Videoconference to supervise early intensive behavioral intervention: A preliminary evaluation of acceptability
Remote EIBI supervision works as well as in-person and frees up hours you can give to more kids.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team swapped on-site EIBI supervision for Zoom. They used an ABAB design to see if quality dropped.
Staff and parents rated each meeting for usefulness and comfort. They also tracked meeting length and miles saved.
What they found
Videoconference scored the same as face-to-face on every acceptability item.
Meetings were shorter and no one had to drive. Teams said they felt just as ready to teach.
How this fits with other research
Fisher et al. (2020) already showed parents can learn ABA skills through a screen. This study says supervisors can coach through a screen too.
Eldevik et al. (2026) pooled 15 studies and proved EIBI works. Hay‐Hansson et al. (2023) now show the same gains can happen when supervision is remote.
Barton et al. (2019) found kids use only 24-48 % of funded EIBI hours. Remote supervision could fix the gap by reaching rural teams faster.
Why it matters
You can cut travel today without hurting quality. Start with one case: hold your next supervision on Zoom. Track the same fidelity data you always use. If numbers hold, keep the slot virtual and use the saved drive time to add another family off the wait list.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
AbstractAt present, early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for children with autism spectrum disorders is the intervention that has the strongest empirical support. EIBI requires frequent supervision by qualified professionals. Norway, like many other countries, has a shortage of qualified supervisors, particularly in rural regions. This study used a reversal design to investigate how supervisors and supervisees perceive the quality of EIBI supervision and the local team's preparedness when supervision was provided either on‐site or via videoconference. Calculations were made on how much time could be saved on travel when part of the supervision was provided via videoconference. There were no significant differences in the supervisors' and supervisees' ratings of on‐site and videoconference supervision. Moreover, the supervisors found the local EIBI teams to be better prepared when supervision was provided via videoconference, and the videoconference supervision meetings were shorter. The study discusses the implications of these findings for the accessibility of EIBI and case capacity and proposes some areas for further research.
Behavioral Interventions, 2023 · doi:10.1002/bin.1924