Staff views on supporting evidence based practice for children with ASD

Area of Science:

• Clinical Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Special Education

Background:

• Implementing evidence-based practice (EBP) for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) presents challenges in clinical settings.
• Previous research focused on barriers to EBP, with less emphasis on collaborative solutions derived from staff consultations.
• Understanding staff perspectives is crucial for developing effective EBP support systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the views of professionals, paraprofessionals, and managers on supporting evidence-based practice (EBP) in their work with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Main Methods:

• Five focus groups were conducted with 29 participants from various professional roles.
• Participants included speech pathologists, teachers, childcare workers, and managerial staff.
• Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Main Results:

• Two central themes emerged: 'Initiative and Effort' and 'A Better Way'.
• Staff developed creative strategies to support their engagement in EBP, often relying on intuition.
• Participants highlighted the need for organizational-wide support, including peer-to-peer mentoring.

Conclusions:

• An organizational-wide model for EBP support, founded on peer-to-peer mentoring, is proposed as a desirable and acceptable approach.
• This model offers an ecologically valid and acceptable solution for enhancing EBP implementation.
• Findings underscore the need for systemic support beyond access to research, emphasizing peer collaboration for clinicians and educators.