Consider that you are a Behavior Analyst that has been assigned to work as a supervising BCBA for a home program for Kaitie, a 4-year-old girl who has been diagnosed with autism. She attends a special education preschool program for students with ASD and Communication Disorders in a self-contained classroom, where she receives Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT) as part of her half-day program. Kaitie is mostly non-verbal, emitting only a few basic words such as “no”, “more”, and “I-Pad”. Most other times, Kaitie will engage in squealing noises, crying, or whining as a way to express herself. Occasionally, she will engage in tantrum behaviors such as hitting, kicking, and flopping on the floor if her needs are not met quickly enough. Kaitie’s parents have heard about Facilitated Communication as a “miracle”, and ask you about implementing a plan to include it into her program since they are eager to increase her language development. You explain that Facilitated Communication is not an evidence- based practice and therefore, you cannot recommend it as a treatment option. Upon hearing that, Kaitie’s parents become a bit resistant to your recommendations, and seem doubtful about her developing home program.
Kaitie’s home program is contracted for 15 hours of services per week, most of which are to be provided by two Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs). There is also a parent-training component, in which you, as the BACB, provide to parents for 2 hours per week to assist with supporting parents to become active participants in Kaitie’s program, particularly to enhance the maintenance and generalization of skills learned during her therapy with the RBTs.
