A Practical Guide to Finding Treatments That Work for People with Autism

Dr. Susan Wilczynski is the Plassman Family Distinguished Professor at Ball State University, a licensed psychologist, and a board-certified behavior analyst. She holds a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certificate from Cornell University. Susan conducts research on training practitioners to use the diversity affirming evidence-based practice decision-making model, which strongly emphasizes social validity, quality of life, and person-centered care. She serves on the nursing division of Wolters-Kluwer Publishing House’s diversity advisory board. Susan is the former Coordinator for ABAI’s Practice Board, served on their Task Force for the Promotion of Quality and Values-Based ABA, and on their Licensing Committee. As the former Executive Director of the National Autism Center, she chaired the first National Standards Project, the most comprehensive systematic review of behavioral and educational interventions supporting Autistic people of its time. She developed the first center-based intervention program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Susan has edited and/or written multiple books, including Postsecondary Transition for College- or Career-Bound Autistic Students. She has published in numerous journals such as Behavior Analysis in Practice, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, and Psychology in the Schools.

Section I: Evidence-Based Practice: A Brief Overview

Section II: Best Available Evidence 1. Systematic Review 2. Other Sources of Evidence

Section III: Target, Stakeholder, and Leader Client Variables, Values, and Preferences 3. Client Health 4. Client Repertoire and Behavioral Cusps 5. Client Preferences 6. Quality of Life, Generalization, and Social Validity 7. Treatment Acceptability and Social Validity 8. Treatment Feasibility and Social Validity 9. Context Matters: Getting Systems to Adopt Treatments

Section IV: Professional Judgment 10. Initial Selection: Weighing and Integrating Information 11. Progress Monitoring 12. Determining the Next Step

Section V. Conclusions and Examples