Educating behavior clinicians in a community behavior care center for children with autism spectrum disorder: Medication administration a pilot study in the United States

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a multifaceted developmental disability requiring specialized supports. Due to the growing diagnoses of ASD, the demand for behavior treatment centers has also grown. These centers offer a wide range of beneficial services to children with ASD, including medication administration and management. While centers may employ highly educated and certified employees, there may be a gap in education related to medication administration and medication management knowledge. Using an evidence based education tool, this study sought to explore if clinicians in a behavior care center could gain knowledge in their ability to accurately administer and manage medications for children with ASD, and postulate if existing post-secondary curricula for behavior clinicians should be enriched to include medication administration and management training. This comprised two separate day long sessions of an implementation pilot study of best practice education in medication administration and medication management for behavior clinicians employed at a community behavior care center for children with ASD in the United States. Using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, 25 (SPSS), the paired samples t-test was applied for analysis. The quantitative results demonstrated the skill level treatment effect was statistically significant (p < .001). On the basis of the results the author makes recommendations regarding how to include medication administration and medication management education into existing behavior clinician curricula in the United States.