ACES Pioneers Population Health Techniques to Improve ABA Therapy Outcomes

ACES Center of Excellence Quality Index Generates Insights That Benefit Clients and Their Families

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New insights derived from a major data analysis project at ACES – a leading applied behavior analysis (ABA) provider – shows that the earlier children with autism start ABA therapy and the more services they receive in clinics, the better outcomes tend to be.

“While ACES has always provided choice in treatment location, be that in our centers, in school, in home, in the community, or online, our new population health approach reveals that our clients have a measurable advantage if they start services young and regularly come into one of our ACES Learning Center locations,” said Ashley Drag, senior vice president, clinical services and innovation, at ACES.

The population health analysis, launched two years ago, is called the ACES Center of Excellence Quality Index. It combines data from hundreds of thousands of client interactions and outcome measurements to determine what has worked for historical and existing clients, and what is likeliest to work for future clients.

“Because we’ve operated in so many locations since 1996, we can take a population health approach to review the 30+ million data points to draw conclusions and make recommendations for individuals based on the experiences of a large population,” Drag said. “This is unique in the ABA field because our data is so intensely focused on individual clients working on individualized care plans.”

The index reveals that, on balance, children who start services at ages 0-6 years meet 12% more of their treatment goals than those who start at 7 years or older. And those who come into an ACES Learning Center at least once a week experience a 9% greater reduction in interfering behaviors than those who never use center-based ABA.

Parents also benefit from earlier, in-center therapy for their children, Drag said. “The parents of children who started services between the ages of 0 and 4 years had a 16% reduction in stress on the Parent Stress Index,” Drag said. “Parents with kids who started with ACES at 7 years or later also experienced some stress relief, although on average they dropped only 3 percentile points.”

More details on the ACES Center of Excellence Quality Index can be found in the latest installment of ACES’ clinical report series at https://www.acesaba.com/population-health-approach/.

About ACES

ACES enhances the quality of life for individuals and families impacted with autism or other special needs. Founded in 1996 by Kristin Farmer, ACES provides comprehensive, professional services to maximize individuals’ potential in the home, school, clinic and community using accepted teaching and ABA therapeutic methodologies. ACES operates in 85 markets in nine states, serving thousands of clients in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Washington with a long track record of positive outcomes. Learn more at https://www.acesaba.com/.