Risk and Strategic Decision-Making in Developing Evidence-Based Practice Guidelines

Evidence-based practice (EBP) represents an important approach to educating and treating individuals diagnosed with disabilities or disorders. Understanding research findings is the cornerstone of EBP. The methodology of systematic reviews, which involves carefully analyzing research findings, can result a practice guideline that recommends treatments based on the best available evidence. Educators and practitioners will be best positioned to effectively use these guidelines when they recognize both the strengths and limitations of these documents. This article highlights some of the limitations of these documents by reviewing the decisions experts make when they develop practice guidelines. The risks associated with each of the decisions are outlined, with the National Standards Project serving as an example for each decision and resulting risks. The implications of the risks are considered so that educators and practitioners will be better able to evaluate the usefulness of any practice guideline when they select treatments for the children they serve.