From Parent Training to Parent Coaching: A Coaching Curriculum for BCBAs Who Want to Work With Families

This CEU explores a practical and scalable framework for improving caregiver follow-through by applying behavior-analytic principles to parent behavior. Traditional caregiver training often emphasizes instruction and procedural fidelity, yet many BCBAs encounter persistent barriers to implementation in real-world settings. This presentation introduces a coaching-based model that integrates concepts such as motivating operations, response effort, and functional assessment to enhance caregiver engagement, alignment, and consistency. Participants will learn how to shift from directive teaching to collaborative behavior change strategies, resulting in more meaningful and sustainable outcomes for families. This approach also highlights how behavior analytic skills can be applied more broadly to support adult behavior change across contexts.

1. 1Identify common behavior-analytic barriers to caregiver follow-through, including competing contingencies, response effort, and insufficient motivating operations. Describe the components of a coaching-based framework (e.g., COACH) for improving caregiver behavior, and explain how each component aligns with behavior-analytic principles. Apply at least one behavior-analytic coaching strategy (e.g., values clarification, barrier analysis, or guided reflection) to improve caregiver engagement and implementation in practice.