ABA in Schools
What’s the problem? The problem is quality!

Schools have vastly different EOs, MOs, and AOs from their missions, objectives, success metrics and methods of delivering services that are completely different than those found in the private sector. Major challenges that face behavior analysts while providing services in the school-setting include (but not limited to): resistance and push back, lack of buy-in from administrators and other stakeholders, culture, objectives not aligned with successful student outcomes, and lack of resources.

Even when behavior analysts are able to overcome those issues, there still remains the problem of competency. Most BCBAs are taught to apply ABA in center-based and home-based settings where availability of resources, including sufficient funding, supervisors and front-line staff are plentiful. However, in schools there are severe resource constraints being a common thread across districts, for most BCBAs, it’s nearly impossible to implement the same programs as those in more traditional settings.

What’s our solution? Backfilling the knowledge gap.

Managing severe problem behavior is one of the fundamental responsibilities of BCBAs, regardless of setting. In schools, the consequences of failure are extremely high, both in terms of risk to schools and the lives of students.

We have partnered with Dr. Ronnie Detrich, PhD, to systematically backfill this knowledge gap of school-based BCBAs. He has recently been involved in education reform in order to continue to advance evidence-based practices in education to “assure high levels of treatment integrity at scales of social importance and the dissemination and actual implementation of effective programs”.