Catalight Practice Guidelines Reflect a Contemporary Research View of the Dosage Effect and Outcome Measures in Autism Care
23 Abril 2024 - 4:28PM
Catalight, one of the largest behavioral health networks in the
United States working to support individuals with autism and
intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), recently
unveiled a set of guidelines for behavioral analysts, psychologists
and clinicians working with community-based applied behavioral
interventions.
The Catalight Practice Guidelines challenge the common belief of
a ‘dosage effect’ by stating that high hours of applied behavior
analysis (ABA) are not needed for good outcomes in the treatment of
children with autism or I/DD.
With the goal of doing a thorough review of the latest studies,
Catalight Research Institute leaders, along with a review
committee, spent a year and a half researching and compiling the
new guidelines. Reviewers included psychologists, board-certified
behavioral analysts, adult autism self-advocates, parents of
children with autism and a marriage and family therapist.
“Most behavioral interventions like ABA are delivered by trained
paraprofessionals under the supervision of a certified or licensed
clinician. We looked at numerous group studies, meta-analyses and
other research studies to assess the impact of high-hour ABA and
related behavioral interventions for young children. We did not
find a strong dosage effect and we did not find good support for
high-hour comprehensive ABA. More isn’t always better,” Catalight’s
Chief Clinical Officer Doreen Samelson, Ed.D., MSCP, said. “What we
did find was support for behavioral interventions being effective
in lower hours – much lower hours than people think – which is good
news for families currently in care, those on a waitlist and the
industry. While dosage decisions should be made based on the
individual needs of the child and their family, the guidelines
basically say that there's a lack of strong research support for
more than 15 hours a week of behavioral interventions such as
ABA.”
The new Catalight guidelines also show that research supports
parent-mediated interventions such as parent-mediated ABA – where
parents are taught to use behavioral interventions in routine
parenting by teaching their child new skills and decreasing
disruptive behaviors. The strength of parent-mediated care, as
demonstrated by the research, is comparable to
practitioner-mediated interventions, according to the guidelines.
General guidelines are given about what practitioners should
consider when working with parents in order to empower them in
their everyday lives.
Noticing that some current practice standards lacked outcome
measures, the Catalight team provided outcome guidelines that help
gauge wellbeing for the individual, parental stress and general
quality of life for the entire family. Several of the outcome
measures included in the guidelines can be downloaded for use by
clinicians providing autism care at no cost.
Catalight believes that there are options outside of ABA and
multiple options within ABA for the treatment of autism and I/DD. A
personalized care path should be a collaboration between the
client, their parents and the care team.
“We hope these new guidelines serve as a resource to help
clinicians as they seek to deliver person and family-centered
care,” said Dr. Samelson.
Dr. Samelson added that the Catalight Practice Guidelines will
be kept current as new research becomes available.
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About Catalight Catalight breaks down barriers and
biases to create a more equitable world so people with
developmental disabilities can choose their path. Catalight
provides access to innovative, individualized care services,
clinical research and advocacy — all powered by intelligent
technology. Through the work of affiliate partners, Easterseals
Hawaii and Easterseals Northern California, Catalight and its
family of companies support people with developmental disabilities
and their families across their care journey.
The Catalight family of companies is one of the largest
behavioral health networks in the nation with more than 14,000
practitioners serving 20,000 clients and families every day. Backed
by more than a decade of experience and a multidisciplinary team of
clinicians, we are reimagining the way people with developmental
disabilities and their families experience healthcare. Catalight’s
goal is to ensure that individuals and families receive timely
access to evidence-based treatment, including naturalistic
developmental and language-based services, applied behavior
analysis, occupational therapy and speech therapy.
Contact: Keith
Ferguson Catalight Director of Communications and
Marketing keith.ferguson@catalight.com 925-532-9615
Keith Ferguson
Catalight
925-532-9615
keith.ferguson@catalight.org