Summary: 

As many healthcare providers accept insurance coverage for ABA therapy, which is typically funded by most insurance companies, there is a growing need for objective documentation that reflects client progress towards treatment goals and identifies barriers to client outcomes. Additionally, session notes help substantiate billing claims, provide a rationale for the need for ongoing services, are included as part of the client’s medical record, and are required by funders to remain in compliance with regulations. However, despite the need for staff training in this area, there have been few studies published in the behavior analytic literature that have evaluated how to write session notes effectively. 

This course outlines a behavioral skills training (BST) model for training staff on how to write medically necessary session notes and provides a framework for quality assurance measures, to ensure staff document relevant information. Direct training, checklists, templates, rubrics, and evaluation measures are presented, outlining a systematic approach to generating more accurate and objective session notes. 

Learning Objectives 

At the end of this course, participants will be able to: 

• Understand medical necessity and its importance to ABA session notes 
• Describe the key components of session notes 
• Establish quality assurance measures for evaluating documentation 

About the Presenter: 

Dr. Hughes-Lika is a Board Certified Behavior Behavior Analyst at the doctoral level (BCBA-D), and a licensed behavior analyst (LBA) in the states of Nevada and Iowa. She has been providing evidence-based services for children with autism and related disorders for over 24 years. Dr. Hughes-Lika is passionate about the dissemination of behavior analysis. In 2015, she was the recipient of the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis (SABA) International Development Grant for her work to promote research, education, training, and behavior analysis for professionals and families in Albania. 

She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Sociology from Saint Ambrose University, her Master of Arts degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from The Ohio State University (advisor Dr. Stephanie Peterson), and her Ph.D. in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities from the University of Kent (advisor Dr. Mecca Chiesa). 

She has been certified as a BCaBA (2001), BCBA (2004), and BCBA-D (2015). She is an international speaker, published author, and member of the ABAI Behavior Analysis SIG on Supervision. Her applications for the use of technology for BACB supervision have been featured on the ABA Inside Track podcast (episode 63 and bonus episode 10). Additionally, she has presented her work on supervision and behavioral systems for several Behavior University webinars. 

She has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses on behavior analysis, positive behavior support, ASD, and supervision in the US and abroad. She is passionate about ensuring supervisees have the necessary skills to best help their clients and has created a competency-based system for supervision utilizing low-cost technology. She presents her research at national and international conferences and her research studies are published in peer-reviewed journals. Her current research interests and publications are focused on the use of technology to disseminate evidence-based behavioral training to parents and caregivers of children with ASD (OPT-In-Early). 

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