The quality of applied behavior analysis services varies enormously across the provider landscape, and this variability has direct consequences for the individuals and families who depend on these services. As the field has grown, driven by insurance mandates and increasing recognition of autism spectrum disorder, the demand for ABA services has consistently outpaced the supply of qualified providers.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Florida Association of Behavior Analysis
Take This Course →Including ethics, supervision, and topics like this one. New live CEU every Wednesday.
Join Free →Over the last decade, access to applied behavior analysis (ABA) services has improved for individuals and families affected by autism. Despite this positive trend, the demand for quality ABA services is still largely not being met. Growing the field responsibly to meet this need will involve addressing the multiple challenges that threaten the quality of ABA services. These challenges include, but are not limited to, (a) provider credentialing, diversity, and expertise; (b) training standards, options, and pass rates; (c) financial incentives, reimbursement rates, and profiteering; and (d) individualized standards, treatment, and outcomes. Addressing these challenges will require comprehensive education efforts about their existence, adoption of industry standards developed and supported by the community, promotion of regulations and policies that prioritize patients over profits, and innovations that encourage the responsible use of technology to improve individualized care. During this presentation, the author will discuss the barriers preventing access to quality services and how industry standards developed and enforced by a nonprofit accreditation program like the Autism Commission on Quality (ACQ) can be used to help patients receive the level of ABA services they deserve.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | Ethics |
| COA | 1 | — |
| FL MH/PSY | 1 | — |
Dr. Dubuque serves as the Director of Standards and Quality of ACQ’s industry-wide accreditation program designed to promote quality care for individuals with autism. He is a former assistant professor with over a decade of experience coordinating, advising, teaching, and supervising students across three graduate training programs in applied behavior analysis domestically and internationally. His professional, voluntary, and scholarly activities have centered around quality control in the training and application of behavior analysis. As an accreditation administrator, expert witness, licensure board chair, and consultant, Dr. Dubuque has shaped legislation, regulations, and policies designed to protect the public and increase access to effective and ethical applied behavior analytic services for individuals with autism.
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.