Association for Behavior Analysis International

Presenting Author: Brian D. Greer, Ph.D.

At ABAI's 20th Annual Autism Conference in January 2026, Dr. Brian Greer presented What Relapse Research Has Taught Us About Treatment Durability and Effectiveness. Function-based treatments (e.g., functional communication training) have strong empirical support. However, applied research on treatment relapse has shown that initially impressive treatment effects are prone to deterioration under a range of challenging conditions (e.g., change in treatment context, worsening in reinforcement conditions), highlighting concerning susceptibilities to relapse for some of our most common treatment approaches in applied behavior analysis. These insights have fueled bidirectional research spanning the basic–applied continuum in search of practical strategies for mitigating relapse and improving long-term treatment durability and effectiveness. What we have learned over the last decade plus of work in this area has not only identified specific treatment refinements suitable for use throughout applied behavior analysis but an ever-growing sense that treatments must be intentionally and strategically challenged for behavior analysts to assess treatment durability and effectiveness. In this presentation, I provide an overview of work on this topic and share general and specific recommendations for behavior analysts working in clinical service delivery and beyond.

Instruction Level: Intermediate

Target Audience:

This session is designed for behavior analysts, psychologists, clinicians, researchers, and graduate students who are interested in strengthening the durability and long-term effectiveness of applied interventions. Attendees working in clinical service delivery, supervision, and program design will gain practical insights into how relapse research can inform treatment planning and refinement. Researchers and academics will benefit from the integration of basic and applied findings, while practitioners at all experience levels will leave with strategies to evaluate and enhance the resilience of interventions across settings.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Participants will be able to describe at least one common challenging condition for behavior-analytic treatments.
2. Participants will be able to describe one general strategy for improving treatment durability and effectiveness.
3. Participants will be able to describe one specific strategy for improving treatment durability and effectiveness.