Evaluating a Consultant-Delivered Behavioral Skills Training and Self-Assessment Checklist Package used in the Czech Republic

ABSTRACT

Recently, the Czech Republic has moved toward establishing licensure and securing funding for the advancement of applied behavior analysis (ABA). However, the breadth and quality of ABA services remains limited. Most practitioners are providing in-home ABA services with irregular oversight, are working in regions without access to support and collaboration, and forming partnerships with parents that may result in dual relationships. In an effort to improve ABA provisions, a structured professional development curriculum was presented across six behavioral skills training (BST) workshops. Six practitioners working in the field of ABA and toward behavior analyst certification participated in the workshop series. In addition to advancing ABA in the region, the aim of the BST series was to pilot an adapted approach to professional development training using an extended format, practitioner-driven curriculum, and self-assessment checklist. The information was modularized and focused on the progression of establishing ABA services and development of skills associated with: moving through the intake process, assessment, behavior plan development, curriculum planning, and parent involvement. The validity and applicability of providing consultation services in this format for emerging behavior analytic markets was evaluated using practitioner-provided self-assessment. Despite limited data collection, the results indicate that the modified BST package was socially valid for the practitioners in the Czech Republic. This project may set the stage for future research in supporting new ABA practitioners in settings where the community of behavior analysts is small.

KEYWORDS:

• Behavior program development
• supervisor training
• self-assessment
• behavior skills training
• Czech Republic

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the participation of the practitioners and the financial support of a grant from the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic with the project number CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/16_027/0008360.

Data sharing policy

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Ethics statement

The manuscript and research reported adheres to the ethical policies described in the Author Guidelines.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic [CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/16_027/0008360].