Reopening the Doors to Center-Based ABA Services: Clinical and Safety Protocols During COVID-19
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DISCUSSION AND REVIEW PAPER
Reopening the Doors to Center-Based ABA Services: Clinical and Safety Protocols During COVID-19 Julie Kornack 1
&
Ashley L. Williams 2 & Katherine A. Johnson 2 & Eileen M. Mendes 3
# Association for Behavior Analysis International 2020
Abstract In the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. organizations that provide applied behavior analysis (ABA) programs to individuals with autism spectrum disorder have implemented a variety of safety precautions to minimize the spread of the virus, often shifting center-based services to the home or telehealth. Considered essential workers, ABA providers are exempt from government directives to close, so they have both the freedom and the great responsibility to make their own decisions about how best to keep their clients safe while continuing to provide medically necessary services. In the coming weeks and months, ABA providers will be faced with the decision about whether to reopen centers. This article does not address that decision, except to acknowledge the urgency to reopen, both to help clients and to remain solvent. Political rhetoric and contradictory public information further complicate this daunting decision. Because ABA providers do not have legal guidance to shift the burden of such decisions to local and state regulators, the burden is theirs alone. The unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic means that no decision is clearly wrong or right, and every decision has consequences. Although ABA providers do not have their own state guidance, many states have issued guidelines for childcare providers whose operations have continued throughout the pandemic. This article analyzes that guidance, identifies common variables potentially relevant to ABA organizations, highlights clinical considerations and procedural compliance, and provides ABA organizations with the tools to make the best decision for their clients, in their community, and on their timeline. Keywords ABA . Center-based services . COVID-19 . Essential services . Health and safety . Pandemic
In the midst of an unprecedented pandemic and a growing understanding of COVID-19, applied behavior analysis (ABA) providers grapple with balancing the risk of exposing their clients and employees to the virus against the risk of withdrawing services and disrupting continuity of care (Cox, Author Note This manuscript has not been previously published and has not been or will not be submitted elsewhere during the review process. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-020-00462-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Julie Kornack [email protected] 1
Center for Autism and Related Disorders, 21600 Oxnard St., 18th floor, Woodland Hills, CA 91367, USA
2
LEARN Behavioral, Baltimore, MD, USA
3
Massachusetts Coalition of ABA Providers (MassCAP), Boston, MA, USA
Plavnick, & Brodhead, 2020). Although, at the time of this publication, states are at different stage
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