Collecting data is not the same as using it.
Plenty of clinics record numbers. The question to ask any provider is what happened the last time the numbers said a procedure was not working.
Two clinics, same data.
- CollectingData goes in a sheet. It is graphed for the authorization renewal. The procedure runs unchanged for six months because nobody looked between renewals.
- UsingThe BCBA reviews the graph on a schedule, sees a flat trend across three weeks, changes one component of the procedure, writes down why, and checks whether the change moved anything.
What a protocol modification looks like.
What you can ask us
Ask when your child's data was last reviewed and what changed as a result. Ask to see the graphs — they are yours. Ask why a goal is still on the plan if it has not moved. Those three questions tell you more about a provider than any brochure.
Why one change at a time
Because if three things change at once and the skill improves, nobody knows which one to keep — and the next time it stops working, there is nothing to go back to.
Ask the clinical questions before you commit.
A BCBA will answer them. Nobody will sell you an outcome.