ABAT Coursework Topic Guidelines

These guidelines are suggestions for areas of instruction related to the field of ABA, autism and the QABA credentialing competency standard areas. The credentialing standards and suggested duration of training on domains can be found on our website: qababoard.com/credentials/standards. These topic guidelines are not intended to be inclusive of the field and subject matter or to replace the competency standards.  Coursework and training should be designed by a credentialed or licensed professional in their area of expertise.  Note: QABA requires a minimum of 3 hours of ethics and 5 hours of autism core knowledge in coursework.

Autism Core Knowledge

    • Define Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and common characteristics and deficits.
    • Identify what is meant by the triad of impairments.
    • Identify the ‘red flags’ to early diagnosis.
    • Identify deficits associated with ASD, such as social-emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communication, stereotyped motor movements, and restrictive or ritualized behaviors.
    • Identify risk factors to ASD.
    • Identify current (2018) CDC statistics and rates for the prevalence of ASD.
    • Identify serial vs. parallel processing related to learning style of individuals with ASD.
    • Identify the definitions and key people associated with evolution of ASD as a diagnosis.
    • Identify common co-morbid diagnoses.
    • Identify terminology and diagnosis related to assessment and different diagnosis, such as pragmatic language, receptive language, expressive language, sensory-motor skills, social skills, joint attention, learning disabilities, and processing disorders.

Education, Training, & Self-Development

    • Define and identify the use of Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA).
    • Define Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).
    • Define Individual Education Plan (IEP) and explain how it is used.

Principals of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)

    • Identify 3 basic principles of behaviorism.
    • Define antecedents, behaviors, and consequences as a 3-part contingency.
    • Identify the goals of ABA.
    • Identify all components of Applied Verbal Behavior (AVB).
    • Define and demonstrate examples of pairing.
    • Define Motivation Operation (MO) and how it is used in skill acquisition and behavior reduction intervention as a 4-part contingency.
    • Define stimulus, response, stimulus class, response class, and stimulus control.
    • Define matching law.
    • Identify types of reinforcers, such as tangible edible, sensory, social, etc.
    • Identify key factors in providing reinforcement.
    • Identify principles of reinforcement: rate, value, magnitude.
    • Define satiation and deprivation.
    • Identify negative and positive as reinforcement and punishment.
    • Define natural reinforcement.
    • Define conditioned and unconditioned reinforcement.
    • Identify primary and secondary reinforcement.
    • Define contingent reinforcement and punishment.
    • Define differential reinforcement and punishment.
    • Identify schedules of reinforcement.
    • Define extinction, deprivation, and satiation.
    • Define extinction burst and spontaneous recovery.
    • Define discriminative stimulus.
    • Define Behavioral momentum and how it is used in skill acquisition and behavior reduction intervention.

Instructional Interventions: Skill Acquisition

    • Define target behavior.
    • identify the key elements of goals and objectives that are clear, concise, observable, and measurable.
    • Identify effective components of task analysis.
    • Define shaping.
    • Define forward and backward chaining.
    • Define and identify types of prompts.
    • Define and identify effective uses for most-to-least and least-to-most prompting.
    • Define and identify prompt dependence, prompt fading, demand and demand fading, stimulus fading.
    • Define discrimination training.
    • Define generalization and maintenance and strategies for each instruction.
    • Define natural environment teaching (NET).
    • Identify socially significant behaviors that increase quality of life and improve independence and how it is a goal to ABA and goal development.

Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT)

    • Identify DTT and its benefits.
    • Define errorless learning and when/how it is used.
    • Define different types of prompts.
    • Define priming.
    • Define errorless learning and correction procedures.

Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT)

    • Identify Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT), its key components, and when/how it is used.
    • Identify the principles in the development of PRT.

Principles of Working with Autism Effectively

    • Define best practice.
    • Define evidenced-based treatment.
    • Define validity and reliability.
    • Identify the need for collaboration in treatment planning and implementation, such as behavior contracts, referral methods, multi-team communication in and assessment, treatment adherence, etc.

Treating Individuals with Challenging Behaviors: Reducing Problem Behavior and Functional Assessment

    • Define a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP).
    • Identify the functions of behavior.
    • Identify a functionally equivalent behavior.
    • Define Functional Analysis.
    • Identify types of Functional Behavior Assessments (FBA) and efficacy of each type.
    • Define token economy.
    • Define time-out.
    • Define response cost.
    • Define overcorrection.
    • Define positive practice.
    • Define precursor behavior.
    • Define the Premack Principle.
    • Define setting events.
    • Define types of differential reinforcement, such as DRO, DRA, DRI, DRL, and DRH.
    • Identify the difference between and types of proactive vs reactive behavior intervention strategies.

Positive Behavior Supports:

    • Define PBS and identify key components of effective PBS plans.
    • Identify the purpose, function, and benefits of commonly used supports, such as visual supports, visual schedules, social stories, video modeling, functional communication training (FCT), PECS, TEACCH, skill-streaming and utilizing environmental modifications.

Data Collection and Evaluation

    • Define operational definition.
    • Define observable and measurable and the importance of defining an onset and offset of a behavior in reliability.
    • Identify types of assessments and when/how they are used, such as preference, direct vs indirect, self-monitoring, standardized, functional behavior, ABC, environmental evaluation, etc.
    • Identify measurement procedures, such as frequency/event recording, duration, time sampling, interval, and latency.
    • Define continuous and discontinuous methods of measurement.
    • Identify types of graphs, such as line, bar, cumulative, scatterplots, and single subject design.
    • Define baseline data and how it is used.
    • Identify analysis of data, such as visual analysis, rate, mean, stability, variability, etc.
    • Understand inter-observer agreement (IOA)/Inter-rater reliability and threats to it.

Philosophy, Values, and Advocacy and Person Centered Planning

    • Define advocacy.
    • Identify the goal and fundamentals of PCP and key elements to its success.
    • Identify how PCP differs from traditional models.
    • Define self-determination.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

    • Demonstrate an understanding of the scope of practice as an ABAT: professional standards, evidence-based practices, and knowledge of updates on new diagnostic, assessment, and intervention strategies.
    • Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the QABA policies, procedures, and Code of Ethics.
    • Define and understand the use, benefits, and limitations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
    • Summarize the legal and ethical requirements regarding client confidentiality and its exceptions.
    • Define privileges information.
    • Demonstrate an understanding of unethical relationships and how those relationships may occur, including dual relationships.