Preliminary Practice Recommendations for Telehealth Direct Applied Behavior Analysis Services with Children with Autism

This article provides preliminary practice recommendations for telehealth direct applied behavior analysis (ABA) services for children with autism. In the face of COVID-19, there is an immediate need for discussion on how to implement various ABA procedures via telehealth for ABA practitioners. Alongside emerging scientific evidence on the effectiveness of telehealth direct service as well as various service-related guidelines, we provide preliminary practice recommendations that are based on the existing literature on in-person and telehealth ABA procedures. We also discuss these recommendations with case studies of two boys with autism. Social validity measures indicated that families were satisfied with telehealth direct services. Even after the COVID-19 pandemic has resolved itself, telehealth direct ABA service will still be a valuable option for remote and international locations where direct ABA service is limited, and thus, practice recommendations continue to be relevant for all practitioners that use telehealth direct service.