Association for Behavior Analysis International

Improving the quality of life and the education of children with disabilities and their families requires the collective knowledge, skills, experience and expertise of all family members and professionals. Many youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and neurodevelopmental disorders receive support and services from a variety of agencies, including schools, physicians, ABA providers, and other rehabilitative services. Although these service providers are working very hard to assist the child and family, they may be working in isolation, and could potentially contradict the work done in other settings. In this session, we will discuss an interagency collaboration model that we have used in our agency in order to bring together service systems, identify common goals, and improve outcomes for our children and their families. Specifically, we will discuss the importance of collaboration, a series of steps and tips for developing collaborative interagency relationships, and positive outcomes associated with such collaborations. With an emphasis on working together, children will benefit from continuity in delivery of services and support and improved outcomes in their areas of need.

Collaboration with community-based childcare facilities can be a challenging or a fruitful experience. When the community partner feel their methods or beliefs are challenged, it is difficult to achieve "buy in" and work seamlessly as a team. On the other hand, with genuine collaboration, it is possible to partner with early childhood educators to develop contextually sensitive and clinically sound interventions. This presentation outlines a successful experience of working with a community-based preschool in Vancouver, British Columbia. The participant exhibited aggression toward other children in the facility, which had severe negative impact with establishing friendships and even his placement in the classroom. Through weekly team meetings, the author helped facilitate the development, implementation, and ongoing monitoring of a Positive Behavior Support plan for challenging behaviors for a young child with autism. At the end of a 3 month period, aggression was completely eliminated and the child had developed friendship with a few children in the class. A workable model and video feedback from the preschool staff are provided.

Early and intensive, one-to-one, behavioral intervention to autism is highly effective but inaccessible to a great portion of the affected population in northern Brazil. This applied research evaluated the efficacy of an parental-based ABA intervention program to develop basic repertoire in six children (2 to 6 years old) diagnosed with autism in Belm, Par State - northern Brazil. The following repertoires were focused in the intervention: "sit down", "attend when called by name", "wait", "visual tracking", "imitation with and without objects". Phase 1 (lasting 32 hours) was to teach basic behavior-analysis concepts to caregivers via PSI. Meanwhile, children were evaluated to establish individualized intervention plans. In Phase 2, the caregivers were taught to carry out the intervention programs, using role-playing and demonstration with teaching assistants. In Phase 3, caregivers carried out the intervention programs with their children in the laboratory setting. In Phase 4, the caregivers were allowed to administer the intervention programs at home. Five of the children reached independent responding in all programs (with exception of one program for one child). The data reported here shows that our simplified parental intervention program is a promising alternative to give a more comprehensive access to ABA intervention to autism.

Working with individuals with autism has particular challenges in every culture. We have met these challenges as a newly funded organizacion in Lima, Peru. Six-Years after relocating to Lima, Peru, a Peruvian-born, American-raised certified behavior analyst shares what the data show in Alcanzando, an ABA Early Intervention Center located in Lima, Peru. We will discuss the challenges of working in our home country, as well as dissemination and outreach.