Professional Development in Autism and Multilingualism for Behavior Analysts: A Randomized Waitlist Control Trial.

Area of Science:

• Behavior Analysis
• Developmental Psychology
• Special Education

Background:

• Heritage-language-speaking families with autistic children are underrepresented in research.
• Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) often lack training to support bilingual children and their families.
• Culturally and linguistically tailored care is crucial for this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of an online professional development training on BCBAs' knowledge, self-efficacy, and attitudes toward supporting multilingual Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) staff and recipients.
• To compare outcomes between BCBA leaders who completed the training and a waitlist-control group.

Main Methods:

• A randomized waitlist control trial was conducted as part of a larger mixed methods study.
• The study measured changes in BCBAs' knowledge, self-efficacy, and attitudes following the training.
• Social validity data were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Main Results:

• The training significantly increased knowledge and self-efficacy in the intervention group compared to the control group.
• No significant changes in attitudes toward supporting multilingual ABA services were observed.
• Participants found the training to be socially valid.

Conclusions:

• Professional development research for autism providers needs more attention, particularly regarding pre-service training.
• Clinical leaders should assess workplace environments to ensure effective and equitable practices for diverse populations.
• Further research is needed to explore the impact on attitudes and long-term practice changes.