Quality of Care Standards in ABA: Discussion and Review of a Special Education and Residential Model for Profound ASD belongs in serious BCBA study because it shapes whether behavior-analytic decisions stay useful once they leave a clean training example and enter clinic sessions and day-to-day service delivery. For this course, the practical stakes show up in skills that remain meaningful when school supports disappear and adult expectations change, not in abstract discussion alone.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Council of Autism Service Providers
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Join Free →Use of the term "quality" as an adjective indicates that a person, place or thing possesses a characteristic or outcome not found in similar persons, places, or things (Merriam-Webster n.d.). Within the field of medicine, achieving high-quality outcomes (i.e., extending life and reducing the impact of disease) has been described as a goal in the earliest records (Claridge & Fabian, 2005). Establishing and following clinical practice guidelines is one approach to quality. The US Institute of Medicine (2011) define clinical practice guidelines as recommendations intended to optimize patient care that are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms or alternative care options. Today practitioners of applied behavior analysis (ABA) are following a similar path in discussing how to define quality, how to measure quality, and implement practices that support quality (Brodhead, Cox, & Quigley, 2022). The purpose of this presentation is to discuss standards of care within ABA-based special education and residential programs for children and adults with profound autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., cognitive impairment). Using recently published information from a practitioner guide series (e.g., Bird et al., 2023; Gardner et al., in press; Luiselli et al., 2021; Maguire et al., 2022; Maguire, et al., 2023), presenters will share examples of how an organization may create and implement an organizational approach to standards of care within these settings.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | General |
| APA | 0 | — |
| COA | 1 | — |
Helena Maguire serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer. Ms. Maguire is responsible for the implementation of the Melmark Behavior Intervention Strategies: Policies and Procedures and overall all clinical services across all division: Massachusetts, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Ms. Maguire supports the Executive Vice President of Clinical Services, overseeing organizational systems, development, research, external stakeholder management, and high acuity individuals. Ms. Maguire is a co-founder of the Melmark New England division, which she established in 1998, along with current and former colleagues. Ms. Maguire previously served as the Executive Director of Melmark New England since 2016 overseeing the development and implementation of programs and services, as well as the daily operations for Melmark New England. Ms. Maguire implemented strategic objectives including development of the Adult Day Program in Lawrence, Massachusetts; expansion of adult residences for Melmark New England; the development of an Early Intervention Program; and providing leadership at Melmark New England for the launch of Melmark’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion strategic plan and cultural ambassador roles. Ms. Maguire also supported the CEO through various State-wide committees and activities, and assumes responsibility for policy development, quality assurance, risk management, regulatory compliance, fiscal integrity, and excellence in care and delivery of all services. In 2023, Ms. Maguire oversaw the opening of the Early Intervention program, a second day school in Stoughton, Massachusetts, and the 7th adult residential home. Ms. Maguire has worked extensively in the field of community based human service delivery systems in Massachusetts. She has served as a Program Director at Vinfen Corporation and as the Director of Adult Services at the May Institute. In both of these positions, Ms. Maguire was responsible for the development and implementation of the staff orientation training curriculum, training for supervisory personnel and in-service training for all staff. Ms. Maguire has presented numerous papers on staff management and staff training techniques, both at the local level and at the national level. In addition to professional presentations, she has published several articles and practitioner guide books on topics related to OBM, staff training and supervision, and development of systems focused on specialized education and clinical services for individuals with severe challenges in learning. Ms. Maguire previously served as Adjunct Professor at Endicott College and the University of Massachusetts-Boston. She earned her Master of Science in Human Services Administration degree from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. She earned her Board Certification in Behavior Analysis (BCBA) in May 2002. Helena Maguire is also a certified diversity executive through the Society of Diversity.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
256 research articles with practitioner takeaways
252 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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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.