Association for Behavior Analysis International

As more and more behavior analysts are practicing within school settings, it is critical for them to have a clear understanding of the current educational model. Most elementary schools in the U.S. and abroad have adopted a differentiation model of instruction, called Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS). To a lesser extent, preschool and middle and high schools have also adopted MTSS models. In this model, different layers of instruction and interventions are layered for students to increase the intensity of supports as indicated by screening and progress monitoring data. Intensifying supports only for those who truly need them and irrespective of disability, all students receive the “just right” fit of interventions to excel in school. This also ensures that financial and personnel resources are committed to those who will benefit most from them. In this invited talk, Dr. Spencer will provide a tutorial on the key ingredients of MTSS, explicating the elements necessary for equitable implementation and impact. She will also report on several research applications with culturally and linguistically diverse students and students with disabilities. Drawing from her own research, Dr. Spencer will present several innovative assessments and intervention tools that ensure students are identified as at risk early and provided with sufficient supports to prevent worsening difficulties.

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As Autism treatments based in Applied Behavior Analysis become widely spread and its results known to countries other than the United States, practitioners, families, and payors start seeking such treatments. In Brazil, practitioners seek training, however, the training mostly occurs via brief courses with no standardized curricula. A small number of specialization programs now offer a more structured curriculum, yet many professionals in Brazil travel to the United States to participate in short training and return advertising themselves as having expertise in specific techniques and practices within ABA without having the formal training required to be a BCBA. The best practices of supervision of an ABA-based program have not been directly trained in most Brazilian clinics, and we often observe supervisors with little to no actual relevant experience taking on roles they are not prepared to engage in. Resources to evaluate clinical competencies are in the beginning stages of being translated to Portuguese and adapted to Brazilian culture while a framework for addressing performance deficits of supervisees is being explored. Professional credentialing is under way, and we see a bright future for ABA services in Autism treatment in Brazil with some battles to win initially.

Supervisors who provide ABA services for individuals with learning and behavioral deficits.