The Effects of Dynamic Programming on Child Outcome in Early Intervention

Abstract

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of agencies implementing organized service delivery systems to treat children with autism. Organizational management features designed to manage staff and child progress are critical in producing the highest quality outcomes in the children served (National Research Council, 2001). The current study seeks to identify a system for management of clinical outcomes. Four children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the four teams of staff implementing their ABA treatment program participated in evaluating the effects of a system for management of clinical outcomes. During baseline, typical systems were in place to manage the children's learning. The clinical management system, known as Dynamic Programming was introduced via a multiple baseline design across children. Dynamic Programming is an intervention package that includes: (a) therapist self-monitoring while teaching new program exemplars, (b) therapist public posting of child mastery (c) probes of child behavior to "test" or confirm therapist self-monitoring and public posting (each therapist reports their results on the Dynamic Programming sheet and team members "check" one another). After treatment implementation, each child's rate of learning increased and maintained 5-10 weeks post treatment. Results suggest that the children's rate of learning was accelerated through the implementation of Dynamic Programming. The parents of the children were satisfied with the implementation and outcome for their children.