Discharge from applied behavior analysis services is one of the most clinically significant and emotionally complex processes behavior analysts navigate, yet it remains one of the least standardized aspects of practice. While the BACB Ethics Code and the Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP) provide guidelines for discharge and documentation, the practical execution of discharge planning, including fade schedules, family discussions, and evaluation of treatment responsiveness, varies enormously across clinicians and organizations.
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Join Free →The Behavior Analyst Certification Board ® and the Council of Autism Service Providers™ provide discharge and documentation guidelines for Applied Behavior Analytic services, however, guidance regarding the discharge planning process (e.g., discharge fade plans, discussions with the family, evaluating responsiveness to treatment) is often gained through experience which can vary across clinicians. Therefore, continual training and support to help behavior analysts with the medical necessity of services and the discharge process are often necessary. But, where do we start? A 20-question survey on discharge training and practices was sent to clinicians whom provide supervisory level services in over 15 states. Initial data indicates that 81% of respondents did not receive any formal training in graduate school and only 51% have received some training regarding ethical discharge practices through their current or previous employer, but 60% said that the primary source of training was clinical judgement. Yet, clinical judgement can vary between clinicians based on educational background, mentorship, and guidance. This preliminary data illustrates the need for service organizations, including school, to provide clinicians with some formal training. This panel will outline the final data from the survey mentioned above, steps that graduate school educations and management level clinician can take to close the gap between discharge criterion recommendations and the training and support necessary to execute the discharge process. The use of a decision-making model, training and planning resources, as well as an individualized peer-review process, will be discussed. The conversation will include taking into consideration the client's individual needs, the clinician's experience (Kornack et al., 2017), the family's perspective (Beier, 2018), and managed care requirements and recommendations (Papatola & Lustig, 2016).
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | Ethics |
Dr. Candice Colón serves as the Director of Research and oversees peer review and continuing education at LEARN Behavioral. She received her doctoral degree from Western New England University and a Master of Science degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Northeastern University. She specializes in the assessment and treatment of severe behavior for children and adolescents and has experience providing and overseeing clinical and training practices in insurance-based home and community settings as well as private school and residential settings. In addition, Dr. Colón has served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Bay Path University and is a Co-Founder of Resilience Skill Building, an ABA-based executive function skills coaching company. Her research interests include treatment/procedural integrity, training, and professional development practices, the assessment and treatment of interfering behavior, executive function skills, health related skills (e.g., toileting and sleep hygeine) and designing such procedures to be efficient, socially valid, and practical across settings. Her research is published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) and Behavioral Interventions. She has presented at national and regional conferences and also serves as a reviewer for journals such as The Analysis of Verbal Behavior (TAVB), Behavioral Interventions, and JABA. Since 2017, Dr. Colón has also served on the BABAT Board of Directors to support Massachusetts Professionals in Behavior Analysis. In her spare time, she enjoys running, coaching track & field, reading, coloring, and spending time with her husband, daughters, and their dogs.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
280 research articles with practitioner takeaways
279 research articles with practitioner takeaways
258 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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.