[FEAT BC Admin]

In this topic area, discussion is on all issues relating to setting up and running a home-based intervention program. Please feel free to bring up any problems or suggestions. Parents can help each other greatly by sharing information and giving suggestions.

In addition to parents helping parents, A.B.A. professionals on in the Discussion Group can also help provide insight and guidance.

Topic

[Sara White]

I personally would add a few caveats to using a Board Certified Behavior Analyst as a consultant. I have my certification and can tell you that while this certification will ensure that the consultant has an all-round general knowledge of applied behavior analysis, it will in no way guarentee that he or she has any experience in discrete trial programming for children with autism. While the BCBA certification is a good starting point, I feel that it is essential that consultants also have a great deal of supervised experience in working with children with autism specifically doing discrete trial programming. The certification basically lets you know that the person knows ABA, but not necessarily autism.

Sara White, MA, BCBA

[Deleted User]

ABA consultants and treatment providers

I would recomend (my opinion)that parents only accept training and services from a board certified behaviour analyst.You can find out exactly what this is by going to http://www.bacb.com.

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board®, Inc. (BACB®) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation formed as a result of credentialing needs identified by behavior analysts, agencies within several state governments, and consumers of behavior analysis services.

The BACB’s main purpose is to develop, promote, and implement a voluntary national (and perhaps eventually international) certification program for behavior analyst practitioners. The BACB has established uniform content, standards, and criteria for the credentialing process. It seeks to ensure that the program meets 1) the legal standards established through state, federal and case law; 2) the standards for national certification programs as established by the National Organization for Competency Assurance and the National Commission for Certifying Agencies; and 3) the "best practice" and ethical standards of the behavior analysis profession.

The BACB program is based on the successful Behavior Analysis Certification Program operated by the State of Florida. The Florida Program has been in operation for nearly twenty years and helps to ensure the competency of practitioners through stringent requirements for completing appropriate professional experience and specific formal education; passing a professionally-developed written examination; and obtaining ongoing continuing education. Similar criteria have been used to credential behavior analysts in California, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, and Oklahoma. The BACB program evolved out of efforts of the State of Florida to nationalize the certifications developed by the Florida program.

[Deleted User]

A year ago I began working on a team where the consultant would simply photocopy programs out of a book and then hand them to the parents. This person did not suggest targets to begin with, nor did they even once modify programs at all to suit the child's age or ability, which was impaired.

It was left up to the team to take these broad directions and try to narrow it into simple steps. Fortunately two of us on the team had enough experience that we were able to do this. I thought it strange that this person was paid a lot of money to come for a consultant visit and all she did was photocopy notes. I could have done that (I never would though…)

During these visits, we as a team, woudl ask questions about behavioural problems and program direction. This person said several times that the team were best able to decide on behavioural interventions and future programming issues. I would agree that the team, working one on one with the child should be consulted over functions of behaviour, areas of interest, targets etc however none of us felt qualified to make the decisions expected us. After all, what is the purpose of a consultant if not to direct the team? Why would parents pay $75 – 250 an hour if I could do it for $10?

Finally it reached a point where I no longer felt comfortable. We were not simply writing steps of teaching we were being asked to make decisions that were beyond our training level. None of us on that team had the educational background or years of experience and supervised training required to do those things. Fortunately for that family we did have enough training to realize how little we really knew.

Just one therapist's perspective
Anonymous out of respect to the family mentioned above, as well as the Consultant and fellow team members

[Deleted User]

To the anonymous posting re: therapists designing programs!!

YIKES!

that is my first reaction.

Anon, your instincts are correct, that sounds potentially dangerous.

I would never, NEVER, NEVER allow my therapists to design my childs programs. Particularly therapists who have 4 months of training.

Having worked with the same consultant for 2.5 years with both of my children, there are times when she gives us a program verbally during her consultation (we are not on a workshop model)and it might be very similar to a program she has given us before or it might be identical to a program that she gave us for our daughter, then and only then do we not require her written instructions on how to implement. But those instances are few and far between.

When that does happen we run through exactly what she wants verbally, have her show us and then write it down verbatim.

However the usual practice, even when I know what she is referring to is to have HER demo what she wants and then ask her to also send a written version as well.

Our Consultant has a high degree of expertise. She can think through all the possible situations that might arise. She knows the behavious that may come up as well as those we are already dealing with. She knows the implications involved. Our therapists may (MAY) have some ideas on these, they are familiar with the current behaviours but they don't necessarily know how the behaviours morph into new problems. Therapists usually do not have years of experience implementing and designing programs. It takes extensive periods of time to have enough experience to know how to program well, vs. write out a program from a book.

And with only four months of experience I would say your therapists, as great as they might be, do not have enough knowledge to be doing so.

It sounds as though your consultant focusses on training her/his team and that is a good thing. We want our therapists to grow and expand in ability but it should be part of a process.

I think your concern about weeks of faxing things back and forth is also valid.

The role of a therapist, in my OPINION is to implement, not invent.

ABA is an extremely powerful tool. Used incorrectly it is still powerful but the results are disasterous, used correctly and the results are astounding.

Michelle Himmelright

[Deleted User]

Hi there. I have a question about the consultant's role in the delivery of ABA therapy. I would very much like to hear back from both parents and consultants with respect to your experiences. The question arises as a result of a minor difference of opinion with government officials about the type of services we want to receive.

Having had the very rewarding experience of working with WEAP when our child first started ABA, our understanding of the role of the consultant was as follows: The consultant assesses the needs of the child and provides to the "team" (consisting of parents and line therapists and, if lucky, a lead therapist), specific programs for the child. The consultant provides those programs either in the form of very detailed workshop notes or, better yet, in the form of completed acquisition sheets. The workshop time is devoted primarily to assisting the team in the development of skills relating to the DELIVERY of the programs.

In contrast to this, I have been presented with a slightly different view of the role of the consultant. This role sees the consultant as someone who empowers the team to not only DELIVER the programs but to DEVELOP the program. The workshop consists of the consultant talking about certain programs, behaviours etc. The therapists are expected to take detailed notes themselves. From those notes they are expected to write up their own acquisition sheets. The consultant agrees to review the notes (by way of fax) before the therapists start writing the acquisitions sheets.

My concern with this, arising in part out of our recent experience, is that what tends to happen is that there is a two to three week period after the workshop where the notes and aquisitions sheets are faxed back and forth. It takes at least three weeks before our team is provided with a completed set of aquisition sheets that have been reviewed and approved by the consultant. In the meantime, the therapists are delivering what they THINK is the program. In the past month, this has resulted in some subtle but not insignificant mistakes in the program design such that the consultant had to modify a program that our son had been receiving for the previous four weeks, at the next workshop.

I don't know. Perhaps I am being too beurocratic and uptight about this. But with all of the greatest respect for our great team of line therapists, I don't think they should be developing programs with only four months of experience. While I understand the value of having them learn, I would think that learning would best come from seeing well developed programs being presented to the team as a done deal rather than having them experiment with our son as they try to develop the program.

Alternatively, perhaps there is a new school of thought on how best to deliver ABA programs with which I am unfamiliar.

As I said before, I would very much like to hear the opinions of both parents, consultants and therapists on this issue.

[Rachel Russell]

Hi- I just heard from LIFE East Coast Office (Lovaas Institute for Early Intervention) that the new version of the Me-book, entitled "Teaching Individuals with Developmental Delays: Basics" is available for ordering now. Amazon.com says the books aren't due for 5-7 weeks, though, so they must not all be printed or shipped yet.

Rachel Russell

[Deleted User]

Any new word about funding? In particular MSP??? I am personally tired of this red tape as my child needs to begin Lovaas today. I want to be able to swipe my care card to get the service my child deserves, requires and needs. If you consider this one "earned" being a child of a disablity. How about this one the right a family has to privacy and choice a family has medically to choose their Lovaas provider without having to apply for monies.
I feel very strongly MSP should get a list of Lovaas providers and allow them to bill. There maybe a limit of billing allowed per family. I would be willing to pay into a flex account and/or a portion of the Lovaas.

MSP today, not tommorrow, not yesterday or next year – T O D A Y.

As usual my opinion…

[Deleted User]

Just to add to Jovana, and for all parents ensure the photocopies are of current criminal records check.
Safety conscious.

[Jovana Ivanovic]

Criminal Record Check

Just a little addition to all that was said so far, once a therapist has the record check done, it can be photocopied and copies could be used by all her/his families. (My social worker told me that copies are ok.)

Jovana

[Deleted User]

As the volunteer co-ordinator for Abbotsford Special Olympics, I often have our new volunteers get a criminal record check. For volunteer positions the criminal record check is done immediately for $25. I don't know how long it takes for a crim. check for employment.

Leslie Bowling

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