Service Delivery

Considerations for effective dissemination of evidence-based early intervention approaches.

D'Agostino et al. (2024) · Autism : the international journal of research and practice 2024
★ The Verdict

Re-brand your early-intervention program with a catchy name and picture manual so preschool staff will use it right away.

✓ Read this if BCBAs who coach teachers in public pre-K or Head Start classrooms.
✗ Skip if Clinicians who only do one-to-one in-home therapy.

01Research in Context

01

What this study did

van der Miesen et al. (2024) wrote a how-to paper. They asked, "How do we get preschool teachers to use ABA early-intervention programs?"

The team did not run an experiment. They listed steps to turn research programs into ready-to-go packages.

02

What they found

The paper says teachers skip programs that look hard or dull.

Bright names, clear manuals, and short videos make uptake easy.

Brand the program so teachers ask for it by name, like asking for a favorite cereal.

03

How this fits with other research

Szabo et al. (2020) already did this at home. They called tiny ABA steps "kid superpowers" and parents used them daily. R et al. widen the idea to whole classrooms.

Hendrix et al. (2022) show most parent programs chase only problem behavior. R et al. add: package the program first, then teachers will use it for any goal.

Friman (2014) told us to write in plain words for doctors. R et al. move the same logic from journal pages to lesson plans.

04

Why it matters

You can have the best data in the world, but if the box looks boring the shelf stays full. Rename your social-skills plan to "Friendship Power Pack." Swap long jargon sheets for one-page picture steps. Hand the new bundle to the preschool team next week and watch them actually open it.

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→ Action — try this Monday

Pick one routine you teach, give it a fun kid-friendly name, and turn the steps into a one-page comic strip for the teacher.

02At a glance

Intervention
not applicable
Design
theoretical
Population
autism spectrum disorder
Finding
not reported

03Original abstract

Dissemination, or the widespread sharing of information, is important for moving research evidence into community practice. Early intervention programs for young autistic children have not yet been widely disseminated to the early childhood workforce. This letter describes factors that may support or prevent dissemination to community-based settings, such as packaging and branding early intervention approaches. We argue that an increased focus on dissemination research is needed.

Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2024 · doi:10.1177/13623613241253117