Intensity and Outcomes in ABA Intervention: Dr Gina Green

Intensity and Outcomes in ABA Intervention: Dr Gina Green Dr Green delivered this keynote address at the 2025 conference of the Centre for Behaviour Analysis at Queen's University Belfast. Studies conducted in several countries over nearly four decades have shown that there is a positive relation between the intensity of applied behavior analysis (ABA) intervention and the amount of improvement achieved by young children diagnosed with autism. In those studies, intervention was comprehensive (addressing multiple behaviors in multiple domains), and intensity was defined in terms of the number of hours of direct intervention children received each week for a sustained period of time. Recently some have asserted that intervention intensity has no bearing on child outcomes, or that low-intensity intervention is as effective as high-intensity intervention. Those assertions are based largely on a few studies and meta-analyses of selected research. This presentation compares that evidence with the evidence on intensive, comprehensive ABA intervention in terms of the quality and quantity of the underlying studies. Implications for families of children with autism, practitioners, and policymakers are discussed.