Apply Modern Technology to Improve Effectiveness of Autism Intervention

By Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D

bSci21Media, LLC

The 12th Annual Autism Conference, put on by the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI), is set to kick off February 4th in Miami.  In attendance will be the Polish tech company DrOmnibus, who will showcase their ABA DrOmnibus App.   The app is designed for therapists and parents to facilitate the delivery of ABA services in a self-contained, user-friendly, interface. The company has teamed up with Google’s LaunchPad Accelerator program to prepare their entry into the U.S. ABA market.

In preparation for the conference, I had a chance to sit down with Rabia Khan to discuss her role with the DrOmnibus team and her presence at the conference.  Rabia started in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in 2006 while living in Pakistan.  She worked with children for seven years there, while earning her Master’s degree.  However, the limited training and practice opportunities, combined with her passion for helping children, lead her to seek out training in the U.S.  Since 2013, she has resided in Silicon Valley where she provides ABA services across a variety of settings.  Her long-term vision is to pursue a PhD in behavior analysis and to help grow the field of ABA both in the U.S. and in Pakistan.

She joined the DrOmnibus team as an external consultant tasked with field-testing user experiences of the ABA DrOmnibus App across an international sample of parents.  She solicited parents’ feedback on what they liked most about the app and how to further refine the interface to maximize learning gains in their children.   The result is the development of an app noted for its ease of use by therapists and parents.  The intuitive design and simple jargon-free language allows parents to run the app independently with very minimal training.

Her work has also culminated in a guide for therapists that provides a broad overview of the app, how it integrates ABA principles into the experience, past validation research on the app, and future upgrades. A few points noted in the guide are as follows:

• The ABA DrOmnibus app is designed to complement, rather than replace ABA therapy.
• Learning games across a variety of skillsets, that teach children to distinguish colors, shapes, numbers, goods, emotions, occupations, and many more.
• Audio and visual elements designed specifically for children with autism and other developmental disabilities.
• Baseline assessments in the form of pre-tests, in order to measure learning gains.
• Embedded prompting hierarchies.
• Downloadable and printable graphs showing your child’s learning gains.

Rabia is going to join the DrOmnibus team in Miami to share her experiences in practicing ABA around the world, and combining traditional ABA methods with mobile technology.  Be sure to stop by and say hello!

Click here for a free 14-day trial of the ABA DrOmnibus App!

Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D is the President and Founder of bSci21Media, LLC, which owns the top behavior analytic media outlet in the world, bSci21.org.  bSci21Media aims to disseminate behavior analysis to the world and to support ABA companies around the globe through the Behavioral Science in the 21st Century blog and its subsidiaries, bSciEntrepreneurial, bSciWebDesign, bSciWriting, bSciStudios and the ABA Outside the Box CEU series.  Dr. Ward received his PhD in behavior analysis from the University of Nevada, Reno under Dr. Ramona Houmanfar.  He has served as a Guest Associate Editor of the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, and as an Editorial Board member of Behavior and Social Issues.  Dr. Ward has also provided ABA services to children and adults with various developmental disabilities in day centers, in-home, residential, and school settings, and previously served as Faculty Director of Behavior Analysis Online at the University of North Texas.  Dr. Ward is passionate about disseminating behavior analysis to the world and growing the field through entrepreneurship. Todd can be reached at [email protected]