Presenting Author: Claire C. St. Peter, Ph.D.
At ABAI's 20th Annual Autism Conference in January 2026, Dr. Claire St. Peter presented Doing What We Say: Practical Strategies for Measuring Procedural Fidelity. Procedural fidelity is essential for ethical and effective service delivery, yet it is often treated as an afterthought—something to be checked off a list or overlooked entirely. In this presentation, I will challenge common assumptions about fidelity and highlight the critical role of fidelity in ensuring that our learners receive the services to which they consented. Drawing from applied and translational research in autism intervention, I will present practical, research-informed strategies for measuring fidelity in real-world settings where time and resources are often limited. Attendees will learn how to design sensitive and feasible fidelity measurement systems, distinguish between global and component-level fidelity, and apply fidelity data to improve both implementation quality and client outcomes. I will share examples of fidelity scoring methods, tools for assessing fidelity across repeated sessions, and ways to embed fidelity supports into training and supervision. Ethical considerations—including those related to informed consent, treatment validity, and stakeholder trust—will also be addressed. Finally, I will introduce emerging tools and approaches that can make fidelity measurement more sustainable, actionable, and aligned with the realities of everyday practice. Ultimately, the goal is to promote fidelity practices that are both rigorous and realistic, thereby enhancing the quality of services for autistic learners.
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Target Audience:
This session is designed for behavior analysts, psychologists, supervisors, and other professionals involved in designing, delivering, or overseeing autism services. It will also benefit educators, researchers, and practitioners seeking practical, research informed strategies for measuring and supporting procedural fidelity in real world settings. Both early career and experienced professionals will find value in this presentation.
Learning Objectives:
1. Describe at least three purposes of measuring procedural fidelity in autism intervention.
2. Compare different approaches to measuring fidelity (e.g., global vs. component; checklist vs. continuous).
3. Identify strategies to improve the accuracy and feasibility of fidelity data collection.
4. Discuss ethical considerations associated with monitoring fidelity in applied settings.