Supervision is critical to the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) because it improves the quality of services provided to the recipients of behavioral services which in turn increases client protection and helps to portray the field of ABA as one that is committed to socially significant behavior change (Britton & Cicoria, 2019; Brodhead & Higbee, 2012; Hartley et al., 2016; LeBlanc & Luiselli, 2016; LeBlanc et al., 2020; Turner et al., 2016). Without effective supervision, the quality of services may decrease and negatively impact treatment outcomes for the clients (Britton & Cicoria, 2019; Dixon et al., 2016; Eikeseth, 2009; LeBlanc & Luiselli, 2016; Shapiro & Kazemi, 2017). Given the rapid growth of the field of ABA, supervision will continue to play a critical role in training, fostering the growth and development of professionals and ensuring those professionals uphold the high standards of the profession (Hajiaghamohseni et al., 2020; Turner et al., 2016; Turner, 2017). The current dissertation addressed and evaluated supervision of behavior analytic services provided to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in three different contexts: (1) supervision provided during the implementation of behavioral interventions, (2) supervision provided via Telehealth, specifically evaluating barriers and strategies used to address and/or mitigate those barriers, and (3) supervision provided via Telehealth in the form of email performance-based feedback. Collectively, these chapters sought to address gaps in the current behavior analytic supervision literature and identify additional areas of study. Chapter 1 provides an overall introduction connecting the three separate, but related chapters (Chapters 2-4) and includes a supervision logic model. Chapter 2 is a systematic literature review that evaluated the extent to which recently published articles included information regarding supervision and staff training of the individuals implementing behavioral interventions to young children with ASD. The results of Chapter 2 revealed that there is little to no consensus on reporting supervision and staff training characteristics in the current behavioral intervention literature. Research implications and reporting recommendations will be discussed. Chapter 3 is a survey study that evaluated the barriers Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) experienced and the strategies BCBAs used to address and/or mitigate the barriers that arose when providing supervision via Telehealth. The results of Chapter 3 revealed that BCBAs that provide supervision via Telehealth are not exempt from experiencing barriers. Research and practical implications will be discussed. Chapter 4 is a single case research design study that evaluated the extent to which email performance-based feedback increased procedural fidelity of teacher candidates’ implementation of a multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment. The results revealed that email performance-based feedback was effective in increasing procedural fidelity of MSWO preference assessment implementation. These results support previous literature suggesting that email performance-based feedback alone is effective in increasing target behavior(s). Research implications will be discussed. Finally, Chapter 5 provides an overall discussion about the findings of the three chapters (Chapters 2-4), recommendations for research and practice, and considerations for the future direction of supervision in the field of ABA.
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