Iterative Redesign of a Caregiver Mediated Intervention for Use in Educational Settings
Let teachers edit a proven parent program and you get a classroom-ready plan they actually like.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked teachers, aides, and school staff to help rebuild the RUBI parent-training program for the classroom.
They ran three short design cycles: staff tried draft lessons, gave feedback, and the team rewrote the plan.
The new version, called RUBIES, kept the same ABA skills but used school words and school routines.
What they found
After each cycle, staff rated the lessons as easier to use and more useful for daily class life.
By round three, every teacher said the plan felt doable and matched real school demands.
How this fits with other research
Petursdottir et al. (2019) and Joslyn et al. (2020) also show teachers can cut problem behavior when they run ABA plans themselves.
Those studies used tight single-case designs and counted minutes; Bearss used staff interviews and still got positive marks.
Wanchisen et al. (1989) tried nondirective consultation—letting teachers invent their own fixes.
Bearss flips that idea: staff still co-create, but now they co-create inside a proven program instead of starting from scratch.
Why it matters
You no longer have to choose between "research-based" and "teacher-friendly." Invite staff to trim jargon, swap examples, and rename forms while keeping the ABA core. The result—RUBIES—earned high feasibility scores in weeks, not years. Try the same co-design steps with any manual you love: pilot, interview, revise, repeat. Your teachers will feel ownership and your students still get evidence-based support.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Teachers endorse disruptive behavior as a considerable concern for autistic students, which is compounded by the lack of adequate resources for behavioral intervention planning in the classroom. The RUBI program is an evidence-based, low-intensity manualized intervention, initially developed for parents of autistic children ages 3–14 and co-occurring disruptive behavior. Utilizing the Discover, Design/Build, Test (DDBT) framework, which combines user-centered design and implementation science, RUBI intervention content was collaboratively and iteratively redesigned with elementary school stakeholders (40 school staff from 28 schools) to ensure the feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of the redesigned intervention, RUBI in Educational Settings (RUBIES). Iterative quantitative and qualitative methods were conducted with stakeholders to identify targets for RUBI redesign. Conventional content analysis was used to code qualitative data and identify usability issues. Recommendations were provided for modifications to RUBI sessions to address the needs of the school context and end-users to develop RUBIES. Feasibility scores improved following redesign. The use of the DDBT framework to redesign the RUBI intervention may promote greater usefulness and usability in school contexts.
Autism, 2022 · doi:10.1177/13623613211066644