice, solutions for common barriers are urgently needed. The current discussion article, therefore, describes the necessity of evaluating the efficacy of telepractice at the level of the technician, puts forth the position that telepractice should be considered a safeguard to accessing ABA intervention given evolving crises such as the pandemic, and provides a detailed description of employed training models and materials, problem-resolution strategies aimed at overcoming specific barriers, and initial outcomes across educational and medically necessary intervention models with the intent to support practitioners in identifying and overcoming barriers such that consumers can access needed intervention. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40617-020-00550-8.

Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2022 · doi:10.1007/s40617-020-00550-8