Association for Behavior Analysis International

The sudden emergence and ongoing uncertainty of COVID-19 led many behavioral health organizations to reassess how they deliver applied behavior analysis (ABA) services as well as the skills that employees need to effectively execute their job functions. This reassessment for how services would be delivered resulted in ABA sessions during the COVID-19 pandemic that looked significantly different than ABA sessions delivered pre-COVID-19. In this symposium, we will share the results of three studies that measured the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of ABA services. The first presenter will discuss the importance of compassion and empathy as a soft skill for behavior analysts, and how those skills can be taught using Behavior Skills Training. The second talk discusses parental acceptance of Telehealth to replace in-person ABA therapy. The final talk discusses the impact of COVID-19 on ABA practitioner job satisfaction and their perception of care quality. All presenters will discuss the implications of their findings and future steps.

Practicing behavior analysts or patient's/caregivers of those who receive ABA services.

Addressing issues of disparity in access to treatment for children with autism has gained increased attention. COVID-19 has been documented to disproportionally affect disenfranchised populations in both its direct health effects and have a greater impact on the upstream social determinants of health such as financial well-being, access to education, etc. The purpose of this retrospective study was to assess known factors that affect autism treatment (e.g. severity of symptomology, behavioral excesses) and care-providers acceptance or rejection of ABA telehealth services at the onset of COVID-19. Rejection of telehealth resulted in the absence of any behavior analytic services to patients. This study reports on an initial convenience sample (∼100 patients) of a larger sample size (∼1500 patients) from a service provider in Southern California. A t-test for the convenience sample found significance for one variable but not others. Additional measures are being conducted and a randomized sample of the patient population is being analyzed. If particular variables are found to be significant in the randomized sample, interventions may be tailored to decrease the disparity and ensure more children do not experience a disruption in service should telehealth be required as a treatment modality.

The sudden emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a severe blow to economies, businesses, and workers nationwide – including behavior analysis workers. During the pandemic, we administered a survey to all BACB certificants to identify the variables that best predicted perceived COVID-19-related change in service quality and the impact of COVID-19 on job status. Using regression analyses, we found that perceived negative change in ABA service quality was influenced most by low confidence using Telehealth technologies, changes in the setting of service delivery, and a higher number of cancelled sessions. Our findings also indicate that COVID had a greater impact on job status for respondents who were younger, had lower certification status (i.e., RBT, BCaBA), had lower positions in the company (e.g., frontline staff), and for those who worked in home and clinical settings. In short, this presentation highlights who was impacted most by COVID-19 and in what ways. Understanding this information opens the door to field-wide collaboration to develop and disseminate effective strategies to mitigate the negative impact of future events that have far-reaching economic impact.