Issues for the consulting behavior analyst: Don't just implement a treatment plan, use the ecology to practice a treatment plan.

Abstract

Currently distance consulting takes place mental health rehabilitation centers, mental retardation rehabilitation centers, educational, preschool and even home locations. In each of these locations, but especially home programs, the distance consultant can encounter very different education, training and experience backgrounds within Applied Behavior Analysis this articles talks about the importance of taking into account this part of the ecology designing a treatment plan. ********** Gillat & Sulzer-Azaroff (1994), Page, Iwata, & Reid (1982), speak of the importance of teaching those involved a program how to provide effective training, consultation, and supervision to those who will implement a program. In this example they are speaking of training the trainers which differs slightly from the relationship that we are speaking of currently. In distance relationships involving the education and rehabilitation system, there no guarantee, but generally individuals are available with an acceptable working knowledge about behavioral technology and its application. In addition there are usually senior staff members available, psychologists, social workers, or other specialists who can assist with training and supervision and add considerable assurance to the treatment effort. In an home program the relationship that we are speaking of much more direct, the distance consultant the trainer, consultant and supervisor to those who will implement the program. This relationship spread across a number of visits each year and may vary length, but generally a short six to eight hours every six to eight weeks and some cases even longer. The amount of supervision that the distance consultant may provide between visits varies but generally limited to videotapes, telephones and advice via data analysis and email. In this type of environment the importance of face-to-face time and instruction of the trainers at a premium. Additionally, an home program, where implementers are often implementing the treatment plan while there are considerable competing events, the distance consultant must take into account the ecology of treatment when training the implementer to deal with the complexities of the treatment plan. As Malouf & Schiller (1995) have pointed out there are events the ecology that are not conducive or may impeded or compete with standards of the treatment plan, like the other children the family, the phone, preparation of dinner and other events the ecology that are rarely considered a behavioral change plan. While it remains clear that practicing the application of treatment perhaps the most important use of the distance consultant's time, it becomes more a question of how to practice the application of the treatment plan. As Willems (1974) points out there are interdependencies among ecology, organism and behavior that leave the door open to widespread unintended effects. The possibility exists that the most highly advanced and technically perfect treatment plan may have contradictory effects without the consideration of the ecology. In fact it seems rare that a treatment plan developed for a school setting will be successful as is the home or other settings. The plan simply must be developed considering the ecology, which includes the implementers themselves, their willingness to be implement the treatment plan, their knowledge and experience and the likelihood of resistance (see Cautilli & Santilli Connor, 2000 for more information) to follow the treatment plan. The distance consultant working with an home program must maximize the amount of time that spent with a team working the child's milieu and instructing those who will implement the treatment plan while they are implementing the treatment plan. A simple day of explanation and training about the treatment plan may have little effect once the instructors are left to implement treatment in the real world alone. …