Quality of life as a treatment outcome represents a meaningful evolution in how ABA practitioners frame their clinical objectives for autistic adolescents and adults. While early ABA practice focused primarily on skill acquisition and behavior reduction with reference to developmental norms, a quality of life orientation asks a more fundamental question: what does this person need to experience a meaningful, self-determined, and connected life, and how can behavior analytic programming support that.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via RethinkBH
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Join Free →Promoting a positive quality of life is something that certainly falls within the parameters of behavior analytic intervention and socially significant outcomes. To make this happen, however, the development of meaningful instructional goals and the identification of relevant environmental modifications needs to start in elementary school and continue into transition, graduation and beyond. As with most, if not all of what competent behavior analysts do, this process is highly individualized and requires programming for both generalization and maintenance.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | General |
| COA | 1 | — |
Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D., is the Executive Director of the EPIC Programs in Paramus, NJ. Dr. Gerhardt has over 40 years of experience utilizing the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis in support of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders in educational, employment, residential, and community-based settings. He has authored or edited several publications, including “Make it Meaningful: Creating Programs that Matter into Adulthood for Learners with Autism Spectrum and Related Disorders“ (Make it Meaningful Press, 2024) with Dr. Shanna Bahry, “Clinician’s Guide to Sexuality and Autism” (Academic Press, 2024) with Drs. Jessica Cauchi, Mary Jane Weiss, and Justin Leaf and “The Handbook of Quality of Life for Individuals with ASD” (Springer, 2022), on which he is a co-editor. He has presented nationally and internationally on these and related topics. Dr. Gerhardt serves as Co-Chairman of the Scientific Council for the Organization for Autism Research and is on numerous professional advisory boards, including the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies. He serves as Affiliate Faculty in the Institute for Applied Behavioral Science at Endicott College. Dr. Gerhardt received his doctorate from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey’s Graduate School of Education.
Side-by-side comparison with a clinical decision framework
Research-backed educational guide for behavior analysts
Research-backed answers to common clinical questions
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.