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Evaluation of a Brief Family-Centered Service Provision Model for Treating Children’s Severe Behavior: A Retrospective Consecutive Case Series Analysis

Behavior Analysis in Practice volume 14, pages 86–96 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

This article serves as an initial program evaluation of a service provision model for providing applied behavior analysis services to families with severe behavior needs. A retrospective consecutive case series design was used to evaluate the effectiveness, feasibility, and cost of the model. We analyzed records for all families served through the model from summer 2017 to fall 2018. A total of 55 families received services, with 87% of children having autism and 63% having an intellectual disability. Within-participant single-case experimental designs were used to evaluate the clinic’s assessment procedures, and caregiver interviews were used to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of developed and implemented treatments. Conclusive assessment results were obtained for approximately 69% of children. For families that received treatment, 92% reported improved child behavior. Intent-to-treat analyses that included families that withdrew from services prior to receiving treatment indicated that 61% of families experienced improved child behavior. Assessment and treatment outcomes for families that attended all appointments are commensurate with those of other similar clinics reported in the literature; however, the percentage of families that withdrew from services is substantially higher. For families adhering to the clinic’s services, children’s challenging behavior may be effectively assessed and treated through brief outpatient contacts utilizing services based on applied behavior analysis.

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No funding was secured for this study.

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Early Childhood, Special Education, and Rehabilitation Counseling, College of Education, University of Kentucky, 229 Taylor Education Building, Lexington, KY, 40506, USA

    Collin Shepley, Sally B. Shepley & R. Allan Allday

  2. Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Melanie Tyner-Wilson & Daniel Larrow

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  1. Collin Shepley
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  2. Sally B. Shepley
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  4. Melanie Tyner-Wilson
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Correspondence to Collin Shepley.

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Due to the requirements of our university’s institutional review board in determining that this study met the definition for a quality assurance/improvement activity, we are unable to share patient-level data.

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This study was given a nonhuman research subjects determination by our university’s institutional review board as it met the definition for a quality assurance/improvement activity.

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Shepley, C., Shepley, S.B., Allday, R.A. et al. Evaluation of a Brief Family-Centered Service Provision Model for Treating Children’s Severe Behavior: A Retrospective Consecutive Case Series Analysis. Behav Analysis Practice 14, 86–96 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00487-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00487-y

Keywords

  • Applied behavior analysis
  • Autism
  • Functional analysis
  • Program evaluation
  • Severe behavior