Treatment Fidelity

Treatment Fidelity is directly related to intervention outcomes. It is a process that ensures that everyone involved carries out and supports the intervention as planned.

Students cannot make progress when they do not receive access to the interventions. When a student does not get access to the intervention as intended, they do not get the opportunity to "respond" to the intervention and typically a more restrictive intervention or placement is sought out.

Treatment fidelity allows for IEP teams to determine if all steps are being implemented, determine what part of the treatment is not being delivered, and how long the intervention has been used.

To assess for treatment fidelity an intervention fidelity form should be used. Treatment integrity can be broken down to three major components: adherence, quality, and exposure.

• Adherence: to what extent does the implementer deliver the intervention?
• Quality: to what extent is the implementer enthusiastic, timely, and responsive when delivering the intervention?
• Exposure: how much time does the implementer spend delivering the intervention?

Steps to Assessing Treatment Fidelity

• Creating an Intervention Fidelity Form
• Collect Evaluation Data
• Evaluate Intervention Fidelity
• Data Based Decision Making
• Key Elements of Sustainability for Treatment Integrity

 

Content on Treatment Fidelity was presented on at the 2019 and 2020 PENT Forums by Dr. Austin Johnson, Dr. Lisa Sanetti, and Dr. Melissa Collier-Meek. It has been summarized here to ensure accessibility.