Over Standardized: When the Measure Becomes the Mission

What happens when systems designed to help humans become better at producing standardized outcomes than supporting actual human growth?

Over-Standardized challenges our growing obsession with benchmarks, protocols, productivity, compliance, and measurable outcomes across education, ABA, and beyond. Standards matter. Accountability matters. But when following the system becomes more important than whether the system is actually working, it may be time to question the system.

Question of the month

Ask a BCBA! Click on the arrows below to view the question of the month, the response from a BCBA, and an important disclaimer.

Hi GVBSC BCBA,

My child’s ABA team tells me they do great during ABA. They follow directions, participate in activities, and rarely have challenging behaviors. But when we get home, it can feel like everything falls apart. We see meltdowns, refusal, frustration, and behaviors they apparently aren’t showing during therapy. If they can do so well at ABA, why aren’t we seeing the same thing at home?

Sincerely,
Why Is Home So Different?

Dear Why Is Home So Different?,

This is a great question—and the first thing we want families to know is that behavior being different across environments is information, not evidence that anyone is doing something wrong.

Behavior doesn't happen in a vacuum. It is influenced by what is happening around a person: the environment, expectations, people present, communication demands, available supports, reinforcement history, fatigue, predictability, sensory experiences, and many other variables.

So rather than asking: “Why can my child behave at therapy but not at home?”

A BCBA might ask: “What is different between these environments, and what can that difference teach us?”

Being Able to Do Something Isn't the Same as Being Able to Do It Everywhere

One of the most important concepts in ABA is generalization. A child might learn to ask for a break with their RBT but not yet use that skill when Grandma takes them shopping.

They might tolerate waiting for a preferred toy in the clinic but struggle when their sibling has the tablet at home.

They might transition successfully between two familiar clinic activities but have difficulty leaving the playground.

Learning a skill in one environment doesn't automatically mean a child can use it with different people, in different places, or under different circumstances. That's why meaningful ABA cannot stop at “they can do it in the clinic.”

We want skills to work where children actually live their lives.

But There's Another Possibility We Should Pay Attention To

Sometimes dramatically different behavior across environments can tell us something else.

A child appearing extremely compliant or showing very little challenging behavior during therapy does not automatically mean they are comfortable, engaged, or successfully learning.

We also want to know: What is making the behavior different?

For example, is the child:

Genuinely comfortable and successfully using new skills?
Receiving more predictable support at therapy?
Experiencing fewer difficult situations there?
Getting their needs met more quickly?
Receiving one-to-one adult attention that isn't possible at home?
Encountering different expectations?
Holding it together during therapy and releasing accumulated stress once they reach a more familiar environment?
Learning that certain forms of communication aren't effective with adults in one setting?
Participating because they want to—or because they have learned that participation is the only way to access preferred activities?

Those possibilities mean very different things clinically.

Low rates of challenging behavior alone don't tell us which explanation is correct.

“But They Do It for Their Therapist…”

Families sometimes hear:

“Well, they do it for me,” a statement isn't particularly helpful by itself.

If a child can successfully complete something with an RBT but cannot do it with their caregiver, our job isn't to conclude that the caregiver simply needs to be firmer or more consistent. Our job is to figure out why. Maybe the RBT has spent months carefully building the skill. Maybe therapy provides more reinforcement, prompting, predictability, or individual attention. Maybe home has siblings, dinner cooking, homework, pets, fatigue, noise, and three other things happening at once. Maybe the skill hasn't been systematically generalized. Or maybe we're asking the child to demonstrate a skill under conditions they aren't ready to navigate independently yet.

That is exactly the kind of information a BCBA should be interested in.

Home Is Also Different Because It's Home

ABA sessions are often designed environments. Home isn't. At home, parents are making dinner, helping siblings, answering the phone, getting everyone out the door, managing bedtime, finding missing shoes, and trying to remember whether anyone fed the dog.

Real life is messy.

A strategy that only works when one adult can provide continuous one-to-one attention isn't necessarily a functional strategy for a family. Part of effective ABA is figuring out how skills and supports fit into the family's actual routines, rather than expecting the family to turn their home into an ABA clinic.

What Does This Look Like at GVBSC?

At Grand Valley Behavior, we don't want success to exist only inside our walls.

If a child is thriving with us but struggling significantly somewhere else, we want to know about it.

That may mean:

Looking at what is different across environments
Observing the child in naturally occurring routines
Collaborating closely with caregivers
Teaching skills across different people, activities, and settings
Practicing communication when the child actually needs to communicate
Adjusting antecedents and environmental supports
Helping caregivers understand what behavior may be communicating
Teaching caregivers strategies that are realistic for everyday life
Asking whether our intervention is producing meaningful change outside of therapy

Sometimes we need to change what we're teaching.

Sometimes we need to change how we're teaching it.

And sometimes the adults—including us—need to change the environment.

What Should Parents Look For?

Instead of only asking, “Is my child behaving better during therapy?”, consider asking:

Is my child's life getting better?
Are they communicating their wants and needs more effectively?
Are everyday routines becoming easier?
Can they ask for help, space, or a break?
Are they becoming more independent?
Can they use new skills with different people?
Are they participating in more family and community activities?
Do the adults around them understand their behavior better?
Are challenging situations becoming more manageable—not because the child has simply learned to suppress their response, but because they have better skills and better support?

Those outcomes tell us much more about whether intervention is actually working.

So Why Does My Child Fall Apart at Home?

There isn't one universal answer. And that's the point. A meaningful ABA program shouldn't simply tell you, “They don't do that here.”

Why don't they do it here? Why is it happening there? What's different? What skill or support might be missing? And what can we change to help?

Because the ultimate goal isn't to create a child who looks successful during ABA.

It's to help build skills, environments, and support systems that allow that child to be successful in their actual life.

Sincerely,
GVBSC BCBA

Disclaimer:

The information provided in response to community questions reflects general, evidence-based strategies that may be helpful when implemented correctly. However, these strategies are not intended to replace individualized Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services or other professional recommendations. Without a comprehensive understanding of the individual’s unique history, environment, and needs, these suggestions may not fully address the challenges presented.

In ABA services, effective teaching typically involves modeling, role-play, and feedback—not just verbal or written explanations. Families may require more direct support from a BCBA to ensure strategies are applied safely and effectively.

Our Mission

Grand Valley Behavior is a team of passionate and skilled Board-Certified Behavior Analysts and Registered Behavior Technicians, using trauma assumed Applied Behavior Analysis. GVBSC emphasizes outdoor and naturalistic environment teaching, and partners with families, clients, and therapy teams across the Western Slope to support confident and capable children and caregivers.

GVBSC professionals are able to serve clients, ages 1 - 21, of all abilities; however, our staff are certified in Professional Crisis Management and Skills Based Treatment, 2 of the most current, evidence-based, trauma informed practices for working with individuals with severe challenging behaviors.

What sets us apart

At GVBSC, we use "NEW ABA" to support our clients' growth. What does that mean?

AT GVBSC, NEW ABA:

Is relationship, assent, and consent based.
Employs staff certified in Skills Based Treatment, including Level 6 trainers, and Professional Crisis Management, including PCM instructors.
Provides services in multiple settings to support changes in behavior.
Provides trauma assumed and compassionate care.
Uses natural reinforcers and contingencies.
Respects and encourages neurodiversity.
Places a greater emphasis on skill building.
Recommends hours based on individual need, using a dosage chart.
Families and caregivers are respected as collaborative partners in their child's treatment.

OUTDATED, OLD SCHOOL ABA INCLUDES:

Services provided in limited environments, such as in an individual room, for extended periods of time.
Restrictions an individual’s ability to leave the room.
High levels of contrived reinforcement.
High levels of punishment and repetition to change behavior.
A focus on reducing challenging behaviors rather than teaching new skills.
Work to fit neurodiverse individuals into societal standards rather than accepting neurodiversity.

Our Philosophy

At GVBSC, we work as a team to empower caregivers and clients to achieve the skills they need to access a meaningful and fulfilling life. We create treatment plans based on our clients' unique strengths, needs, hopes and dreams and prioritize the client and their family’s perspective when determining what goals will be most meaningful and result in the best outcomes.

At GVBSC, to maintain an environment where vulnerability is valued as a critical component of learning and empowerment, we operate with kindness, compassion, integrity, and respect for the perspectives each team member and client bring to our community.

Our Settings

We have 3 center-based locations, 2 in downtown Grand Junction and 1 in the Redlands. However, we provide services in multiple settings: home, community, and in our centers. GVBSC prioritizes outdoor learning and recognizes the value added to our clients' learning when we do not restrict their ability to learn in nature. Our center settings are designed to support both individual and social skills and to enhance development across developmental domains (communication, cognitive, social, emotional, motor, and adaptive),

Click here to check out more of our setting:

See our settings

Cultural responsivity and diversity statement

“The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.”

– Wade Davis

At GVBSC, we recognize and have a deep respect for and understanding that every client, family, GVBSC team member, and collaborator comes to us with their own distinct values, traditions, experiences, background, hopes and dreams.

We demonstrate this respect through our commitment to and recognition of the many dimensions of diversity, and through our support of racial, linguistic, neurological, physical, gender, ethnicity, age and overall cultural diversity in our organization and in our services.

The GVBSC team is proud to represent all aforementioned dimensions of diversity.

Translation Services

At GVBSC, we strongly believe that language should not be a barrier to accessing high-quality services. To support our clients and families who speak languages other than English, GVBSC uses Southeast Spanish for translation services at no cost to our clients. If you would like to take advantage of this no cost translation service, please contact Allison Goryl, GVBSC’s office administrator, at 970-317-7175. Additionally, GVBSC uses CentralReach, a leading software and services platform, which includes documentation, resources, and customer support to assist Spanish speaking users. CentralReach has a client portal, which allows parents or caregivers to login to their own CentralReach account to access personalized data sheets, session notes, appointments and more. Finally, GVBSC also staffs multiple bilingual Registered Behavior Technicians who can implement treatment in Spanish for families whose primary language is Spanish.

Videos and Use of Closed Captioning

GVBSC is committed to ensuring our video consent is accessible to everyone. As such, all of our videos are hosted through CentralReach, Relias, and Zoom, with built-in closed captioning features included. For more information on enabling the closed captioning features, please contact the GVBSC office administrator, Allison Goryl.

Accessibility:

GVBSC makes every reasonable accommodation for clients that may have a documented disability to access services. These accommodations may include specialized equipment, technology, and the physical set up of the organization’s physical locations. Our clinic spaces are handicap-accessible and provide easy access for a wide range of physical disabilities. If you require additional accommodation, please contact your supervisor or our office administrator, Allison Goryl.

Grand Valley Behavior: services and consulting

Grand Valley Behavior: services and consulting

Over Standardized: When the Measure Becomes the Mission

Question of the month

Being Able to Do Something Isn't the Same as Being Able to Do It Everywhere