The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

Dr. John Austin returns to the show to discuss a topic that we touched on briefly back in Session 230: Psychological Safety.

While the idea of Psychological Safety might seem overly conceptual in nature, John breaks down what he thinks about it in very easily understood and measurable terms. More importantly, he talks about why Psychological Safety matters in the workplace.

Here are some of the aspects of this topic that we got into:

• The example of Google's Project Aristotle, where this term became popularized.
• Ways to measure Psychological Safety.
• Setting the occasion for employees saying what's on their minds.
• Creating conditions where feedback is accepted, and even desired.
• How employees might find meaning in their work.
• The concept of Behavioral Integrity.
• Leaders being surprised when employees quit unexpectedly.
• Other factors relating to employee retention.
• How to foster connections with coworkers and employees.
• What John will be talking about at the upcoming Stone Soup Conference (note: use promo code PODCAST24 to save $$$ at checkout!).
• Pivotal leadership behaviors, and lots more!

If you like John's content, you're in luck, because he's agreed to come back and do an episode on having difficult conversations, which as you'll hear, is a topic that many leaders struggle with.

Here are the resources we discussed in this episode:

• Free access to the audio version of John's book, Results: The Science-Based Approach

to Better Productivity, Profitability, and Safety.

• Sleiman, et al. (2020). A Quantitative Review of Performance Feedback in

Organizational Settings (1998-2018).

• John's website, drjohnaustin.com.
• Edmondson (2018). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth (note: Amazon Associates Link).
• Google Project Aristotle - 5 Keys to Team Success.
• Other podcasts mentioned: Session 262 (Pat Friman) and Session 266 (Chris McGinnis).

This podcast is brought to you by:

• How to ABA…The Bx Resource Membership saves you time, lends you support, and helps you keep up with your CEUs. It's a growing library of resources, materials, programs, datasheets, assessments, and how-to videos to help you tackle any ABA program with ease. It also includes live CEUs each month, live mentorship sessions, a full library of CEUs (60+, enough for recertification), and a community of fellow behavior professionals where you can ask questions when you need support. Join us at howtoaba.com/join.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving (maybe even this episode!), walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The 2024 Stone Soup Conference! Behavior Analysis' premier online event is taking place on October 25th. Come hear from pod faves including Drs. John Austin, Lina Slim, Jim Moore, and many others! 8.5 Learning CEUs are available, and when you use the promo code PODCAST24, that comes out to less than 8 bucks per credit. Learn more here!
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.

I'm very much honored to be joined by Drs. Carol Pilgrim and Tim Hackenberg!

Listeners will recognize Tim from his very informative and popular episode on Token Economies. If you haven't heard that one, I highly recommend that you go back and check out Session 205, as well as read Tim's review paper in JABA on the same topic.

Dr. Carol Pilgrim is professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. It would take me several minutes to get through all of her contributions and accomplishments that she's imparted to the field.

Here are just a few: Dr. Pilgrim has served as president of its major organizations, including ABAI (as well as its Southeastern ABA chapter), the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis, and Division 25 (Behavior Analysis) of the American Psychological Association. She also served as secretary of the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, and as a board member of that organization (note: for more background, please see here).

As you'll hear, Tim and Carol reached out to me to talk about the upcoming conference that they are co-chairing. It's ABAI's 2024 Theory and Philosophy Conference. It's happening on October 28th and 29th. The onsite location is Chicago, and it will be available virtually too.

While we did spend some time talking about the conference, we spent the majority of the episode discussing the importance of understanding Behavior Analysis the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of Behavior Analysis at a deep level. Specifically, we touched on:

• Why these topics are essential to graduate training in Behavior Analysis.
• Distinguishing Theory and Philosophy from Concepts and Principles.
• The distinctions between Theory and Meta-theory.
• What assumptions guide the science of behavior (and science more generally).
• Some examples of findings in the basic laboratory that have made their way into everyday practice. In this discussion, we also talk about this process happening in reverse too.
• And of course we do get in to the details about the conference itself, including how it's organized, what role this conference serves amongst the many training opportunities that exist, and much more. In short, they make their pitch for folks to come check it out.

Lastly, one of the topics we touched on that I'd like to return to down the road is the epistemology of Behavior Analysis, and how that how knowing both how and why we know what we know, and distinguishing this from other disciplines, can help us interact more successfully with practitioners from other fields.

Lastly, for disclosure's sake, ABAI is not sponsoring this content. However, in furthering the goal of being a transparent media outlet, I am very much open to this 😉

All kidding aside, while this might seem like an, "eat your vegetables first," or, "I swear you'll use algebra someday," type of show, I hope you come away with a broader appreciation of this topic. And I'm grateful that we have folks like Carol and Tim who can organize events like these to showcase them.

This podcast is brought to you by:

• How to ABA…The Bx Resource Membership saves you time, lends you support, and helps you keep up with your CEUs. It's a growing library of resources, materials, programs, datasheets, assessments, and how-to videos to help you tackle any ABA program with ease. It also includes live CEUs each month, live mentorship sessions, a full library of CEUs (60+, enough for recertification), and a community of fellow behavior professionals where you can ask questions when you need support. Join us at howtoaba.com/join.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving (maybe even this episode!), walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The 2024 Stone Soup Conference! Behavior Analysis' premier online event is taking place on October 25th. Come hear from pod faves including Drs. John Austin, Lina Slim, Jim Moore, and many others! 8.5 Learning CEUs are available, and when you use the promo code PODCAST24, that comes out to less than 8 bucks per credit. Learn more here!
• The Behavioral Toolbox. thebehavioraltoolbox.com is a new education and training site that my colleagues Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni and I have been working on for over two years. We have two courses available: our first course, Ready, Set, Consult! and our newly released course, When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classrooms.

Whether one calls it Procedural Fidelity, Treatment Integrity, or any combination of those, and/or many other related terms, this is an important and often overlooked issue when it comes to implementing behavior analytic interventions.

Think about it for a minute: as practitioners, we spend all this time obsessing about what assessment strategy to use and what interventions we think are the best fit for the individuals we serve. As you'll come to find out, we spend comparatively less time on ensuring that the programs we write are being implemented correctly.

So it is with this in mind that I'm grateful that Dr. Claire St. Peter returned to the podcast to discuss her research in this area of procedural Fidelity.

In this episode, we talk about why she prefers the term "Procedural Fidelity," the types of behavior plans that are difficult for teachers to implement, the different types of procedural errors one can make, the impact these different errors have, what types of intervention plans are more vs. less resistant to reductions in procedural fidelity, why this is a topic that practitioners should care about, whether to measure procedural fidelity via rate or percent correct, and regardless of method, how behavior analysts can start tracking procedural fidelity right away.

We also talk about Claire's research in this area, going back to the work she did as part of her dissertation. We also talk about the state of reporting procedural fidelity in the behavior-analytic research literature.

Lastly, I think it's important to point out that this topic is replete with ethical implications, which is why I titled this episode the way I did. When I listened to the show, I kept track of the various code elements that were indirectly outlined or addressed. For the mentors in the audience, this might be a fun exercise to do with your supervisees.

Here are the resources discussed in this episode:

• Session 269/193: Claire's episode on Constructional Approaches to behavioral intervention.
• A link to Claire's multiple BOP appearances.
• Claire's lab website.
• On Claire's site, a section where you can download examples of Procedural Fidelity checklists and related resources.
• Bergmann et al., (2023). A detailed examination of reporting procedural fidelity in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.
• Han et al., (2022). Trends in Reporting Procedural Integrity: A Comparison.
• Jones et al., (2023). Effects of Commission and Omission Errors on the Efficacy of Noncontingent Reinforcement.
• Jones and St. Peter (2022). Nominally acceptable integrity failures negatively affect interventions involving intermittent reinforcement.
• St. Peter et al. (2023). On a persisting curious double standard in behavior analysis: Behavioral scholars' perspectives on procedural fidelity.
• Kranak and Falligant (2023). Treatment Integrity, Commission Errors, and Reinstatement: A Primer.
• Campbell and Skinner (2008). Combining Explicit Timing with an Interdependent Group Contingency Program to Decrease Transition Times.

This episode was brought to you with support from:

• The 2024 Stone Soup Conference! Behavior Analysis' premier online event is taking place on October 25th. Come hear from pod faves including Drs. John Austin, Lina Slim, Jim Moore, and many others! 8.5 Learning CEUs are available, and when you use the promo code PODCAST24, that comes out to less than 8 bucks per credit. Learn more here!
• How to ABA…The Bx Resource Membership saves you time, lends you support, and helps you keep up with your CEUs. It's a growing library of resources, materials, programs, datasheets, assessments, and how-to videos to help you tackle any ABA program with ease. It also includes live CEUs each month, live mentorship sessions, a full library of CEUs (60+, enough for recertification), and a community of fellow behavior professionals where you can ask questions when you need support. Join us at howtoaba.com/join.
• The New England Center for Children! In previous podcasts, you've heard me talk about NECC's career opportunities, but later in this episode, you'll hear about their Autism Curriculum Encyclopedia, or ACE for short. It's an evidence-based teaching technology for educators and BCBAs who teach learners with autism and related disabilities. If you must know more right now however, you can go to acenecc.org.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving (maybe even this episode!), walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Dr. Matt Brodhead returns to the podcast to talk about a topic he's dedicated the better part of nearly completed sabbatical trying to understand: restraint and seclusion practices in public school settings.

In this episode, we talk about why he chose this topic to study, the difficulty in defining what constitutes a restraint, the challenges with documenting events, the terrible state of systematic, nation-wide data collection on restraint and seclusion events - particularly those that result in injuries and deaths, the pros and cons of banning these practices, potential legislation regarding these practices, and lots more.

Clearly this is an issue that generates controversy, and I hope you'll find that we did our best to talk about the subject with the appropriate amount of nuance and sensitivity.

In addition to his teaching and research duties at Michigan State University, Matt also provides consultation to schools and agencies, and specializes in developing systems that promote ethical decision making. If you'd like to work with Matt, you can contact him at either mattbrodhead.com or betteraba.com. At the latter website, you can purchase his excellent guide, A Workbook in Behavioral Systems Analysis and Ethical Behavior (by the way, these make for great gifts).

Resources discussed in this podcast:

• Scheuermann et al. (2016). Professional Practice and Ethical Issues Related to Physical Restraint and Seclusion in Schools.
• Kern et al. (2022). A Review of U.S. Policy Guidance and Legislation on Restraint and Seclusion in Schools: Considerations for Improvement.
• Nunno et al. (2021). A 26-Year Study of Restraint Fatalities Among Children and Adolescents in the United States: A Failure of Organizational Structures and Processes.
• Merrill Winston's earlier podcast on this topic (and CEU opportunity as well).

This podcast is brought to you by the following:

• How to ABA…The Bx Resource Membership saves you time, lends you support, and helps you keep up with your CEUs. It's a growing library of resources, materials, programs, datasheets, assessments, and how-to videos to help you tackle any ABA program with ease. It also includes live CEUs each month, live mentorship sessions, a full library of CEUs (60+, enough for recertification), and a community of fellow behavior professionals where you can ask questions when you need support. Join us at howtoaba.com/join.
• The New England Center for Children! In previous podcasts, you've heard me talk about NECC's career opportunities, but later in this episode, you'll hear about their Autism Curriculum Encyclopedia, or ACE for short. It's an evidence-based teaching technology for educators and BCBAs who teach learners with autism and related disabilities. If you must know more right now however, you can go to acenecc.org.
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings and their newly updated RBT Course, which as been getting amazing reviews over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

In the 20th installment of the Inside JABA Series, I'm joined by Drs. Brennan Armshaw, Manish Vaidya, and Sachen Mehta. As always, I'm also joined by JABA Editor in Chief, Dr. John Borerro. In this episode we discuss a fantastic paper that is out in the summer issue of JABA titled, “Surface electromyography-based biofeedback can facilitate recovery from total knee arthroplasty.”

In brief, this study that examined a novel treatment approach for rehabilitating patients following knee replacement surgery. And guess what, they used simple behavioral techniques to radically improve physical therapy outcomes!

Orthopedics is something that's been on my mind lately as I am recovering from a broken metacarpal bone in my hand. It's probably something of interest to others who have either had orthopedic problems themselves, or who have taken care of hose who have.

However, even if you're not interested in orthopedics, I encourage you to really dig into this episode because it's just a great case study of applying our science to a novel problem that affects millions of people .

As always, there are no advertisements in the Inside JABA Series shows, but I will mention that if you would like to get a CEU for listening to this episode an answering series of questions related to its content, you can find out how to do just that by clicking here.

So if you would like to learn from your favorite podcast guests, especially while you're on the go, check out what we have to offer over.

I should also mention that there are discounts available for multiple event purchases. I recently crunched some numbers and found out that CEU customers, on average, save almost $100 when they leverage these discount codes.

Here are the links to resources mentioned in the podcast:

• Armshaw, Vaidya, and Mehta (2024). Surface electromyography-based biofeedback can facilitate recovery from total knee arthroplasty.

• Vaidya and Armshaw (2021). Surface electromyography and gamification: Translational research to advance physical rehabilitation.

• Inside JABA 9: Applied and Translational Research in Healthcare.

• The Institute for Behavior Science and Technology in Rehabilitation.

• Comprehensive Orthopedics and Rehabilitation.

• Brennan's WVU faculty page and LinkedIn.

• Manish's LinkedIn page.

 

Hey everybody I hope you're having a great summer so far, or whatever season it happens to be whenever you listen to this episode.

Some of the things I've been doing recently is going back through the behavioral observations archives and giving episodes a second or third listen. One of those episodes was Session 193 that I published in July 2022, and my guest was Dr. Claire Saint Peter.

In that episode we talked about the constructional approach, as it were, and how it relates to solving behavior problems. This topic has been getting a lot of attention lately. When I was at ABAI in Philadelphia a few weeks ago, I attended several talks on the constructional approach, which prompted me to listen to this episode again.

And when I did listen to this episode for a second time I felt that there were so many really helpful pieces of information that I wanted to republish it. What I did with this episode is essentially started after the part in which Claire talked about her background and getting into behavior analysis.

Now if you want to go back and listen to that story, and I think it is a good story by the way as it's a bit of a microcosm of the history of applied behavior analysis, you can certainly do so. However, for the purposes of brevity, I decided just cut out that introductory section so the overall experience is a bit more focused, especially for those of us who are listening to this for a second, third, or fourth time.

With that said, I really hope you listen to this episode and it's entirety there are so many great nuggets have information. Although we talk about the application of the constructional approach to a student in a school setting, I am sure that you will make connections to all sorts of applications.

I will also make this episode eligible for a continuing education unit, as I have been doing with many older episodes as well. So if you are looking to get caught up on your continuing education, go to behavioralobservations.com to see the nearly 60 episodes we have available for your continuing education.

The last thing I'll say about this episode is that this is not the last thing I'll say about the constructional approach. I guess I'm saying that out loud for some accountability, because of said this before, but I want to have some other guests on to talk about this because I think it's an interesting way to look at behavior analysis and it's ability to address problems of social importance.

Here are links to some of the resources we mentioned:

• The original Session 193

• Claire's lab website 

• Claire's Google Scholar Page 

• Goldiamond (1974): Toward a constructional approach to social problems: ethical and constitutional issues raised by applied behavior analysis 

• More Goldiamond: A Programming Contingency Analysis of Mental Health 

• Layng (2009). The Search for an Effective Clinical Behavior Analysis: The Nonlinear Thinking of Israel Goldiamond 

• Romano, St. Peter, Milyko, Mesches, and Foreman (2021). Incorporating Curricular Revision to Treat Escape-Maintained Behavior for Children with ADHD 

• Mammacare 

• Word of the Podcast 

• Inside JABA 7: There's No Such Thing as a Bad Boy, with Pat Friman

• Session 158: Motivational Interviewing with Dr. Jim Murphy

• Friman (2021). There is no such thing as a bad boy: The Circumstances View of problem behavior 

• Johnston, Pennypacker, and Green: Strategies and Tactics for Behavioral Research and Practice (note: Amazon Associates link). 

This podcast is brought to you by:

• How to ABA…The Bx Resource Membership saves you time, lends you support, and helps you keep up with your CEUs. It's a growing library of resources, materials, programs, datasheets, assessments, and how-to videos to help you tackle any ABA program with ease. It also includes live CEUs each month, live mentorship sessions, a full library of CEUs (60+, enough for recertification), and a community of fellow behavior professionals where you can ask questions when you need support. Join us at howtoaba.com/join.
• The New England Center for Children! I am beyond thrilled to partner with one of the oldest and well-respected ABA institutions to help them find staff to continue their mission of supporting individuals with Autism. Learn more about careers at NECC over at necc.org/jobs.
• The Behavioral Toolbox. thebehavioraltoolbox.com is a new education and training site that my colleagues Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni and I have been working on for over two years. We have two courses available: our first course, Ready, Set, Consult! and our newly released course, When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classrooms.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.

En este episodio tenemos la oportunidad de conocer la trayectoria de Jessie Arroyave, la primera BCBA de Guatemala. Jessie publicó un artículo en la revista Behavior Analysis in Practice, en el que habla de los altos y bajos al tratar de dar los primeros pasos para el establecimiento del análisis de conducta en Guatemala. Ella decidió tomar el camino difícil de regresar a su país después de formarse en Estados Unidos a pesar de los múltiples obstáculos. ¿Qué estamos haciendo para apoyar a profesionales como Jessie? Lo que sé es que con nuestra ayuda o sin ella, su compromiso y dedicación están intactos. Tenemos mucho que aprender de su ejemplo.

The ups and downs of establishing behavior analysis in Guatemala with Jessie Arroyave

In this episode we have the opportunity to learn about the career of Jessie Arroyave, the first BCBA in Guatemala. Jessie published an article in the journal Behavior Analysis in Practice, in which she talks about the ups and downs of trying to take the first steps toward establishing behavior analysis in Guatemala. She decided to take the difficult path of returning to her country after training in the United States despite multiple obstacles. What are we doing to support professionals like Jessie? What I know is that with or without our help, her commitment and dedication are intact. We have much to learn from her example.

Dr. Bruce Tinor returns to the podcast for an informative conversation about his work as a principal at The Child and Career Developmental Center of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Long-time listeners will recall that Bruce originally joined me in Session 197. 

In this podcast, we talk all things alternative ed. Specifically, Bruce gives a quick review of how students find their way to his school, and in doing so, provides a mini-seminar in FAPE (and if you're not familiar with that acronym, you will be shortly). We talk about working in a multidisciplinary setting, how those related services are provided, improving academic skills as a behavioral intervention, and in general, what it's like to be a BCBA and a school principal.

In many ways, this is a podcast about culture and leadership too. Bruce talks about his interview practices and how he supports teachers and staff throughout the day. We also talk about some of the unique Tier 1 and Tier 2 behavioral practices, how he makes new students feel welcome, his behavioral approach to social-emotional learning, and lots more.

We close the podcast with what I thought was a really special discussion about Bruce being a role model. I don't want to spoil that part of the podcast here. You'll definitely want to listen to it for yourself, so I hope you check that part of the show out.

• Say 'hi' to Bruce on LinkedIn.
• Whole Group Responding (Interview with Dr. Bill Heward).
• Using Behavioral Contracts (Interview with Drs. Jill Dardig and Bill Heward).
• Back to School with PBIS (Interview with Elissa Johnson).
• How to Get Better Results (Interview with Dr. John Austin).
• Improving Classroom Management (Interview with Dr. Jeannie Donaldson).
• When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classrooms (asynchronous course from thebehavioraltoolbox.com).

This podcast is brought to you by the following:

• How to ABA…The Bx Resource Membership saves you time, lends you support, and helps you keep up with your CEUs. It's a growing library of resources, materials, programs, datasheets, assessments, and how-to videos to help you tackle any ABA program with ease. It also includes live CEUs each month, live mentorship sessions, a full library of CEUs (60+, enough for recertification), and a community of fellow behavior professionals where you can ask questions when you need support. Join us at howtoaba.com/join.
• The New England Center for Children! I am beyond thrilled to partner with one of the oldest and well-respected ABA institutions to help them find staff to continue their mission of supporting individuals with Autism. Learn more about careers at NECC over at necc.org/jobs.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The Behavioral Toolbox. thebehavioraltoolbox.com is a new education and training site that my colleagues Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni and I have been working on for over two years. We have two courses available: our first course, Ready, Set, Consult! and our newly released course, When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classrooms.

Dr. Chris McGinnis joins me in Session 266 to talk about his work in Primary Care Behavioral Pediatrics. If you're not sure what that is, don't worry. We go over that right away and learn that this area of work sits in an important and underserved niche: The niche between the general behavioral advice dispensed by pediatricians, and intensive treatment for serious mental health challenges.

In a way, this conversation expands on something that Pat Friman brought up in our most recent interview: The idea that BCBAs are uniquely suited to provide families with this type of care. In order to provide direction to those who are interested in doing just this, Chris recently published Introduction to Primary Care Behavioral Pediatrics: A Guide for Behavior Analysts.

In our conversation, we covered:

·       His background in Behavioral Pediatrics, including his work at BoysTown (and meeting Pat Friman for the first time).

·       The motivation for writing his book.

·       The reification of psychological terms (see Skinner '45).

·       The myth of the Chemical Imbalance Hypothesis.

·       The range of behavior challenges he sees in his practice.

·       Thoughts on caregiver adherence.

·       The pros and cons of reimbursement practices, including the concierge model he has currently adopted.

·       Chris' study of Trauma-Informed Care.

·       Permissive vs. Authoritative, and how those related to adolescent mental health.... In other words, why parenting is like The Marshmallow Test.

·       Advice for the newly-minted BCBA.

This podcast is brought to you by the following:

• Please welcome our newest sponsor, The New England Center for Children! I am beyond thrilled to partner with one of the oldest and well-respected ABA institutions to help them find staff to continue their mission of supporting individuals with Autism. Learn more about careers at NECC over at necc.org/jobs.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• The Behavioral Toolbox. thebehavioraltoolbox.com is a new education and training site that my colleagues Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni and I have been working on for over two years. We have two courses available: our first course, Ready, Set, Consult! and our newly released course, When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classrooms.

Dr. Camille Kolu joins me again on the podcast, and let's just say that she came back loaded with great insights like these to share with you.

If you're not familiar with Camille, she's been on the show before (see here), and is one of the predominant voices discussing the impact of trauma, and how it interacts with what we do as Behavior Analysts.

In this episode, we discuss her recent paper in Behavior Analysis in Practice, Providing Buffers, Solving Barriers: Value‐Driven Policies and Actions that Protect Clients Today and Increase the Chances of Thriving Tomorrow.

This article is not about trauma, but instead, it's about practices and repertoires that can protect individuals from the harmful health impacts of adverse childhood experiences. We also discuss Camille's article in Operants Magazine, called, Understanding Choice, which is where that audio segment was clipped from.

If you like the work that Camille does and want more training from her, she has generously provided listeners with a discount on her training materials over at Cusp Emergence University. If you want to go deeper into this topic of Buffers and Barriers, she has not one, but two courses on it, providing both Ethics and Supervision CEUs. If you want take her other courses in the area of Trauma, you can do that too (just click here to check it out). When you do so, be sure to use the promo code summerofBOP24 to save 24% off at checkout.

Camille also created a free, 15-minute course called, The Buffers Story: Simple, Important Things We Almost Forgot, and she'll be doing a workshop later this month with Connections-Behavior.

Lastly, if you like Camille's content, perhaps the easiest way to keep up with it is to sign up for her mailing list.

• Burke-Harris (2018). The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity (note: Amazon Associates link).

• Kaiser ACES studies information.

• Ala'i-Rosales et al. (2019). The Big Four: Functional Assessment Research Informs Preventative Behavior Analysis.

• Ratey (2008). Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (note: Amazon Associates link).

• Inside JABA 10: Towards Trauma-Informed Applications of Behavior Analysis.

• Session 179: Behavioral Relaxation Training.

• Maier and Seligman (2016). Learned helplessness at fifty: Insights from neuroscience.

In full disclosure, these are not sponsored products and events; I’m just trying to get the word out there. However, the sponsors that are responsible for bringing this episode to you include:

• Please welcome our newest sponsor, The New England Center for Children! I am beyond thrilled to partner with one of the oldest and well-respected ABA institutions to help them find staff to continue their mission of supporting individuals with Autism. Learn more about careers at NECC over at necc.org/jobs.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The Behavioral Toolbox. thebehavioraltoolbox.com is a new education and training site that my colleagues Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni and I have been working on for over two years. We have two courses available: our first course, Ready, Set, Consult! and our newly released course, When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classrooms.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations. Don't forget to use the coupon code, PODCAST to save at checkout! 

Did you rate and review Behavioral Observations on Apple Podcasts?

You rated and reviewed Behavioral Observations on Apple Podcasts, right?

John Borrero told me that you rated and reviewed Behavioral Observations on Apple Podcasts. Is that true?

Did you rate and review Behavioral Observations on Apple Podcasts? Again, did you rate and review Behavioral Observations on Apple Podcasts?

If you've ever watched a police procedural show on television, you're probably noticed that there are different ways to phrase questions to people. I've just given you a few examples that will be salient to the forthcoming discussion.

And, all kidding aside, if you haven't done so already, if you enjoy what we do here, head over to Apple Podcasts and kindly leave a rating and review of the show.

In the 19th installment of Behavioral Observations' Inside JABA Series, Dr. John Borrero and I discuss a paper in the most recent issue called, Idiosyncratic effects of interviewer behavior on the accuracy of children’s responses, with its authors: Milad Najafichaghabouri, Dr. Ray Joslyn, and Emma Preston.

Here's some additional background on our guests:

• Dr. Ray Joslyn is currently an assistant professor in the psychology department at West Virginia University. He has research interests in group contingencies, behavior analysis in education, and crime and delinquency.

• Milad Najafichaghabouri is a doctoral student in the Disability Disciplines program at Utah State University specializing in ABA. His primary research interests include group contingency-based intervention in the classroom, and social validity practices in research

• Emma Preston is currently a graduate student in the Disabilities Disciplines program at Utah State University specializing in ABA. Her research and practice interests include the Good Behavior Game, manipulating parameters of reinforcement to improve intervention outcomes, and Tier 3 school-based interventions.

I'll refrain from spoiling the discussion here, but there are a few things to note. First, this is the first time we've discussed a replication in the Inside JABA Series, and John dons his Editor in Chief hat for a few minutes at the end and discusses the importance of replication studies in general, and what makes for good replication more specifically.

Second, this topic - describing the conditions in which children do and do not report incidents accurately - has huge implications. From schools, to child services, to law enforcement, understanding the potential influences of phrasing questions and acknowledging responses could be crucial contributions in these areas.

Third, this study featured a clever assent procedure that again, I won't spoil here, but it's worth tuning into.

And lastly, we get into all sorts of nitty-gritty details, including some of the participants' unexpected responses to the experimental procedure... and these are the things that generally do not make the printed page that you can only get in these types of conversations.

This podcast, along with all of the Inside JABA Series ones, is eligible for continuing education. If you've never gotten CEUs from Behavioral Observations before, it's really easy. Just listen to the episode, go to behavioralobservations.com/get-ceus, make purchase... and fun fact: there are great discounts available if you need to snap up many CEUs, take a quiz, and you're good to go.

El Análisis de Conducta en Venezuela: Un legado finalmente reconocido con Corina Jimenez-Gomez, Mirari Elcoro y Amalix Flores

 

No una, ni dos, sino 3 venezolanas rindiendo tributo al legado de Venezolanos en nuestra ciencia del análisis de conducta. Un legado del cual (siendo Venezolano) desconocía y que gracias a ellas tengo ahora el privilegio y orgullo de conocer y que será reconocido en nuestra comunidad a través del artículo que publicaron en la revista Behavior Analysis in Practice (Análisis de Conducta en la Práctica). Una conversación de 2 horas que les recomiendo sean Venezolanos, Iberoamericanos y/o simplemente, como nuestras invitadas y coautores de este artículo, estudiantes de nuestra historia. Mirar atrás trajo muchas reflexiones, no solo acerca de un legado importante, sino también del estado actual del análisis de conducta y su posible futuro. Importante reconocimiento a las mujeres fundadoras y líderes del análisis de conducta en Venezuela, a las idiosincrasias de los Venezolanos ‘echados pa’lante’, recursivos y pluralistas; a la dedicación y vocación de tantas personas, finalmente publicado en un producto permanente. Gracias Corina, Mirari y Amalix, ‘se me agua el guarapo’.

 

Behavior Analysis in Venezuela: A legacy finally recognized with Corina Jimenez-Gomez, Mirari Elcoro and Amalix Flores

 

Not one, not two, but 3 Venezuelans paying tribute to the legacy of Venezuelans in our science of behavior analysis. A legacy that (being Venezuelan) I was unaware of and that thanks to them I now have the privilege and pride of knowing and that will be recognized in our community through the article they published in Behavior Analysis in Practice. A 2-hour conversation that I recommend wether you are Venezuelans, Ibero-Americans and/or simply, like our guests and co-authors of this article, students of our history. Looking back brought many reflections, not only about an important legacy, but also about the current state of behavior analysis and its possible future. Important recognition to the founding women and leaders of behavioral analysis in Venezuela, to the idiosyncrasies of Venezuelans 'echados pa’lante', recursive and pluralistic; to the dedication and vocation of so many people, finally published in a permanent product. Thanks Corina, Mirari and Amalix, 'se me agua el guarapo'.

Dr. Pat Friman returns to discuss the Behavior Analytic approaches he uses with patients. In this episode, we harken way back to Session 16, and review some of what we know about Anxiety and Depression, which are the most common forms of mental health distress.

Pat talks about how he conceptualizes these challenges, what he does in the first session with patients, his general approach to treatment, the role of medications, his view on when to begin or cease therapy, important therapist characteristics like kindness, compassion, and acceptance, and lots more!

Here are links to the references we spoke about:

• Pat's earlier appearances on the BOP.
• Pat's CEU previous CEU events: Session 16 (ethics) and Session 42.
• Friman, Hayes, and Wilson (1998). Why Behavior Analysts Should Study Emotion: The example of Anxiety.
• Hayes and Smith (2005). Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life (disclosure: Amazon Associate link).
• Haidt (2024). The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness (disclosure: Amazon Associate link).
• Session 227: Decreasing Social Media Use with Contingency Management, Inside JABA 15.

This podcast is brought to you by:

• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving (even this episode!), walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The Behavioral Toolbox. thebehavioraltoolbox.com is a new education and training site that my colleagues Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni and I have been working on for over two years. We have two courses available: our first course, Ready, Set, Consult! and our newly released course, When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classrooms.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• Love the podcast, but would l

Entrevistas Motivacionales con la Dra. Monica Gilbert 

Aunque la entrevista motivacional nació del contexto psicoterapéutico y de rehabilitación en relación a dependencias y abuso de sustancias, hoy en día se utiliza como un estilo de comunicación para establecer relaciones terapéuticas y profesionales en varios contextos con un espíritu de colaboración y empoderamiento en dirección al cambio.

Los analistas de conducta estamos reconociendo que, sin ser esa nuestra intención, nuestra comunicación al brindar nuestros servicios en algunos casos puede ser coercitiva. Esto resulta en respuestas defensivas y resistencia a nuestras recomendaciones. 

Espero que este enfoque y las recomendaciones prácticas de la Dra Gilbert no solo llamen a la reflexión acerca de nuestra propia conducta sino que despierten curiosidad acerca de un área de competencia que a muchos de nosotros nos hace falta desarrollar.

Motivational Interviewing with Dr. Monica Gilbert

Although motivational interviewing was born from the psychotherapeutic and rehabilitation context in relation to dependencies and substance abuse, today it is used as a communication style to establish therapeutic and professional relationships in various contexts with a spirit of collaboration and empowerment in the direction of change. 

Behavior analysts are recognizing that, without this being our intention, our communication when providing our services can in some cases be coercive. This results in defensive responses and resistance to our recommendations.

I hope that this approach and Dr. Gilbert's practical recommendations not only call for reflection on our own behavior but also spark curiosity about an area of competence that many of us need to develop.

https://motivationalinterviewing.org

www.drmonicagilbert.com

Dr. Bill Heward was gracious enough to return to the podcast in Session 260. In this episode, we talked about a handful of different topics, including how to respond to criticisms of reinforcement practices, and the international dissemination of the excellent book, Let's Make a Contract, which he coauthored with Dr. Jill Dardig.

However, we spent the majority of the time discussing Bill's extensive knowledge of whole-group responding practices in classroom settings. Specifically, we talk about how he first learned about this practice, why he wanted to study it, how he and his colleagues carried out one of his better known studies on the topic (Lambert et al., 2006), and lots more.

Along the way, Bill offered lots of great advice for practitioners who are interested in trying out these low-tech/high-impact strategies. During the conversation, Bill mentioned a talk that I gave at the 2023 BABAT conference, and in the podcast I mentioned that my colleagues and I created an online course based on that presentation. At the time of the interview with Bill, the course was not yet available. However, I'm happy to report that it is out now.

The course is called, "When Not to FBA: Five Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in the Classroom." So if you're working in school settings and you're supporting teachers in classrooms, please consider checking this out.

Back to the interview, one of the things that makes Bill such an awesome podcast guest is that he comes with lots of resources. In fact in this case, he sent me an Google Drive Folder chock full of articles, studies, and many other resources. So instead of listing each resource individually here in the shownotes, I'll go ahead and link the folder and cut out the middleman (click here to get access to it).

While we're on the topic of Bill's generosity, he wanted me to remind you that the website, contractingwithkids.com has several free downloadable contract templates. Click here to check them out.

This podcast is brought to you by:

• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The Behavioral Toolbox. thebehavioraltoolbox.com is a new education and training site that my colleagues Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni and I have been working on for over two years. We have two courses available: our first course, Ready, Set, Consult! and our newly released course, When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classrooms.

If you're a student, supervisor, or university instructor, this is an episode for you. In Session 259, I speak with Dana Meller and Dr. Steve Eversole, of Pass The Big ABA Exam and Behavior Development Solutions, respectively. In this conversation, they reflect on what they've learned about helping thousands of people pass the BCBA exam over many years.

In this conversation, we covered why they got into the test prep business, the state of BCBA testing today, re-taking the exam, interpreting the board's re-take data, barriers to passing the exam - including things like test anxiety and specific topics of difficulty, their counterintuitive opinions on SAFMEDS and mock exams, the role of social media, and how both of them became friends despite being competitors.

Here are the links we discussed:

• Pass The Big ABA Exam main site.

• Behavior Development Solutions main site.

• Center for Behavior and Climate.

• Dana and Steve on LinkedIn.

• Honig and Staddon, Handbook of Operant Behavior.

• Bloom's Taxonomy.

• The University of American Samoa.

• The BDS Podcast.

This podcast is brought to you by:

• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• TheBehavioralToolbox.com. If you're a BCBA working in public schools, or if you are a special educator, teacher, school pscyhologist, administrtor, or school counselor... basically anyone who is in the business of student behavior, check out The Behavioral Toolbox's asynchronous professional development courses, including our new course, "When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in the Classroom."

Dr. Alycia Halladay joins we to discuss the topic of Profound Autism. If you're not familiar with Alycia's work, she is the Chief Science Officer for The Autism Science Foundation, and host of the excellent show, The ASF Weekly Science Podcast. 

In this episode, we discuss the changes in Autism diagnosis from the DSM IV to V, the Lancet Commission paper on Profound Autism, why there is a need for this distinction in the Autism spectrum, the conditions under which an individual would be classified as having Profound Autism, the estimated proportion of Autistics who have Profound Autism, the differences in the distribution of sex-based differences in Profound and Non-profound populations, person vs. identity-first language, the importance of reducing stigma for everyone with Autism, criticisms of the proposal of this category, and responses to those criticisms. Even though we packed a lot into this interview, there is way more to this conversation than we had time for, so I'd like to revisit this again sometime in the future.

In the meantime, if  you're in the New England area, consider attending The Profound Autism Summit, which is taking place on April 5th, 2024 in Burlington, Massachusetts. Alycia will be speaking at that event, and will go into even more detail than we did in this podcast. It's a multi track conference that, according to the PAS site, aims to "bring together leaders from the areas of research, medicine, treatment, advocacy, education, and human services to discuss the needs of those with Profound Autism across disciplines and throughout the lifespan."

Even though the Profound Autism Summit features talks from notable Behavior Analysts like Drs. Greg Hanley, Shanna Bahry, Peter Gerhardt, Jessica Slaton and others, it's not just an ABA conference. There will be speakers and panelists representing advocacy groups, emergency services personnel, service providers, and more (check out the entire speakers roster here). 

The PAS is right around the corner and is almost sold out, so if you're on the fence and are looking for some motivation, here it is (register your spot here!). If you can't make it, consider signing up for their mailing list, as I believe they'll be making the talks available  asynchronously some time down the road. 

• Did you know that if you use Apple Podcasts as your player, you can get transcripts to this show? See this for a tutorial.
• Register for the Profound Autism Summit!
• Hop on their 100% non-spammy email list for updates on Profound Autism.
• Session 248: A review of Autism diagnostic practices.
• Lord et al. (2021). The Lancet Commission on the future of care and clinical research in autism.
• ASF's post on the Lancet Commission paper. 
• ASF Weekly Science Podcast homepage. 
• ASF Weekly Science Podcast recommendation 1: Nobody ever talks about catatonia.
• ASF Weekly Science Podcast recommendation 2: "Emergent and Transactional," with Dr. Andrew Whitehouse. 

This podcast is brought to you by:

• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

I'm thrilled to be joined by none other than Dr. Tim Vollmer. In this podcast, we talk about a wide variety of research and practice topics, as well as some funny stories from his long and prolific career.

Specifically, talk about how his dog ate his copy of Strategies and Tactics, how he and his colleagues analyzed 2 and 3-point shot patterns in basketball games, his line of research that examined The Good Behavior Game, Behavior Analysis and the game of Poker, and his take on why he and his students have such an affinity for one another. 

That's not all. We probably spent the most amount of time discussing the topic of ignoring in the context of Behavioral Intervention Plans, and its potential problems. 

I really hope you stick around until the end of the podcast, because we close the show in a slightly different format. Instead of asking Tim my normal closing question (advice for the newly minted), I ask him to share his thoughts on the future direction of Behavior Analysis, including both risks and opportunities.

Here are the links to the resources we mentioned:

• Beyond Freedom and Dignity (note: Amazon Associates Link).
• Vollmer and Bourret (2013). An application of the Matching Law to evaluate two and three-point shots by college basketball players. 
• Football Behavior (BA-driven sports analytics from Brett Yarris).
• Chris Bosh on the Tim Ferriss show (wherein Chris discusses the evolution 3-point shooting strategy in the NBA).
• Strategies and Tactics for Behavioral Research and Practice, 4th edition (note: Amazon Associates Link).
• (Lloveras et al., 2023). Recommendations Regarding Use of the Term “Ignore” in Applied Behavior Analysis.
• Good Behavior Game episode with Dr. Jeanne Donaldson.
• Lambert et al., (2006). Effects of response cards on disruptive behavior and academic responding during math lessons by fourth-grade urban students. (this is the paper I mentioned from Bill Heward's research group, and I mistakenly noted that it was published in 1996, when in fact it was published in 2006). 
• Follow Tim's lab on Instagram!

This podcast is brought to you by:

• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The Behavioral Toolbox. thebehavioraltoolbox.com is a new education and training site that my colleagues Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni and I have been working on for over two years. If you’re a Behavior Analyst working in public schools, please check out our first course, Ready, Set, Consult! Our second course, When Not to FBA: 5 Strategies to Implement before Conducting a Functional Assessment, will also be out soon, and more trainings are on the way!

 

Las conversaciones acerca del alcance de nuestra práctica y de nuestras competencias son muy comunes hoy en día en nuestra profesión. Los fonoaudiólogos y los analistas de conducta coinciden frecuentemente en los apoyos e intervenciones para el desarrollo de habilidades comunicativas. Coinciden en la práctica y en algunos casos en competencias desde un mismo enfoque o en otros desde un ángulo distinto. En una efectiva colaboración entre estas disciplinas es importante reconocer los marcos conceptuales y las tecnologías que ambas disciplinas proponen para así maximizar las maneras en que las mismas se complementan y se superponen. En otras palabras, donde las disciplinas se encuentran. Existen ‘unicornios’ capacitados en ambas disciplinas que nos demuestran el potencial de esta amalgama. Estefania Alarcón Moya es una de estas personas y en este episodio nos comparte sus perspectivas como analista de conducta/fonoaudióloga.

Referencias

Esch, B. E., LaLonde, K. B., & Esch, J. W. (2010). Speech and language assessment: A verbal behavior analysis. The Journal of Speech and Language Pathology – Applied Behavior Analysis, 5(2), 166–191.https://doi.org/10.1037/h0100270

Koenig, M., & Gerenser, J. (2006). SLP-ABA: Collaborating to support individuals with communication impairments. The Journal of Speech and Language Pathology – Applied Behavior Analysis, 1(1), 2–10. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0100180

Spencer, T. D., Slim, L., Cardon, T., & Morgan, L. (2020). Interprofessional collaborative practice between behavior analysts and speech-language pathologists. Association for Behavior Analysis.https://www.abainternational.org/constituents/practitioners/interprofessional-collaborative-practice.aspx

The intersection between speech and language therapy and behavior analysis with Estefania Alarcón Moya

Conversations about our scope of practice and competencies are very common in our profession today. Speech therapists and behavior analysts frequently overlap on supports and interventions for the development of communication skills. They coincide in practice and in some cases in competencies from the same approach or in others from a different angle. In effective collaboration between these disciplines, it is important to recognize the conceptual frameworks and technologies that both disciplines propose in order to maximize the ways in which they complement and overlap. In other words, where the disciplines meet. There are 'unicorns' trained in both disciplines who show us the potential of this amalgam. Estefania Alarcón Moya is one of these people and in this episode she shares her perspectives as a behavior analyst/speech therapist.

In the 18th installment of the Inside JABA Series, Dr. Dorothea Lerman joins Editor-in-Chief John Borrero and I to talk about her dissemination efforts, which are described in the Winter 2024 issue of the journal. Specifically, we talk about her discussion paper, "Putting the power of behavior analysis in the hands of nonbehavioral professionals: Toward a blueprint for dissemination."   This paper is definitely worth checking out. In it, Dorothy describes some common barriers to disseminating behavioral strategies and how to overcome them. We then talk about the blueprint she offers for dissemination, which is broken down into seven steps.   These dissemination efforts are described in the context of Dorothy's outreach to public school educators, law enforcement personnel, and health care providers, settings where Dorothy and her colleagues have made successful inroads. Not to spoil the show's content too much, but we touch on the alarming stats regarding the percentage of individuals with disabilities who are either sedated or restrained during dental procedures, and what can be done to improve them.   Even if you don't have a desire to bring behavior-analytic strategies to a novel setting, upon listening to the conversation a second time, I think there are lessons from this podcast that you can use in your daily practice. Things like gathering information about a particular culture or setting, describing concepts and principles in plain language, conducting experiments to see if what you're doing is working... you get the idea.   We also spend a decent amount of time talking about sustaining behavioral practices once they've been implemented in new settings.   One of the things that I forgot to mention during the podcast is that if you're really into dissemination, check out the new edited work, "Disseminating Behavioral Research," in which, coincidentally, the ABA Inside Track crew and I contributed a chapter called, "Non Traditional Options for Dissemination." I'll leave it to you to guess what medium we focused on.   Lastly, the Winter 2024 issue of JABA features several moving tributes to Drs. Brian Iwata, Hank Pennypacker, and Ronnie Detrich. Dorothy and Dr. Jennifer Fritz contributed a memoriam to Brian Iwata, and it's well worth checking out. In the first few minutes of the show, Dorothy shared some poignant stories about how Brian influenced her career, and John discussed the responsibility associated with curating the various tributes for this edition of JABA.   Relatedly, for the next three months, all of these In Memoriam articles will be freely available, so in the unlikely event you're not a JABA subscriber, you can still check them out.  Here are the resources we discussed:

• Putting the power of behavior analysis in the hands of nonbehavioral professionals: Toward a blueprint for dissemination.
• Brian A. Iwata, PhD: A Life Well Lived.
• Dorothy's previous Inside JABA appearance (correction: in the podcast, I incorrectly noted that she appeared in the first Inside JABA episode. She appeared in the fourth episode of the Inside JABA Series).
• Southwell et al. (2005). Strategies for effective dissemination of the outcomes of teaching and learning projects.
• Houston, TX Police Department 2019 Annual Report (check out p. 18!).
• Main JABA site where you can subscribe and access selected free articles.
• Griffith and Ré (2023): Disseminating Behavioral Research (note: Amazon Associates link).
• Critchfield et al. (2017). On the social validity of behavior analytic communication: A call for research and description of one method.
• Previous BOP episodes covering law enforcement interventions.
• Kramer Davis Healthcare (company I mentioned that specializes in providing medical services to individuals with IDD).
• Allgood and Gravina (2021). Branching Out: Finding Success in New Areas of Practice.
• Normand and Kohn (2013). Don't wag the dog: extending the reach of applied behavior analysis. (hands down, the article I have shared the most in my eight years of publishing this podcast).
• LeBlanc et al., (2012). Expanding the Consumer Base for Behavior-Analytic Services: Meeting the Needs of Consumers in the 21st Century.

As with other Inside JABA Series podcasts, this show will be eligible for continuing education. You can learn more about this one, and the nearly 50 other CEU events over at behavioralobservations.com.

Fan-favorite Dr. Andy Bondy joins me again to talk about... you guessed it... AAC!

In this episode, we discuss a paper he published last year in the journal, Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, that is titled, "Issues Related to AAC and SGD Use by Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder."

We get into why he felt this paper was necessary to write, how he chose to communicate his thoughts to an audience beyond those of us in behavior analysis, why he likes the term, "under what conditions" so much, what does and does not constitute a "robust" communication repertoire, the role of teaching words like "please" and Andy's nuanced view of this practice, whether the sound from Speech Generation Devices matter, and lots more. 

We also got into a really interesting discussion on the distinction between pointing to pictures vs. exchanging them with communicative partners, and how that difference impacts Joint Attention. 

We closed the show by talking about two topics that have been receiving lots of discussion as of late: Spelling to Communicate and Gestalt Language Processing. Lastly, ended the show by taking a question from a Patreon member about Andy's thoughts regarding the use of activity schedules, and whether they qualify as prompts, or something else. 

• Andy's previous episodes (the shownotes to these shows also have many links to great studies germane to this episode).
• Jason Traver's episode.
• All things PECS. 
• A critical review of Natural Language Acquisition.
• GLP is a Fad IG page. 
• SLPs against pseudoscience IG page. 

This episode is brought to you by:

• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

If you've completed a VB-MAPP at some point in your career, you're familiar with the EESA component of the assessment protocol. In today's podcast, I had the chance to talk with Dr. Barbara Esch, who created the Early Echoic Skills Assessment, which has evolved into the stand-alone product called the Early Echoic Skills Assessment and Program Planner. 

In this conversation, we talk about how Barb got into Behavior Analysis, she shared some humorous stories from being mentored by Drs. Jack Michael and Jim Carr, why she created the original EESA, who the EESAPP is for and who it's not for, and some fantastic advice for newly-minted BCBAs.

In addition to these topics, we spent a decent amount of time talking about some speech therapy concepts that were definitely new to me, especially the idea of co-articulation. We also talked about the order in which one should target specific skills. To me, this highlights the importance of collaboration, especially if you don't have a strong background in typical speech development. 

As a side note, I inadvertently used the acronyms, EESA and EESAPP, interchangeably throughout the conversation, and apologize if this confused anyone. 

Barb is giving not one, but two talks at this year's Verbal Behavior Conference. Are you coming? I sure hope so. If you can't make it to Austin on February 29th and March 1st, please consider joining us virtually through the magic of BehaviorLive.com. There's also an amazing conference workshop being taught by the incomparable Dr. Lina Slim on the 28th. 

There will be many other amazing speakers and talks at the VBC, so whether you join in person or virtually, I hope to see you there!

Here are some helpful resources from our conversation:

• barbaraesch.com.
• Where to buy the EESAPP.
• The VBC event schedule.
• Barb's other podcast appearances, research publications, and more.
• Other events where Barb is speaking.

This show is brought to you by:

• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!

Session 252 is the recording from the 2023 Verbal Behavior Conference Panel discussion. The participants were Troy Fry, Drs. Lina Slim, Sam Bergmann, Sarah Frampton, Einar Ingvarsson, Pat McGreevy, and Andresa de Sousa; and the voice at the beginning and end of the panel is Kelle Rich, who founded and currently leads these great conferences. In this Q and A segment, the panel addressed the following topics:

• Considerations moving from vocal-verbal speech to AAC.
• Focusing one's clinical resources given limited therapy times. 
• The high abandonment rate of AAC devices.
• The role of clinical judgement.
• Adapting clinical strategies to varying cultural contexts.
• The nuances associated with encouraging caregivers to adopt research-based treatments.
• The role of singing versus speaking... that was a fascinating part of the panel that comes towards the end.

As you'll hear in this podcast, when you attend the Verbal Behavior Conference, you'll have numerous opportunities to ask the speakers questions. And not just in the panel itself. If you're there in person in Austin, Texas, you'll very likely have the opportunity to have direct interactions with the speakers between talks, while grabbing coffee, and so on. 

What strikes me as unique about these events is that they are purposely small and intimate so that one can have these types of experiences. 

What's in store for the 2024 VBC? First, the conference itself takes place on February 29th and March 1st, and it's preceded by a full day workshop from the incomparable Dr. Lina Slim on February 28th. 

This year's conference speakers include Drs. Barbara Esch, Eb Blakely, Mirela Cengher, fan-favorite Patrick McGreevy, Alice Shillingsburg, and Hank Schlinger, whom we heard from a few episodes ago. 

If you can't make it in person, don't worry. BehaviorLive has you covered. Nobody does virtual events like BehaviorLive, and they will broadcast the entire conference with best-in-class audio and video. 

Papers, resources, etc...

• The event list for the 2024 VBC.
• How to register for the VBC.
• Valentino et al. (2018). Using a Prerequisite Skills Assessment to Identify Optimal Modalities for Mand Training. 
• Thompson et al. (2013). Enhancing Early Communication Through Infant Sign Training. 
• Sigafoos et al. (2000). Identifying Potential Communicative Acts in Children with Developmental and Physical Disabilities.
• Essential for Living.
• "Big Mac" buttons.
• Allen and Warzak (2013). The problem of parental nonadherence in clinical behavior analysis: Effective treatment is not enough. 
• Grow et al. (2017). An Evaluation of Instructive Feedback to Teach Play Behavior to a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder. 

Before we get to this episode, I want to let you know that we’re brought to you today by the University of Cincinnati’s Masters in ABA program. This program is 100% online and asynchronous, so that means you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.

Also, if you want to earn BACB Approved Continuing Education Units while listening to your favorite Behavioral Observations episodes, go to behavioralobservations.com/get-ceus to see the shows that are available for continuing education. Whether its supervision, ethics, functional assessment, or other topics, there’s something there for just about everyone. 

In this 12th and final installment in the Apollo Case Study Series, Dr. Jim Moore joins me along with Lauren Elliott, Jeanne Ambrose, and Dr. Lyndsy Macri. 

In the first few minutes of the podcast, Lauren fields some follow up questions from our episode on DRO interventions. Huge thanks to Jenna Mazzillo for sending in these great questions (and by the way, be sure to follow her in Instagram at @abanaturally). 

We then moved into a more free flowing discussion of how to make good career decisions as a BCBA. Specifically, when looking for job opportunities, what things should candidates prioritize? From pay to caseloads to benefits and culture, there's no shortage of things to consider. 

Also, what about supporting career progression? Work/life balance? 

We talk about all of these things and more, and discuss how each of the panelists have navigated these topics in their careers at Apollo. 

If you are interested in learning more about Apollo or want to connect with the Founder & CEO, Kim Dean, or Chief Clinical Officer, Jim Moore, you can find them on LinkedIn here and here.  To follow Apollo on Instagram, click here, and to learn more about Apollo's locations and services, click here. 

Shhh! I'm not supposed to be working this week... However, I am somewhat of a traditionalist, and as such obligated to publish the annual Year in Review show with my friends at ABA Inside Track.

So here's a really quick rundown. As usual, we reviewed the passings of several behavior analysts in 2023. This is always sad, but at the same time, we tried to highlight the achievements and contributions of the behavior analysts we talked about. 

We also recognize that Behavior Analysis, with over 60 thousand BCBAs and BCBA-Ds, is a rapidly growing field, and with these larger numbers comes the increased probability of us missing someone in this process, and we apologize if we left anyone out as a consequence of this. 

But the Year in Review is not just for remembering the passing of fellow Behavior Analysts. We discussed a few things happening in the field, some updates to our podcasts that we've made and are continuing to make, and talked about the book chapter we collaborated on in the edited text, Disseminating Behavioral Research (note: Amazon Associate link).

Other personal highlights of mine this year include starting a new endeavor with my colleagues Paulie Gavoni and Anika Costa that we've named The Behavioral Toolbox, thanks to the huge contribution from Miguel Avila, providing BOP episodes to Spanish speaking members of the community with the BOP en Español series, invitations to speak at the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis and BABAT, revamping behavioralobservations.com, and probably many more things I'm forgetting right now. 

In closing, it's been a great 2023 for me, despite its occasional challenges. The podcast is coming up on its 8th birthday, with almost 5 million downloads, and it nonetheless continues amaze me that people want to tune in. All of this to say that I'm incredibly grateful for your listenership, and I hope you have a happy and healthy 2024!

Resources, etc... mentioned in this episode:

• Disseminating Behavioral Research (2023).
• Check out the new BOP site (grab some CEUs while you're there!).
• The Behavioral Toolbox.
• Iwata, B.A., Dorsey, M.F., Slifer, K.J., Bauman, K.E., & Richman, G.S. (1982/1994). Toward a functional analysis of self-injury. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 27, 197-209. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1994.27-197.
• Johnston, J.M., Pennypacker, H.S., & Green, G. (2020). Strategies and tactics of behavioral research and practice. (4th ed.). Routledge.
• Twyman, J., Pinkelman, S., Kenyon, S., Heward, W.L., Lattal, K.A., & Critchfield, T.S. (2023). Ronnie Detrich (1946-2023): A versatile behavior analyst who demanded more of behavior analysis and education. Behavior Analysis in Practice. doi: 10.1002/jaba.1043.
• Griffith, A.K. & Ré, T.C. (Ed.) (2024). Disseminating Behavioral Research. Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-47343-2.
• Hartley, B.K., Courtney, W.T., Rosswurm, M., & LaMarca, V.J. (2016). The apprentice: An innovative approach to meet the behavior analysis certification board’s supervision standards. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 9, 329-338. doi: 10.1007/s40617-016-0136-x.
• Gingles, D., Watson-Thompson, J., Anderson-Carpenter, K.D., Tarbox, J., & Peterson, S.M. (2022). Leading the charge: A look inside the Behavior Analysis in Practice emergency series of publications on systemic racism and police brutality. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 15, 1015-1022. doi: 10.1007/s40617-022-00759-9.

It's kind of a podcast cliche - one that I'm certainly guilty of - to refer to an interview as, "wide-ranging." However, in this case, that description certainly fits.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Dr. Hank Schlinger, who, amongst other pursuits, teaches in the Department of Psychology at Cal State Los Angeles. 

During this conversation we talked about the state of ABA when he entered the field; his behavioral interpretations of psychological concepts like intelligence, consciousness, object permanence, and others; books he's written on parenting and developmental psychology; Skinner 1945 and the idea of explanatory fictions; why it's easy to be a skeptic about some things and harder with others; and, as the title of this podcasts suggests, how to foster critical thinking skills. 

We also spent a bit of time previewing what he and Dr. Eb Blakely will be presenting on at the 2024 Verbal Behavior Conference. As always, we conclude the show with advice for the newly-minted BCBA. 

Lastly, Hank is an accomplished musician, and we spent a few minutes on how being a Behavior Analyst influences his approach to songwriting. In fact, Hank has given me permission to play a portion of the song, One More Invention, that was inspired by, you guessed it, behavior analytic principles. As such, you’ll  hear that instead of the normal outro music as the show concludes.

Here are the links to some of the things we talked about.

• The Verbal Behavior Conference speakers' list.
• Malott's Principles of Behavior, 8th edition.*
• Skinner (1945). The Operational Analysis of Psychological Terms.
• Hank's Skeptic Magazine article, Consciousness is nothing but a word.
• Hank's Instagram.
• Hank's book, How to build good behavior and self esteem in children.*
• A Behavior Analytic View of Child Development, also by Hank.*
• Hank's 1998 album, One More Invention.

This show is brought to you by:

• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

Drs. Whitney Ence and Elisabeth Sheridan joined me to talk about the diagnosis of Autism. You might be thinking that this sounds like an impossibly broad topic... and you're right.

But in this show, we tried to narrow it down a bit to discuss the various routes in which people can acquire an Autism diagnosis, which of these routes represent best practice, the critical diagnostic features of Autism, severity levels in Autism (and the extent to which these terms are useful), the role of intense interests, specific assessment instruments and techniques, and the importance of working with interdisciplinary teams. 

We also talk about how the diagnosis has changed over the years, including the retirement of terms such as Pervasive Developmental Disorder and Asperger's Syndrome. During this part of the conversation, we also discussed self-diagnosis of Autism, and how clinics sometimes triage screening for individuals seeking diagnoses. 

Towards the end of the podcast, we did touch on a few terms and topics that are relatively new to the Autism discourse.

Specifically, we discussed the term Neurodiversity, the social model of disability, "Severe Autism" as a separate diagnosis, and Pathological Demand Avoidance. It's important to note that his part of the podcast should not be construed as a deep exploration of these topics, as I really wanted to initially focus on what the current state of the science has to say about the diagnosis of Autism as a condition requiring medically-necessary treatment. 

I also want to draw your attention to what could be considered a companion podcast about the diagnostic characteristics of Autism. I’m in the middle of listening to a long episode from the Huberman Lab Podcast, in which Dr. Andrew Huberman interviews Dr. Karen Parker from Stanford University about the causes of, and treatments for Autism. This is from a more neuro-biological perspective, and thus far, quite interesting. 

Here are links to the topics we discussed:

• Does TikTok Provide Accurate Information about Autism?
• Dr. Whitney Ence's About Page.
• Dr. Elisabeth Sheridan's About Page.
• CEU's from The Behavioral Observations Podcast (thanks for the impromptu review Whitney!).
• Diagnostic Criteria for 299.00 Autism Spectrum Disorder.
• Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.
• Therapeutic Assessment Institute. 

If you'd like to support the show or its sponsors, check out the following:

• To receive Behavioral Observations episodes ad and commentary-free, that is, just the interviews themselves, consider supporting the show with a Patreon subscription.
• Consider Behavioral Observations as a source for your continuing education. I have almost 50 events that span a variety of topics, all from your favorite podcast guests. So if you want catch up on your professional development while walking the dog, commuting to work, making dinner, or whatever else you do while listening to podcasts, go to behavioralobservations.com/get-ceus to learn more.
• The Verbal Behavior Conference is right around the corner. If you haven’t heard me talk about it before, the VBC is a 2 day event that is available both virtually and in-person in Austin, Texas. It’s happening on February 29th and 30th, and will feature speakers like Drs. Pat McGreevy, Alice Shillingsburg, Barbara Esch, and more. There’s even a full-day pre conference workshop by Dr. Lina Slim. This is a really fun event that provides many opportunities for individual interactions with the speakers, and there’s even a panel discussion moderated by yours truly. To learn more, go to behaviorlive.com/vbc, or simply hit the shownotes for this episode to learn more.
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.

Behavior Analyst and sleep educator extraordinaire Emily Varon joins me in Session 247 to talk about how to understand sleep problems in children. In this episode, we cover how she first got interested in the area of sleep intervention, what research and resources she used to expand her scope of competence in this area, how sleep challenges can be met without using extinction, sleep problems specific to individuals with Autism, the impact of screentime on sleep disruption, cultural considerations for practices like co-sleeping, the importance of bedtime routines, and whether wearable devices are actually helpful. 

You can learn more about Emily's work in this area, get free "sleep kit," and participate in continuing education events at Emily's website, Ready Set Sleep. 

We mentioned numerous resources in this episode, and I have links for them below:

• Jin, Hanley, and Beaulieu (2013). An individualized and comprehensive approach to treating sleep problems in young children.
• JOMO: The Joy of Missing Out.
• Sleep Better!: A Guide to Improving Sleep for Children with Special Needs, Revised Edition (note: Amazon Associates link).
• Whoop Strap sleep and fitness device (note: this is an affiliate link). 

This episode is brought to you by:

• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

Dr. Jim Moore, Chief Clinical Officer of Apollo Behavior, joins me in the 11th installment of the Apollo  Case Study Series. In this podcast, Jim also brought three of his Apollo colleagues into the discussion: Lydia Lindsey, Christina Nylander, and Lauren Elliott.

We started off the show with Lydia providing some background on her ABA career and how it brought her to Apollo. Spoiler alert: we managed to fit in a shout-out to Auburn University's ABA program (insert the obligatory "War Eagle" chant! (note: Christina and Lauren were guests in ACSS episodes Six and Nine, respectively).

This conversation centered around the use of Differential Reinforcement of Other (DRO) behavior procedures that the Apollo team implemented with two clients. As such, we discuss the following

• From a conceptual perspective, is DRO a reinforcement or punishment-based intervention?
• Why they chose this procedure over a more specific FCT intervention.
• The importance of determining a precise Inter-Response Time.
• How to avoid ratio strain.
• How to successfully fade DRO schedules.
• Balancing the effectiveness and efficiency of behavioral interventions.
• The importance of accurately re-setting the DRO interval.
• Coaching behavioral technicians to implement this procedure correctly, even when it is challenging to do so (see Dr. Claire St. Peter's excellent work in the general area of Treatment Integrity too).
• The Seven Steps to Instructional Control (disclosure: Amazon Associates link).
• The "London Cabbies Test."
• The importance of conducting client-oriented research in clinical settings.

If you are interested in learning more about Apollo Behavior, you can follow them on Instagram, LinkedIn, or visit their website here. 

Si no queda claro con el título, este episodio está lleno de temas que son algo esotéricos para la corriente dominante de practicantes de análisis de conducta.

Sin embargo, la conversación con Valeria nos aterriza varias veces en la relevancia de la atención integrada para optimizar la colaboración e integración de esfuerzos por parte de profesionales de la salud y equipos multidisciplinarios; la necesidad de la educación proactiva de habilidades relacionadas a la sexualidad y las oportunidades para darles más y mejores apoyos a adultos con desafíos en el desarrollo.

Una vez más los temas abundan pero espero que despierten curiosidad y finalmente los inspiren a recorrer caminos menos convencionales pero importantes como lo ha sido para la multifacética carrera de Valeria.

 

Frank Bird and Dr. Jill Harper join me, along with JABA Editor in Chief, Dr. John Borrero, in the 17th installment of Behavioral Observations' Inside JABA Series. 

Both of our guests hail from Melmark. Jill is their Senior Director of Professional Development and Training, and Frank is the Executive Vice President of Clinical Services of this storied institution. As an aside, if you're not familiar with Melmark, we spend a few minutes talking about its history, mission, current services, and more.

However, we spent the majority of this podcast discussing the paper Jill and Frank published with their colleagues that you can find in the Fall 2023 issue of JABA.  The paper is called, Teaching clinicians and nurses to prepare for and present at interdisciplinary meetings through behavioral skills training.

If this sounds like a familiar topic, you're correct. We covered how to improve the and productivity of meetings in my first conversation with Dr. Florence DiGennaro-Reed almost two years ago. 

While there's something Dilbert-esque about examining the precision and efficiency of meetings, like so many things we talk about on this podcast, my guests make the case as to why this is important in their context. 

At the same time, reading this paper made me reflect on the various "processes" I have in place for a number of tasks that I have to do. I use quotes to underscore that fact that for so many of these activities, I don't have written procedures for, and probably should put some thought to this. Maybe you're in the same boat? Let me know either way by going to the newly revamped behavioralobservations.com and leaving a comment on the shownotes page for this episode. 

While you're there, consider signing up for the email list. By doing so, you'll get episode show notes delivered straight to your inbox. Also, this episode, along with many, many others, is eligible for BACB Continuing Education. In fact, it's eligible for highly sought-after supervision CEUs, second only the the even-more-highly-sought-after ethics CEUs!

To learn more, head to the CEUs page of the site. If you don't see this one right away, check back in a couple of days and it will be there. 

Thank you so much for supporting the show with your Patreon membership!

In Session 243, Dr. Casey Dupart joins me to talk about School Psychology, and in doing so, we touched on a range of related topics including the challenges of military families, multi-tiered systems of supports, socio-emotional learning, school refusal, educational policy, and so much more. 

As you'll hear in the interview, Casey has been a School Psychologist in various roles across several states. She also provides consultation and training through her company, Embracing Resilience. And while we're on that topic, she has a few webinars and workshops coming up on topics like Multidisciplinary Collaboration and Improving School Climate and Culture. You can find links to these events at the shownotes for this episode, or simply go to Embracingresiliance.org and click the services tab here. 

I believe BCBAs serving in public school settings may be an increasing area of practice. According to the BACB, about 12% of the BCBA and BCBA-D certificants work in educational settings. Also, I was invited to speak about low-tech interventions for disruptive classroom behavior at the recent BABAT conference, and I was honestly shocked to how many attendees were interested in this topic, particularly given the many other excellent talks that were going on in the same time slot.

As some of you may already know, I’ve been working with Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni on a project called thebehavioraltoolbox.com to provide BCBAs and other school-based professionals trainings and tools to help them perform more successfully in these settings. Our first course, Ready, Set, Consult! is now available, and we’ve been really pleased with the feedback that we’ve gotten from our initial participants.

We’re also hard at work on getting our second course ready. This one is based off of the talk I gave at the recent BABAT conference. Our working title currently is, When NOT to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classroom. I mention all of this to perhaps underscore the importance of being able to work both collaboratively and effectively in school settings.

And I think this conversation with Casey will be helpful for BCBAs who are new to school settings, or who simply want to be more successful with the students they serve. 

Here are some links to resources, etc... we discussed during the podcast:

• Back to School with PBIS, Session 198.
• PBIS, School Mental Health, and Supporting Students with Trauma: Session 78.
• Other school-related BOP shows.
• CASEL: Fundamentals of Social Emotional Learning.
• Sold a Story Podcast.
• Chronic absenteeism article.
• More school refusal literature.
• ABA Inside Track episode on chronic absenteeism.

Merrill Winston returns to the podcast for what seems to be the umpteenth time (and if you didn't catch the SNL reference we discussed, see here). In this episode, we discuss a presentation he recently gave that dove into the seminal Catania paper, The Myth of Self-Reinforcement. In this episode Merrill distinguishes between procedures and processes, why what we think of as self-reinforcement is likely more attributable to negative reinforcement, and the age-old problem of the term "non-contingent reinforcement."

Merrill also spends a few minutes discussing the contributions of Dr. Henry "Hank" Pennypacker, what he intends to talk about at this year's Stone Soup Conference (shameless plug: save at checkout using promo code PODCAST), and rounds out the episode with some more constructive ways to think about self-management. 

This was a fun episode, and if you enjoyed it, please consider sharing with friends and colleagues. 

This podcast is brought to you by:

The Stone Soup Conference, which is taking place on October 20th. Use code PODCAST to save on your registration as well.

Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.

Dr. Jim Moore and I get back together to talk about a few specific client outcomes that we thought would be helpful for the audience to learn about. 

In this podcast, we talked about:

• The general profile of learners across the Apollo clinics.
• They pace at which learners make progress in their programs.
• Skinner's Attitudes of Science.
• Universal Behavioral Protocols.
• The Seven Steps to Instructional Control.
• Rapport Building and Instructional Fading Prior to Discrete Trial Instruction: Moving From Child-Led Play to Intensive Teaching (Shillingsburg, et al., 2018).
• How Apollo's unique training approach contributes to increasing staff flexibility.
• PEAK training curricula implementation.
• The Gulf Coast ABA Conference, where Jim is talking more about RFT outcomes.
• Who is heavier, James Hetfield or Dave Mustaine?
• What are the P.R.I.D.E. skills Jim talked about?
• Some stories about insurance authorizations (towards the end).
• Whether our children are interested in Behavior Analysis. 

Jim closes the show by sharing that he has other cases he could discuss. Please let us know if you want more of these stories!

Rich Brooks returns to the podcast to talk about how he's grown as a business owner. And while he's in a different industry, there are tons of parallels to what we do in the world of Applied Behavior Analysis. 

Rich has historically discussed all things digital marketing (see here and here), but this is a more personal story of how he had to step out of his role as a website designer and marketer in order to effectively lead and grow his business, Flyte New Media. 

Also, I've finally taken my own advice and had his team tear down Behavioralobservations.com and rebuild it from the ground up. Yes, I finally had to invest in myself, just like Rich has done, and I couldn't be happier with the outcome!

If you want to learn more about digital marketing, check out Rich's upcoming conference, The Agents of Change Digital Marketing Conference, which is going down in Portland, Maine on October 4th and 5th, and will be available virtually for those who aren't in striking distance of one of the coolest cities in the country. He also has a great podcast, which you can find at that site as well. 

If you have questions for Rich about anything digital marketing, or even restaurant recommendations in the greater Portland area, hit him up on LinkedIn. 

Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni joined me in Session 239 to discuss their latest book, Quick Wins: Using Behavior Science to Accelerate and Sustain School Improvement. In our conversation we talk about why they felt this book was necessary, who represents their ideal reader, and whether we ask too much of school leaders. That last point is something I've been thinking about a lot recently, as we oftentimes ask people with no background in behavior analysis to engage in complex activities like pinpointing performance indicators, diagnosing performance problems, and so on.

We also talk about the distinction between leading and lagging indicators, viewing relationships as accomplishments, their Quick Walk protocol, and what things leaders should do before providing corrective feedback to staff members.

Paulie and Anika are presenting what sounds like a great talk at this year's Stone Soup Conference, which by the way, if you decide to attend, you can save on your registration by using the promo code, PODCAST.

Lastly, the three of us engaged in a little shameless self-promotion by talking about the project we've been working on called The Behavioral Toolbox, which is essentially an e-learning site we built for school-based professionals who are interested in learning how to improve student behavior in educational settings. 

We just launched our first course, Ready, Set, Consult! and we have many more in various stages of development. If you work in these types of settings, please check it out. I should also note that the courses we're designing aren't just for Behavior Analysts. We've done our best to communicate in plain English rather than behavioral jargon so that the content is as accessible as possible. To stay up to date on all things toolbox related, be sure to sign up for The Behavioral Toolbox's newsletter on LinkedIn. 

 

What exactly is Joint Attention? How does Joint Attention interact with Eye Contact? What does the literature say about these repertoires, and how does that coincide with self-reports of the aversive nature of eye contact from Autistic people? 

These have been a few of the questions rolling around in my head for some time. A few years ago, we briefly touched on this subject with my guest today, Dr. Francesca Degli Espinosa, but it was in the backdrop of a larger panel discussion at the 2022 Verbal Behavior Conference. 

Fast forward to 2023, I recently heard Francesca on Dr. Mary Barbera's show talk about Joint Attention in great detail, so I asked her to join me to extend the conversation. 

In this show, we cover:

• What people mean when they use the term Joint Attention
• How JA typically develops in infancy and beyond
• Why 'attention' may not be an especially helpful term
• Some of the neuroscience and eye tracking studies that have examined the development of eye contact in typically developing and Autistic populations
• How to increase the value of looking at peoples' faces
• Why eye contact should be thought of as a reinforcing consequence 
• Some strategies to foster JA in the context of learner assent
• The difficulty of integrating the findings of different literatures that publish research in the area of Autism
• What she's talking about at this year's Stone Soup Conference (spoiler alert: She's going to go deep into this topic, and remember, save on your registration by using the promo code PODCAST)
• The problem associated with teaching eye contact via the 'look at me' method

Here are some of the links to the many resources we discussed:

• 2022 Verbal Behavior Conference Panel Discussion 
• Francesca on Mary Barbera's podcast 
• Francesca's available online courses 
• Dube et al. (2004). Toward a Behavioral Analysis of Joint Attention
• Silva and Fiske (2020). Evaluating the Effects of Establishing Eye Contact on the Skill Acquisition of Individuals with Autism
• Nuske et al. (2015). No Evidence of Emotional Dysregulation or Aversion to Mutual Gaze in Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Eye-Tracking Pupillometry Study
• Clin and Kissine (2023). Neurotypical, but not autistic, adults might experience distress when looking at someone avoiding eye contact: A live face-to-face paradigm
• A sample of the many eye tracking studies conducted by Dr. Ami Klin and colleagues

This podcast is brought to you by:

The Stone Soup Conference, which is taking place on October 20th. Use code PODCAST to save on your registration as well.

The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.

Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

While I don't personally use TikTok, I am aware of the considerable influence it has across a range of topics. As many listeners can imagine, Autism is one of those topics that generates unfathomable amounts of content on the platform. 

Unlike other forms of medical and scientific dissemination, there are really no barriers to saying whatever one wants, not only on TikTok, but on any other internet-based media platforms, podcasts included of course. And as you might imagine, this brings with it lots of variability in terms of information accuracy.

Today's guests, Drs. Elisabeth Sheridan and Giacomo Vivanti, along with their colleagues Diego Aragon-Guevara and Grace Castle, took up the challenge of analyzing the accuracy of Autism-related content on TikTok. They published their results in a recent issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders in a paper titled: The Reach and Accuracy of Information on Autism on TikTok. 

In this interview, we discuss the audience scope on TikTok - spoiler alert: it's massive, why they decided to undertake this study, how they categorized the veracity of the TikTok videos they reviewed, what type of content creators had more and less accurate videos, what were some commonalities to the inaccurate videos they surveyed, and lots more. We also spent some time talking about the reaction to this paper, which has been considerable. 

Here are the links:

• The paper itself: Aragon-Guevara, et al. (2023).
• A popular press write up of this paper in Psychology Today.
• Another interview of these authors on the Autism Science Foundation's podcast. 
• The Parenting Translator on TikTok. 
• Drs. Sheridan and Vivanti on LinkedIn. 
• The A.J. Drexel Autism Institute at Drexel University. 

Thanks so much for supporting the BOP on Patreon! If you have friends and colleagues who'd also enjoy getting these ad-free episodes, let them know how they can join too!

This podcast is brought to you by:

• The Michigan Autism Conference, which is taking place on October 11-13 in Kalamazoo, and online as well. We’ll hear more about this event later on in the show, but if you’re impatient like me, to go michiganautismconference.org, and use the code MAC10 to save $10 at checkout.
• The Stone Soup Conference, which is taking place on October 20th. This is an amazing event, benefitting a great cause, all for a very reasonable price. Use code PODCAST to save on your registration as well.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

Dr. Callie Plattner joins me in Session 236 to talk about her work in the area of Motivational Interviewing. Callie is the Vice President of Clinical Operations at Mosaic Pediatric Therapy, and happens to be a fellow Auburn grad (War Eagle!). 

Now longtime listeners will know that we've covered MI on the podcast before. Back in Session 158, my friend Dr. Jim Murphy, who incidentally also happens to be an Auburn grad, discussed MI in the context of helping young adults reduce binge drinking and other substance-related problems. 

Also, my good friend and colleague, Dr. Paulie Gavoni, has been talking about MI for years. In fact, he's in the process of developing a course on this topic for the project that Paulie and I, along with our colleague Anika Costa, have been working on called The Behavioral Toolbox (brace yourselves for hearing a lot more about this coming up ;-). 

This background aside, in this episode, Callie gives an overview of what exactly Motivational Interviewing is, and defines the four "micro-skills" of asking Open-Ended questions, providing Affirmations, Reflecting, and Summarizing... the so-called "OARS" skills. 

Callie then discusses the research she's conducted with Dr. Cynthia Anderson, which will be coming out soon in Behavior Analysis in Practice, and more generally talks about how MI can be an effective tool to build rapport with stakeholders and possibly improve things like staff and parent adherence to behavior plans, therapy attendance, and so on. 

Links from this episode:

• A brief history of ABA with Jim Johnston. 
• Mosaic Pediatric Therapy. 
• The Behavioral Toolbox.
• A Behavior-Analytic Account of Motivational Interviewing (Christopher and Dougher, 2009).
• Not discussed in this episode, but still relevant, and worth checking out: Taking a Motivational Interviewing Approach to Prevention Science: Progress and Extensions (Shaw and Wilson, 2021).
• If you get anything from these shownotes, watch these videos: The Ineffective Physician and the Effective Physician (huge shout out to Dr. Carolynn Kohn for sharing these with me!). 
• The Helpful Response Questionnaire. 

This podcast is brought to you by:

The Michigan Autism Conference, which is taking place on October 11-13 in Kalamazoo, and online as well. We’ll hear more about this event later on in the show, but if you’re impatient like me, to go michiganautismconference.org, and use the code MAC10 to save $10 at checkout.

The Stone Soup Conference, which is taking place on October 20th. Use code PODCAST to save on your registration as well.

The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.

Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

Drs. Jane Howard and Gina Green join me today in a podcast that could've spanned several hours. In the time we had, we did manage to cover quite a bit of territory, including the following:

• What Gina has been up to since retiring from the Association for Professional Behavior Analysts (spoiler alert: she's not hanging out at the beach reading mystery novels).
• We talk about Jane's career in behavior analysis, including how she got into the field, some of her many, many accomplishments (including being recently honored as a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International), and what she is working on these days.
• The basics of research design, including why some experimental questions lend themselves to certain designs over others. In this segment, we also cover group or between-subjects designs and meta analyses, which are relevant to understand when looking at the ABA outcome literature. 
• The distinction of criterion vs. norm referenced assessments.
• We discussed a number of initiatives and resources in the general realm of ABA treatment, including the current state of licensure, The ABA Coding Coalition, The Autism Commission on Quality, & CASP.
• We talked at length about critical thinking, healthy skepticism, and epistemology in Behavior Analysis. 

In addition to these topics, we probably spent the most time talking about the empirical support for ABA interventions for individuals with Autism. In doing so, we discussed the large research projects that Jane and Gina led, what to make of some of the criticisms of this literature that is starting to gain some notoriety, and what research questions we still need answers to. 

Jane and Gina mentioned numerous studies and resources, and I've done my best to catalog them below:

• Session 21 (my first interview with Gina in 2017).
• Howard, J., Sparkman, C., Cohen, H., Green, G, & Stanislaw, H. (2005). A comparison of intensive behavior analytic and eclectic treatments for young children with autism. doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2004.09.005
• Howard, J. S., Stanislaw, H., Green, G., Sparkman, C. R., & Cohen, H. G. (2014). Comparison of behavior analytic and eclectic early interventions for young children with autism after three years. 
• Stanislaw, H., Howard, J., & Martin, C. (2020). Helping parents choose treatments for young children with autism: A comparison of applied behavior analysis and eclectic treatments. 
• Eldevik, S., Hastings, R. P., Hughes, J. C., Jahr, E., Eikeseth, S., & Cross, S. (2010). Using participant data to extend the evidence base for intensive behavioral intervention for children with autism. 
• Klintwall, L., Eldevik, S., & Eikeseth, S. (2015). Narrowing the gap: Effects of intervention on developmental trajectories in autism. 
• Padilla, K.L., Weston, R., Morgan, G.B., Lively, P., & O’Guinn, N. (2023). Validity and reliability evidence for assessments based in applied behavior analysis: A systematic review. 
• Steinbrenner, J. R., Hume, K., Odom, S. L., Morin, K. L., Nowell, S. W., Tomaszewski, B., Szendrey, S., McIntyre, N. S., Yücesoy-Özkan, S., & Savage, M. N. (2020). Evidence-Based Practices for Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Autism. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, National Clearinghouse on Autism Evidence and Practice Review Team. 
• ABA Coding Coalition (2022). Model Coverage Policy for Adaptive Behavior Services. https://abacodes.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Model-Coverage-Policy-for-ABA-01.25.2022.pdf
• American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education (2014) Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association. https://www.testingstandards.net/uploads/7/6/6/4/76643089/standards_2014edition.pdf
• Behavior Analyst Certification Board & Association of Professional Behavior Analysts (February 2019). Clarifications Regarding Applied Behavior Analysis Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Practice Guidelines for Healthcare Funders and Managers (2nded). https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.apbahome.net/resource/collection/1FDDBDD2-5CAF-4B2A-AB3F-DAE5E72111BF/Clarifications.ASDPracticeGuidelines.pdf
• Johnston, Pennypacker, and Green (2019). Strategies and Tactics for Behavioral Research and Practice.

This podcast is brought to you by:

• • The Michigan Autism Conference, which is taking place on October 11-13 in Kalamazoo, and online as well. We’ll hear more about this event later on in the show, but if you’re impatient like me, to go michiganautismconference.org, and use the code MAC10 to save $10 at checkout.
  • The Stone Soup Conference, which is taking place on October 20th. Use code PODCAST to save on your registration as well.
  • HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
  • ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!

 

And we're back with another installment in the Inside JABA Series. In this episode, Dr. John Borrero and I are joined by Drs. Jessica Nastasi and Nicole Gravina. We discuss their recent JABA publication, Breaks and Productivity: An Exploratory Analysis (see Nastasi, Tassistro, and Gravina, 2023; and subscribe to JABA here if you want). 

Although this is a shorter episode by Inside JABA standards, we cover quite a bit of territory, including what motivated this research, the broader literature on breaks and productivity, the novel research design that was employed, and how the authors analyzed the data. 

And because this an Inside JABA Series podcast, we spent some time talking about why this study was published in JABA when other alternatives were available. 

In the coming days, this episode will be available for BACB CEU credit, so if you are interested in fulfilling your professional development needs while listening to the podcast, click here to learn more.  

• The Wages and Fair Labor Standards Act.
• How to Get Better Results with John Austin.
• How to Take Better Breaks at Work, HBR.
• The Pomodoro Technique.
• Dr. Gravina's page at U. of Florida.
• Dr. Gravina's lab on Facebook and Instagram.
• Drs. Nastasi and Gravina on LinkedIn.
• Inside JABA Series 9: Applied and Translational Research in Healthcare (Ethics CEU).
• Skinner (1955): A Case History of the Scientific Method.
• What I forgot to mention: Sidman's discussion of what constitutes a "Pilot Study."

Sea desde el sur de Sudamérica o desde Norte América, desde el Medio Oriente o desde una isla exótica, Carola Scolari porta en grande la bandera de la Perspectiva de las Circunstancias.

Este episodio se centra en el artículo de Dr. Patrick Friman publicado en el 2021 titulado No existe tal cosa como un niño malo: la Perspectiva de las Circunstancias de la conducta problemática.

Carola se tomó el trabajo de traducir el artículo con el permiso de Dr Friman y estará disponible a partir del momento que este episodio sea publicado. Les recomiendo encarecidamente que lo lean y por supuesto que se tomen el tiempo de escuchar este episodio de casi 2 horas donde hacemos una detallada revisión y Carola nos enriquece con sus ejemplos e interpretaciones. Estoy muy orgulloso de este episodio y de Carola. Espero que lo disfruten.

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Whether from the south of South America or from North America, from the Middle East or from an exotic island, Carola Scolari carries the banner of the Circumstances View.

This episode focuses on Dr. Patrick Friman's 2021 article titled There's no such thing as a bad boy: The Circumstances View of problem Behavior.

Carola took the trouble to translate the article with the permission of Dr. Friman and it will be available from the moment this episode is published. I strongly recommend that you read it and of course that you take the time to listen to this episode of almost 2 hours where we do a detailed review and Carola enriches us with her examples and interpretations. I am very proud of this episode and of Carola. I hope you enjoy it.

Dr. Aaron Blocher-Rubin joins me in Session 232 to talk providing ABA services as a non-profit agency. Aaron is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Arizona Autism United, a multi-site provider of ABA and other therapeutic services.

In this conversation, we talk about how Aaron got into Behavior Analysis, what led him to found the agency he now runs, supporting the family along with the client, and the importance of offering a variety of services. We also spent a considerable amount of time discussing what it's like to work in a non-profit setting. From funding, to governance, to staffing, we get into the nitty-gritty details, and one can't help but to contrast these settings with private equity funded nation-wide providers. 

And Aaron and his colleagues must be doing something right because they were recently voted the 2023 Arizona Top Workplace (and for the second time at that!).

We also talked about some of Aaron's essays on what he calls ABA Red Flags that he's posted on LinkedIn, as well as some of the reactions to them. 

Here are the links:

• Jobs at AZA.
• The Autism Investor Summit.
• Aaron's podcast, SR Plus.
• The Autism Impact Fund.
• Aaron's LinkedIn.
• Donate to AZA.

This episode is brought to you by:

• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

In the 9th installment of the Apollo Case Study Series, I'm joined by Jim Moore, Valencia Harper, Chesley Herring, and Lauren Elliott. And in this show, we discuss all things mentorship, both at Apollo, as well as the guests' other professional experiences. 

In particular, we got into:

• Defining mentorship
• The importance of saying, "I don't know"
• The importance of asking questions
• Common needs of mentees
• Apollo's BAT program
• Why BCBAs need communities
• And the idea that, "closed mouths don't get fed"

Some resources we discussed include:

• Apollo CSS 8 
• My recent podcast with John Austin 
• The movie, Whiplash 
• Recommended Practices for Individual Supervision of Aspiring Behavior Analysts (Sellers, Valentino, and LeBlanc, 2016)

While you're here, click here to follow Apollo on LinkedIn and Instagram. 

Today's guest is Dr. John Austin, who has been in the OBM trenches as a student, professor, and frontline consultant for over 20 years. 

Before continuing with the usual opening remarks, I'm going to make a rare ask of you. Two asks actually. 

This is perhaps one of the most actionable podcasts I've published. If you listen to this show and act on some of the suggestions, you can improve your practice right away. And that's not hyperbole. So the first ask is to make sure you listen to the show in its entirety, and go to reachingresults.com/results-toolkit for additional support. 

The second ask is that you take a few minutes and share this episode with friends and colleagues. In your workplace, you might even consider discussing this episode, and more importantly, John's book Results: The Science-Based Approach to Better Productivity, Profitability, and Safety, in your staff meetings. 

In this episode, we cover:

• The evolution of OBM practice over the last few decades.
• Why OBM consulting in ABA organizations can be more difficult than other settings.
• How to form better relationships with the people you work with. 
• Ways to pinpoint and measure your interactions with colleagues and supervisees. 
• The importance of asking questions.
• Agreeing on, instead of setting expectations.
• Why the book Atomic Habits irks me. 
• John's conceptualization of Burnout and Psychological Safety.
• What is a Mastermind, and why might you consider joining one.

Other resources mentioned include:

• The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmonson.
• Building a Psychologically Safe Workplace, a TedTalk by Amy Edmonson. 
• Teaching Employees How to Receive Feedback: A Preliminary Investigation (Ehrlich et al., 2020). 
• ABA on Reddit here and here. 
• Radical Candor: Fully Revised & Updated Edition: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott. 
• HBR article: Good Leadership Is About Asking Good Questions.
• John's interview with Dr. Paulie Gavoni.
• My interview with Dr. Aubrey Daniels. 
• Rapid Change: Immediate Action for the Impatient Leader, by Joe Laipple. 

This podcast is brought to you by:

Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations. And check out the Leadership CEU I mentioned here.

ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!

This is a conversation I've really been looking forward to sharing with you. Jose Rios is a legend in our field, particularly if you're a behavior analyst in California, where he's based out of. 

In this conversation, Jose recounts his more than 50 year career in providing ABA services to individuals with developmental disabilities. We cover the following:

• How he got started in the field at the tender age of 17.
• What the field of ABA was like in the early 70s.
• What it takes to provide amazing experiences for group home residents and staff.
• The founding of the Latino Association for Behavior Analysis.
• The evolution of behavior support plans over the years.
• Jose's intense mentoring program.
• What makes for good presentations.

Jose is an avid reader, and we spent almost a half hour talking about our favorite fiction authors before hitting the record button. In the interview itself however, we do mention a few books and other resources that are more pertinent to the topic of Behavior Analysis, including:

• The various works of Dr. Gary LaVigna.
• The various works of Dr. John Lutzker.
• Teaching dating skills to individuals with disabilities (Cuvo et al., 1985).
• Vollmer et al. (1992). A content analysis of written behavior management programs. 
• Resonate, by Nancy Duarte.
• Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter) 3rd Edition, by Garr Reynolds.
• The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch.
• The Supervisor’s Guidebook: Evidence-Based Strategies for Promoting Work Quality and Enjoyment Among Human Service Staff, Reid & Parsons.

This conversation is like a lesson in the history of Applied Behavior Analysis, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

This podcast is brought to you by:

• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.

The Apollo Case Study Series returns with a conversation that many Behavior Analysts will likely resonate with. 

In this episode, I speak with Kristen Vaughn, Vice President of Clinical Operations of Apollo Behavior. We discuss her career arc, and focus on her transition from providing mainly clinical services to her current role in executive management. 

We cover her early clinical experiences, what it's like to get direct and perhaps difficult to hear feedback, the challenges of letting go of clinical duties, and what it's like to work with a leadership coach. 

If you're a BCBA, or an aspiring one, chances are, you'll have to supervise the work of others in some capacity, so there are many great lessons in this episode for you. 

Related to this, we talked about the book, Motivating human service staff: Supervisory strategies for maximizing work effort and work enjoyment, by Reid and Parsons. It, along with The Supervisor’s Guidebook: Evidence-Based Strategies for Promoting Work Quality and Enjoyment Among Human Service Staff, should be considered must-reads for those in supervisory positions. 

Click here to check out previous Apollo Case Study Series podcasts, and to learn about all the fun employee engagement activities they're up to, follow them on Instagram. 

In the 15th installment of the Inside JABA Series, Editor and Chief Dr. John Borrero and I chat with Drs. Lesleigh Stinson and Jesse Dallery about their novel application of a Contingency Management intervention. In this case, they used CM procedures to reduce excessive social media use. 

Lesleigh is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Florida's Center for Behavioral Economic Health Research, and Jesse is a Professor of Psychology, also at UF. 

If you're not sure what Contingency Management is, don't worry, Lesleigh and Jesse cover the basics of it in this show. For additional information, you can also check out Jesse's previous appearance on the Inside JABA Series, where he and his colleagues used smartphone mediated technologies in conjunction with CM to reduce cigarette smoking. 

This is a truly "Under the Dome" paper, and in our discussion of it, we touch on topics that include Internet Addiction, the recent APA Health Advisory on social media use, motivational interviewing, stages of change, and the benefits of single-case designs. 

This podcast, as with all other Inside JABA Series shows, is available for continuing education. To learn more about that, click here. If you want to subscribe to JABA, click here. 

We mentioned many resources and studies during this podcast. I've done my best to list them all below:

• Center for Behavioral Economic Health Research
• Jesse Dallery's lab: BHaT Lab
• Reducing problematic social media use via a package intervention (Stinson and Dallery, 2023)
• APA Health advisory on social media use in adolescence 
• N of 1 collaborative
• Screen Sanity (great resources for families)
• A behavior-analytic account of motivational interviewing (Christopher and Dougher, 2009)
• “I’s” on the prize: A systematic review of individual differences in Contingency Management treatment response (Forster et al., 2020)
• Toward an era of impact of digital contingency management in the treatment of substance use disorders (Dallery et al., 2023)
• A Preliminary Evaluation of the Effects of a Contingency Management + Deposit Contract Intervention on Problematic Smartphone Use With College Students (Williams-Buttari et al., 2023)
• Contingency management for smartphone and social media use: a feasibility study (Stanley et al., 2021)
• The association between social media use and sleep disturbance among young adults (Levenson et al., 2016)
• How Motivational Interviewing Helps Reduce Alcohol Use Problems in Young Adults: Session 158 with Jim Murphy

Problemas Pediátricos de la Alimentación con la Dra Varsovia Hernández Eslava

Aunque el tema de este episodio se centra en problemas pediátricos de la alimentación, la Dra Varsovia Hernandez Eslava nos comparte una muy interesante trayectoria profesional y un panorama e historia del análisis de la conducta en México. De aquella mirada inicial pasamos a una nueva panorámica muy detallada de los problemas pediátricos de la alimentación empezando por describir qué son y de ahí a conocer los procesos de evaluación y sus subsecuentes intervenciones. Son importantes los detalles y aclaraciones que la Dra Varsovia nos ofrece acerca del proceso evaluativo como también los varios componentes y etapas durante la intervención (los dejamos con intriga para que lo escuchen con detenimiento). Fue fascinante apreciar todas las sutilezas que un profesional competente considera a nivel clínico y de validez social. Esa importancia de las experiencias supervisadas, el obtener y mantener competencias fue claramente enfatizado. Dado el profesionalismo y responsabilidad que describe la Dra Varsovia para con las partes interesadas, no fue sorpresa escuchar de los altos niveles de adherencia, participación y satisfacción para aquellos que han interactuado con ella en estos contextos. Un modelo para nosotros seguir. Nos deja con la reflexión de buscar mentores y una búsqueda constante por nuevos y más profundos aprendizajes; de ser éticos y humildes.

Pediatric Feeding Issues with Dr. Varsovia Hernández Eslava

Although the theme of this episode focuses on pediatric feeding problems, Dr. Varsovia Hernandez Eslava shares with us a very interesting professional career and an overview and history of behavior analysis in Mexico. From that initial look, we move on to a new, very detailed overview of pediatric feeding problems, beginning by describing what they are and from there, learning about the evaluation processes and their subsequent interventions. The details and clarifications that Dr. Varsovia suggests that the evaluation process is important, as are the various components and stages during the intervention (we leave you intrigued so that you are prompted to listen carefully). It was fascinating to appreciate all the subtleties that a competent professional considers at a clinical and socially validity level. The importance of supervised experiences, obtaining and maintaining competencies was clearly emphasized. Given the professionalism and responsibility that Dr. Varsovia describes with regard to the relationship with stakeholders, it was not surprising to hear of the high levels of adherence, participation, and satisfaction for those who have interacted with her in these contexts. A model for us to follow. It leaves us with the reflection of looking for mentors and a constant search for new and deeper learning; to be ethical and humble.

In Session 225, Shira Karpel and Shayna Gaunt from How To ABA return to the show to discuss a recent webinar that they provided for their online community (note: see here for their first appearance on the podcast). 

Their talk discussed code element 1.10, from the Behavior Analysis Certification Board's Ethics Codes for Behavior Analysts. For a quick recap, it reads as follows:

1.10 Awareness of Personal Biases and Challenges

• Behavior analysts maintain awareness that their personal biases or challenges (e.g., mental or physical health conditions; legal, financial, marital/relationship challenges) may interfere with the effectiveness of their professional work.

• Behavior analysts take appropriate steps to resolve interference, ensure that their professional work is not compromised, and document all actions taken in this circumstance and the eventual outcomes.

In the spirit of this code element, Shira and Shayna discuss how they define these  biases, and how they can potentially occur in practice. More importantly, they discuss steps for detecting and responding to such biases when they do surface. 

This podcast will be available for BACB Continuing Education (1.0 Ethics Credits). To learn more about how to obtain, click here. If you want to learn more about the great community that Shira and Shayna are leading, click here. In the meantime, be sure to check out their blog, free resources, and podcast. If you decide to join their community, use the promo code, BOP, when signing up to save on your membership!

Many-time guest Dr. Andy Bondy returns to the podcast for a fun chat. Our conversation centered around a recent talk he gave which was titled, "Verbal Behavior: Myths and Misconceptions."

What myths and misconceptions are we talking about here? Well, I certainly don't want to spoil the podcast, but we did manage to cover a wide variety of topics, including:

• PECS' Certified Classroom process.
• The conceptual rather than data-based nature of the Verbal Behavior book itself.
• Recall versus recognition.
• Aided versus unaided communication systems.
• Selection versus topography-based communication systems.
• The more subtle aspects of the autoclitic.
• Whether PECS limits improvised communication.
• The topic of Matching-to-sample vs. Tacting in PECS.
• The nature of prompts.
• Constructional aspects of learning.

As many of my chats with Andy have gone, this is a podcast that could've been twice as long. Good news though: we've already scheduled a follow up interview for later on in the summer. If you have questions based on this podcast, perhaps we can feature an "Ask Andy Anything," segment.

Keep an eye on the BOP emails for future announcements.

Andy grounded his points in many empirical studies (and of course the OG text, Verbal Behavior). I've done my best to capture all of them below:

• Kuhn's, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
• Potter and Brown (1997). A review of studies examining the nature of selection-based and topography-based verbal behavior.
• Tincani (2004). Comparing the Picture Exchange Communication System and Sign Language Training for Children with Autism.
• Tincani et al. (2006). The Picture Exchange Communication System: Effects on Manding and Speech Development for School-Aged Children with Autism.
• Marckel et al. (2006). A preliminary analysis of teaching improvisation with the picture exchange communication system to children with autism.
• Chaabane et al. (2009). The effects of parent-implemented PECS training on improvisation of mands by children with autism.
• Schreibman and Stahmer (2014). A randomized trial comparison of the effects  of verbal and pictorial naturalistic communication strategies on spoken  language for young children with autism.
• See here for Andy's previous appearances on the BOP.

Find out more about PECS' services, products, and trainings here.

• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!

This is a fun conversation to share, not only because it involves chatting with three very smart grad students from my alma mater, Auburn University, but also because the topic tackles an issue that is outside of what we might consider the "mainstream" of Applied Behavior Analysis.

A few months ago, Ashley Anderson, Daniel Sheridan, and Anna Kate Edgemon reached out to me, and informed me of the great work they're doing supporting justice-involved youth in a juvenile detention setting.

As I learned, there is some history of behavior analysts practicing in this area, and these grad students, led by Dr. John Rapp and colleagues, have been developing effective interventions in these settings. And when I say effective, I'm talking about incredibly low recidivism rates...

But I'm getting ahead of myself. If this is unfamiliar territory for you, don't worry. We go over enough introductory terms and definitions to get you up to speed straight away.

Also, there are some great meta-lessons embedded in this conversation about rapport building, staff training, cultural competence, teaching real-life skills, and more. So even if this specific topic is not your thing, there are parts of this interview that I think will apply to your practice.

I left this conversation really inspired by the somewhat untapped potential for our field, and I hope the intervention strategies these guests and their colleagues are publishing become adopted at a much wider scale!

This research group has been prolific, and here are some of not only their papers, but others in this space that you might find helpful:

Related to Juvenile Justice (History & Review):

• Morris (1980)
• Apel & Diller (2017)
• Children/Persons in Need of Supervision (CHINS).
• Mack (1909). The Juvenile Court.

Auburn’s Partnership & Related Research:

• Luna et al. (2022)
• Brogan et al. (2018).
• Sheridan et al. (2023).
• Bush et al. (in press).
• Coon et al. (2022).
• Brogan et al. (2020).
• Edgemon et al. (2020).
• What does "War Eagle!" mean?

This session of Behavioral Observations is brought to you by the following:

• How to ABA - their goal is to make you feel supported and confident while helping your clients make real progress! In their membership community, you will find all the assessments, programs, data sheets, and materials you need so that your job is just a little easier. To learn more about their thriving and supportive online community, CEU events, support materials, and more, go to howtoaba.com/join, and use code BOP at checkout to get 10% off a yearly subscription.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

El Balance entre la Ciencia y la Cultura con la Dra. Corina Jimenez Gomez

A la Dra Corina Jimenez Gomez le gusta “echar cuentos”. Ella lo atribuye a como fue criada y a su amor a la literatura. En otras palabras, lo atribuye “al reforzamiento diferencial de su conducta verbal”. Tengo que admitir que como Venezolano tenía un gran interés de hablar con una paisana con quien comparto algunas nostalgias y experiencias de emigrante pero también un orgullo y admiración por alguien que puede navegar en océanos académicos, experimentales y aplicados. Como tal, sus adaptaciones a varios lenguajes, culturas y conocimientos le han dado una gran sensibilidad en su comunicación y el abordaje a sus distintas audiencias. Si ella puede construir puentes entre el realismo mágico y el lenguaje científico, quién mejor para examinar nuestras culturas y subculturas dentro de nuestra profesión y para observar cómo interactuamos con quienes colaboramos. Espero que disfruten y aprendan de esta conversación tanto como yo. 

Nota: el uso de lenguaje metafórico en las notas del show es intencional :)

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The Balance between Science and Culture with Dr. Corina Jimenez Gomez

Dr. Corina Jimenez Gomez likes to "tell stories." She attributes it to how she was raised and her love of literature. In other words, she attributes it "to differential reinforcement of her verbal behavior." I have to admit that as a Venezuelan I was very interested in talking with a compatriot with whom I share some nostalgia and experiences as an emigrant, but also a pride and admiration for someone who can navigate academic, experimental and applied oceans. As such, her adaptations to various languages, cultures, and knowledge have given her great sensitivity in her communication and approach to different audiences. If you can build bridges between magical realism and scientific language, who better to examine our cultures and subcultures within our profession and to observe our interactions with those we collaborate with. I hope you enjoy and learn from this conversation as much as I did.

Note: The use of metaphorical language in the show notes is intentional :)

*Interview and shownotes by Miguel Avila

**previous appearances by Dr. Jimenez-Gomez on the BOP

 

In Session 221, I had the opportunity to talk with Melissa Willa and Colin Davitian. These guys are a husband and wife team who founded the ABA provider, Kyo, formerly known as the Gateway Learning Group.

Our conversation focused on two hot-button topics when it comes to providing services to individuals with Autism: Treatment Dosage and Value Based Care.

With regard to the former, Melissa and Colin, along with their colleagues, conducted a retrospective analysis of treatment outcomes for learners in under their care. In doing so, they looked at the role that treatment dosage had on their overall progress, as measured by standardized assessments.

You may already be wondering what they found, so don’t worry, we get into that and lots more in this episode. We also try to place their findings in the context of existing studies that examined the relationship between treatment dosage and treatment outcomes.

As I mention during the interview, there’s lots of discussion of this topic that’s happening, particularly in the various ABA social media groups, and as is true with so many other things, it’s refreshing to elevate the discourse by looking at empirical analyses as opposed to anecdotal observations and hunches.

If you’re a clinical director or practice owner who’s also interested in this topic, Melissa and Colin suggest strategies for mining the data you probably already have access to via client electronic health records.

Towards the end of the podcast, we turned our attention to Value Based Care. Colin and Melissa define what that is, and contrast it with the more traditional fee-for-service approach for health care reimbursement. Not to spoil the punchline here, but these guys seemed pretty bullish on the potential for shifting Autism services to a Value Based Care model.

As a sidetone, for a longer discussion on the topic of VBC, check out Session 194 with Amanda Ralston. I have other guests that I’ve been meaning to bring on to talk about this as well.

Lastly, I want to thank Melissa and Colin for patiently responding to all of my “yeah, but…” questions. Even though I don’t personally provide services in an insurance funded model, I am old enough to remember the days when accessing ABA services was next to impossible due to the lack of both funding and providers, so I’m fairly reluctant to cede ground as it relates to how many hours individuals can receive authorization for, and my line of questioning most likely revealed this.

I’ve also seen cases where learners have received very intensive early intervention, and made so much progress that they entered kindergarten with little to no supports. As such, I think it’s fair to say that I had some level of bias heading into this conversation.

Long story short, these are complicated topics, and whether you agree or disagree with the findings we discuss in this episode, I think you’ll find the conversation thought provoking. Lastly, if you want to read up on this topic in more detail, I have several of the articles we referenced in this episode’s show notes. I also have Melissa and Colin’s LinkedIn profiles, so I’d encourage you to connect with them if you have questions or thoughts about these topics.

To learn more about Kyo or to connect with Colin and Melissa:

• www.kyocare.com
• Melissa Willa - LinkedIn
• Colin Davitian - LinkedIn

Here are some links to studies we directly or indirectly referred to in this episode:

• Ostrovsky, A., Willa, M., Cho, T. et al. Data-driven, client-centric applied behavior analysis treatment-dose optimization improves functional outcomes. World J Pediatr (2022).
• Rogers SJ, Yoder P, Estes A, Warren Z, McEachin J, Munson J, et al. A Multisite Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing the Effects of Intervention Intensity and Intervention Style on Outcomes for Young Children With Autism. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2021;60(6):710-22.
• Virués-Ortega, J. (2010). Applied behavior analytic intervention for autism in early childhood: Meta-analysis, meta-regression and dose–response meta-analysis of multiple outcomes. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 387-399.
• Cohen, H., Amerine-Dickens, M., & Smith, T. (2006). Early intensive behavioral treatment: Replication of the UCLA model in a community setting. Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 27, S145-S155. 
• Eikeseth, S., Smith, T., Jahr, E., & Eldevik, S. (2002). Intensive behavioral treatment at school for 4- to 7-year-old children with autism: A 1-year comparison controlled study. Behavior Modification, 26, 46-68. 
• Howard, J. S., Sparkman, C. R., Cohen, H. G., Green, G., & Stanislaw, H. (2005). A comparison of intensive behavior analytic and eclectic treatments for young children with autism. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 26, 359-383 

This podcast is brought to you by the following sponsors:

• How to ABA - their goal is to make you feel supported and confident while helping your clients make real progress! In their membership community, you will find all the assessments, programs, data sheets, and materials you need so that your job is just a little easier. To learn more about their thriving and supportive online community, CEU events, support materials, and more, go to howtoaba.com/join, and use code BOP at checkout to get 10% off a yearly subscription.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.

Drs. Jason Vladescu, Lauren Schnell, and Jessica Day-Watkins join me in Session 220 to talk about their research in training parents and caregivers on safe sleeping habits for infants. 

As you'll learn, there are sleeping practices that are recommended by Pediatric groups that reduce the likelihood of Sudden Unexpected Infant Deaths (SUIDs) in general, and Accidental Suffocation and Strangulation in Bed (ASSB) incidents. If those are new terms to you, don't worry, we get into what they mean, how frequently they occur, and lots more. 

And while this may seem like a depressing or morbid topic, and I've known people who've had children succumb to this, I also see this as a story of hope in that studies like these will lead to a wider adoption of sleeping practices that, over time, should reduce unnecessary infant deaths. 

Jason is a Professor in the Applied Behavior Analysis Department at Caldwell University, Lauren is an Assistant Professor at Hunter College, and Jessica is an Assistant Professor at the AJ Drexel Autism Institute. 

Together they worked on several projects in the area of infant safe sleeping, which culminated in some publications in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, which we discuss in this podcast. 

What I found fascinating about this topic is that it allowed us to discuss a wider range of issues that transcend safe sleeping practices. These include staff training, cultural humility, public health and policy, contingency management, video modeling, dissemination... the list goes on. There's an angle here for everyone.

Here are some links to what we discussed:

• Vladescu et al. (2020). 
• Mery et al. (2022).
• Mery et al. (2023).
• Inside JABA 14.
• Inside JABA 6.
• American Association of SIDS Prevention Physicians.
• AAP Safe Sleep Recommendations.

This podcast is brought to you by the following sponsors:

• How to ABA - their goal is to make you feel supported and confident while helping your clients make real progress! In their membership community, you will find all the assessments, programs, data sheets, and materials you need so that your job is just a little easier. As a member, you’ll also be invited each month to join a live CEU and a live mentorship  session in their private community group. You’ll also have access to their extensive CEU library of recorded on-demand CEU’s on relevant, practical topics to BCBA’s in the field. Go to https://members.howtoaba.com/join.  When you join today and use code BOP, you’ll receive 10% off a yearly subscription (includes CEU’s!).
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.

 

Dr. Greg Hanley returns to Behavioral Observations for another round of fun conversation on the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior. 

This show gets into the weeds of the Practical Functional Assessment/Skills-Based Treatment Process right away, so if you have nuanc-ey questions or concerns about PFA/SBT, this is the show for you. 

In this segment of the show, we discuss the changes his company, FTF, had to roll with over the last few years, what he and his colleagues are up to now. We spend a considerably amount of time discussing what they've learned about functional assessment and treatment, and how their process has evolved over the years, especially in terms of the types of individuals who benefit from these interventions, as well as those who do not. 

Perhaps my favorite part of the conversation was when we discussed the complex nature of Skills-Based Treatment. To this end, Greg talked about the kind of training one ideally needs to be able to implement an SBT session successfully. Long story short, it's more than teaching someone to say, "My Way." 

Speaking of training, FTF offers a variety of on-demand virtual trainings, in-person live workshops, and short and long-term consultation engagements. 

Greg also mentioned numerous papers, most of which you can find here. If there are others not represented on this page, let me know and I'll add those to the show notes. 

What we didn't get into is the outreach FTF is making with using this process in public school settings. We also didn't get a chance to get into the SBT data collection app that his colleagues at Hi-Rasmus has created, but you can check out here. 

OK, back to the interview... after a lengthy nuts and bolts discussion of the what makes for successful SBT interventions, we broadened the lens to discuss many of the so-called 'hot topics,' in Behavior Analysis these days. This included:

• The influence of social media groups. 
• Overly rigid rule adherence, in which we spend a fair bit of time talking about token systems.
• Greg's perspective on Trauma-informed and Trauma-assumed ABA.
• Other aspects of "Hyphenated-ABA" that are being discussed. 
• Practical perspectives on assent... and if you're like me, and often think about the limitations of assent-based models of treatment, this will be helpful (and by the way, check out this article by Dr. Paulie Gavoni and Steve Ward), and, 
• The use of extinction. 

Greg also opened up a bit about how he almost left the field of ABA. You read that correctly. You'll have to listen to the show to hear about this in his own words. 

Greg was extremely generous with his time, and even stuck around to answer questions that I solicited from Patreon members. As you might imagine, there were a lot of great questions, and the answers were punctuated with a few really funny stories that you won't want to miss. 

All of this to say that I enjoyed this conversation immensely, and I hope you do too :-)

This podcast is brought to you by

• How to ABA - their goal is to make you feel supported and confident while helping your clients make real progress! In their membership community, you will find all the assessments, programs, data sheets, and materials you need so that your job is just a little easier. As a member, you’ll also be invited each month to join a live CEU and a live mentorship  session in their private community group. You’ll also have access to their extensive CEU library of recorded on-demand CEU’s on relevant, practical topics to BCBA’s in the field. Go to howtoaba.com/join.  When you join today and use code BOP, you’ll receive 10% off a yearly subscription (includes CEU’s!).
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The aforementioned Verbal Behavior Conference. This is conference is as equally fun as it is informative, and BehaviorLive makes it available virtually as well, so I hope to see you there!
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

In Session 218 of Behavioral Observations, Troy Fry joins me to talk about his long career in Behavior Analysis helping individuals with disabilities improve their quality of life by learning meaningful skills.

In particular, we discussed:

• How he found his way to Behavior Analysis at a time when it wasn't nearly as seemingly ubiquitous as it is today.
• What it was like to be mentored by Ray Miltenberger, Don Baer, Barbara Etzel,  Montrose Wolf, and more.
• How Troy became colleagues with Pat McGreevy.
• A brief history of the treatment of adults with severe developmental challenges in the United States.
• Troy's extensive international work in France and Italy, and what it's like to provide services in large, congregate-care facilities.

We also spend a bit of time talking about his talk at the upcoming Verbal Behavior Conference. As he describes in our conversation, EFL is rolling out the Performance Analysis Tool, and his talk at the Verbal Behavior Conference will elaborate on that in more detail.

If you're interested in what Troy has to say, consider attending the Verbal Behavior Conference on March 30th and 31st. The on-site event will be held in Austin, TX, but if you can't make it there, the virtual event is a fantastic option.

The cool thing about the VBC, especially in-person, is that attendees really have lots of opportunities to interact with the speakers. In fact, at the end of the first day, I have the honor of moderating a panel with all the speakers.

A panel, in this case, is really just an opportunity for you to ask the speakers questions directly. And audience Q and A is open to both virtual and in-person attendees. In fact, in last year's conference, we had more questions from our virtual audience!

This podcast is brought to you by 

•    How to ABA - their goal is to make you feel supported and confident while helping your clients make real progress! In their membership community, you will find all the assessments, programs, data sheets, and materials you need so that your job is just a little easier. As a member, you’ll also be invited each month to join a live CEU and a live mentorship  session in their private community group. You’ll also have access to their extensive CEU library of recorded on-demand CEU’s on relevant, practical topics to BCBA’s in the field. Go to howtoaba.com/join.  When you join today and use code BOP, you’ll receive 10% off a yearly subscription (includes CEU’s!). •    The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button. •    ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests! •    The aforementioned Verbal Behavior Conference. This is conference is as equally fun as it is informative, and BehaviorLive makes it available virtually as well, so I hope to see you there!

En esta segunda sesión de la serie de Behavioral Observations para Hispanohablantes, el Dr. Luis Morales Knight vuelve a compartir su experiencia como Psicólogo Clínico. Esta vez centra su historia de origen en resaltar sus experiencias en el análisis de comportamiento tradicional que lo llevaron a su práctica utilizando ACT y Psicoterapia Analítico-Funcional. 

El Dr. Knight enfatiza la importancia de una base teórica sólida para mejorar la práctica. Comparte su transición a la telemedicina impulsada por la pandemia y los desafíos comunes de sus clientes después de la pandemia, incluida la "adultez", los efectos del consumo de las redes sociales y la medicalización de la experiencia humana. También comenta acerca de las diversas dinámicas de las sesiones terapéuticas con niños, adolescentes y adultos. 

Por último, nos deja con una gran nota sobre alejarnos de la perspectiva de la culpa y pasar a una visión a las circunstancias que nos lleva a tener más compasión (¿te suena familiar?).

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Si te sientes estancado con algunos de tus aprendices que tienen grandes desafios en el desarrollo, y aunque inviertas horas y horas en enseñarle, no estás mejorando su vida significativamente.

Si estás confundida y no sabes por dónde empezar o sabes que las herramientas que has utilizado no son adecuadas para ellos

Queremos decirte algo, ¡puedes mejorar su calidad de vida significativamente si re piensas qué estás enseñando y cómo lo estás enseñando!

El jueves 2 de marzo realizaremos un evento en línea y gratuito llamado Re-Pensando el Rumbo, donde enseñaremos a profesionales como tú a utilizar el currículum Essential for Living (Esenciales para la Vida) para identificar qué habilidades son imprescindibles enseñar a niños y adultos con grandes desafíos en el desarrollo para mejorar su calidad de vida. Para Participar, haz click en este enlace  www.diversitad.com/re-pensando-el-rumbo e inscríbete.

¡Aun No es tarde para repensar el rumbo!

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Functional Analytic Psychotherapy, ACT and Telemedicine with Dr. Luis Morales Knight

In this second session of the series Behavioral Observations for Spanish Speakers, Dr. Luis Morales Knight comes back to share his experience as a Clinical Psychologist. 

This time he focuses his origin story on highlighting his experiences in traditional behavior analysis leading to his practice using ACT and Functional Analytic Psychotherapy. Dr. Knight emphasizes the importance of strong theoretical foundations to enhance better practice. He shares his transition to telemedicine prompted by the pandemic and the common struggles of his clients post pandemic including “adulting”, effects of social media consumption, and the medicalization of the human experience. He also discusses the various dynamics of the therapeutic sessions with children, adolescents and adults. Lastly, he leaves us with a great note about moving away from the blame perspective and into a circumstantial view that leads us to have more compassion (sound familiar?)

Dr. Lina Slim joins me in Session 217 for a wide-ranging conversation that is almost impossible to describe in a list of bullet points. 

But I will try... In this show we discussed:

• Her pivot from studying animal behavior and language to teaching children with Autism.
• Her unease with seeing lackluster applications of ABA.
• Starting her own school while earning her Ph.D., while raising two children.
• Providing services all over the world.
• Detecting your own biases when providing services (please check this part out if you listen to nothing else in this podcast!!!).
• Developing trust through asking questions. 
• What it's like to practice ABA in three different languages.
• What she plans on talking about at this year's Verbal Behavior Conference (and please consider attending, it's a great time!).
• Great advice for the newly-minted BCBA.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

This podcast is brought to you by:

·      Rose Griffin's FREE masterclass, The Power of Joint Attention. This 30-minute course will show you how to use books in therapy so your students are running over to listen to you read. The course also covers how to use songs in therapy so that your students are eager to participate and play and are ready to engage with you every session. Rose shares actionable tips that you can use in your next therapy session and provides BONUS pintables that you can practice right away. To learn more, go to abaspeech.org, and click the Free Masterclass tab at the top!

·       Being a behavior professional is hard. At How to ABA their goal is to make you feel supported and confident while helping your clients make real progress! In their membership community, you will find all the assessments, programs, data sheets, and materials you need so that your job is just a little easier. As a member, you’ll also be invited each month to join a live CEU and a live mentorship in our private community group. You’ll also have access to their extensive CEU library of recorded on-demand CEU’s on relevant, practical topics to BCBA’s in the field. It’s more than enough for recertification! With a Bx Resource membership, you’ll save time, feel confident, and master what you love! Go to howtoaba.com/join.  When you join today and use code BOP, you’ll receive 10% off a yearly subscription (includes CEU’s!).

·      The aforementioned Verbal Behavior Conference. This is conference is as equally fun as it is informative, and BehaviorLive makes it available virtually as well, so I hope to see you there!

Dr. Sal Ruiz and I recorded a long overdue podcast where we went over all things SAFMEDS, Instructional Design, best practices for online learning, and much more. 

In this podcast we covered a lot of ground, but I think one of the most interesting things I took from the conversation are the procedural variations that have been explored. It turns out that there are some ways to do SAFMEDS that lead to better results depending on what outcomes you're looking for. 

We also explore instructional design, and in that, we talk about starting with the end in mind, tailoring lessons for in-person, synchronous, and asynchronous modalities, how guided notes fit into all of this, and much more. 

Long story short, whether you're a student, a university instructor, or even if you're responsible for training people outside of the university context, there are many lessons to be learned from this podcast. 

Lastly, Sal's parting advice to BCBAs is really good. The advice involves choosing continuing education topics. I'm not going to spoil the details of this advice here, so definitely listen all the way through and check out what he has to say on the topic!

Here are the links to the resources we discussed:

• Ruiz ABA on Facebook 
• Quigley 2014 dissertation, Evaluations of Various SAFMEDS Procedures 
• Ward-Horner and Sturmey 2013, Component Analysis of Single Subject Experimental Designs: A Review 
• Ruiz et al. 2021, Impact of Guided Notes on Graduate Student Retention of Facts 
• Riden et al., 2020, The Nature and Extent of Component Analyses for Improving or Mitigating Behavior: A Systematic Review 
• Since you're going to ask, you can find Jen Farris here and here, and ask her about the SSC for Practical Functional Assessment (and find training opportunities here)
• Wu 2015, Online learning in postsecondary education: a review of the empirical literature (2013-2014)
• Hunter College ABA Program 
• Sal's Mock exams (very reasonably priced IMHO!!!)
• Sal's social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram 

This session of the BOP was brought to you by:

• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

Editor’s note:

A few months ago, my friend Miguel Avila and I thought it would be fun to offer some Behavioral Observations content to Spanish speaking ABA professionals, parents, and other folks who would enjoy it. Thanks to Miguel’s hard work, we have a few shows recorded, and more in the works. Our plan is to release about one episode a month for a few months. If you know folks who would be interested in these episodes, please consider sharing it with them. Lastly, we’d like to thank Essential for Living, which is now available in Spanish, for giving Miguel the time to record these thought-provoking conversations!

Hace unos meses, mi amigo Miguel Avila y yo pensamos que sería divertido ofrecer contenido de Behavioral Observations (Observaciones Conductuales) a profesionales de ABA de habla hispana, padres y otras personas que podrían disfrutarlo. Gracias al arduo trabajo de Miguel, tenemos algunos programas grabados y más en proceso. Nuestro plan es lanzar alrededor de un episodio al mes durante algunos meses. Si conocen a personas que estarían interesadas en estos episodios, consideren compartirlo con ellos. Por último, nos gustaría agradecer a Essential for Living (Esenciales para la Vida), que ahora está disponible en español, por darle a Miguel el tiempo para grabar estas conversaciones que invitan a la reflexión.

En esta sesión, el Dr. Javier Virues Ortega se une a Miguel para examinar el estado de la práctica del análisis de la conducta en los países de habla hispana. El Dr. Virues Ortega ofrece sus observaciones sobre la historia del análisis de la conducta en España y América Latina. A raíz de la salida de la BACB como una certificación internacional, revela algunas de las complejidades del desarrollo y las operaciones de los organismos de certificación y acreditación. El Dr. Virues Ortega y Miguel destacan las iniciativas modestas pero importantes que han observado de profesionales dedicados en Iberoamérica que quieren que la profesión del análisis de comportamiento prospere. También menciona algunos de los recursos y programas que se han puesto a disposición en español hasta el momento. Nos deja un valiosísimo consejo y una gran anécdota sobre la perseverancia.

International certification, accreditation, and regulation of behavior analysts. Initiatives for Spanish speakers with Dr. Javier Virues Ortega

In this session, Dr. Javier Virues Ortega joins Miguel to examine the state of the practice of behavior analysis in Spanish-speaking countries. Dr. Virues Ortega offers his observations on the history of behavior analysis in Spain and Latin America. In light of the departure of the BACB as an international certification, he unpacks some of the complexities of the development and operations of certification and accreditation bodies. Dr. Virues Ortega and Miguel note the modest, but important initiatives they have observed from dedicated professionals in Iberoamerica that want the behavior analysis profession to prosper. He also mentions some of the resources and programs that have been made available in Spanish thus far. He leaves us with invaluable advice and a great anecdote about perseverance.

I've been asked many times to highlight the work of Registered Behavioral Technicians, and in this installment of the Apollo Case Study Series, we do just that.   Dr. Jim Moore, Rachel Packiam (Director of Clinical Excellence), Christina Halverson (RBT Training Coordinator), and Emily Jackson (Lead RBT) joined me to discuss Apollo's unique organizational strategies for onboarding and training their RBTs.   As you'll learn in this episode, by the time an RBT works 1:1 with a child, they have had the training and confidence necessary to implement programming successfully. It is important to emphasize that this just doesn't happen by accident. There are many additional hours of supervising and mentoring that happen - hours that go far beyond the basic requirements. And as an outsider looking in, it's impressive to me just how much non-billable time they invest in ensuring their staff are as prepared as possible.   If you're a practice owner, or if you have some administrative role, you're going to want to grab a pen and paper to take some notes, because there are a lot of ideas for staff development and support in this podcast. We go over topics including rapport-building with trainees, soft-skills, staff morale, professionalism, teaching and upholding core organizational values, common struggles of trainees, and lots more!   If you're an RBT or BCBA, and this model of training and service delivery appeals to you, connect with Jim, or contact the folks at Apollo directly to learn more about potential job opportunities in their Atlanta-area clinics.  

Thanks so much for checking out installment number 14 in the Inside JABA Series on Behavioral Observations. Dr. John Borrero, JABA's Editor in Chief, and I are joined by Drs. Brett Gelino and Derek Reed to discuss a novel study that they and their colleagues conducted on the University of Kansas campus.   The study, which culminated in the paper, "Tobacco-free policy reduces combustible tobacco byproduct," shows how a group Behavior Analysts teamed up with university policy-makers to craft and evaluate a campus-wide tobacco-free initiative.     On the one hand, policy evaluation may sound like a dry topic. But if you step back and think about this for a minute, this is an example of how we can use Behavior Analytic concepts and principles to solve relevant problems at scale. How many times have you seen well-intended policies produce the dreaded "unintended consequences," because the people who made the policy did not have sufficient expertise in behavioral concepts and principles?    So to my mind, this piece of research is a very exciting and promising development. Long story short, this one is for all my fellow policy-wonks out there, and there are many cool elements to this study when it comes to data collection and analysis.     And here are some links that we discussed:

• Gelino et al., (2023). Tobacco-free policy reduces combustible tobacco byproduct.  
• Critchfield and Reed (2017). The fuzzy concept of Applied Behavior Analysis research. 
• Fawcett et al., (1988). Behavior Analysis and public policy. 
• Chapman and Risley (1974). Anti-litter procedures in an urban high-density area.
• You've subscribed to JABA, right?
• Huitema (2011). Simple interrupted time-series designs. 

This podcast will eventually be available for BACB CEUs, and to learn more about how to get continuing education credits for listening to this show, click here. 

This was a really fun episode. Dr. Tim Hackenberg joined me to discuss both what we know, and what we don't know about token economies. This conversation was inspired by my interview with Dr. Matt Brodhead in Session 205, where in listening to that show, Tim picked up on a misstatement of mine.

We get into the specifics of this in our interview, but in brief, I made an off-the-cuff comment about token economy research. Thankfully, Tim reached out  to me and offered to discuss this issue in more detail, and more importantly, correct my point of view on this matter. 

And I'm so glad he did just that. I really learned a lot in this episode. In it, we discuss the basics of what constitutes a token economy, the importance of generalized reinforcers, early research in this area, troubleshooting ineffective token economies, and perhaps most interestingly, directions for future research. 

Our discussion centered around Tim's 2018 JABA paper, Token Reinforcement: Translational Research and Application. As I mention in the interview, it's simply an impressive work of scholarship, and I highly recommend taking the time to read through it. 

So whether you're a newly-minted BCBA, or a seasoned pro, I think there's something here for everyone. 

Tim also shared that he, along with Dr. Francesca Delgi Espinosa, created two token economy courses. One is a brief overview course that's free, and there's an advanced course titled, "Token economies: Bridging the gap from research to practice." You can find out more about them here. 

Session 212 is brought to you by:

• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• Rose Griffin's FREE masterclass, The Power of Joint Attention. This 30 minute will show you how to use books in therapy so your students are running over to listen to you read. The course also covers how to use songs in therapy so that your students are eager to participate and play, and are ready to engage with you every session. Rose shares actionable tips that you can use in your next therapy session, and provides BONUS printiables that you can practice right away. To learn more, go to abaspeech.org, and click the Free Masterclass tab at the top!
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

It's that time of year again folks. If you're new to the show, every year, I get together with my friends from ABA Inside Track for a Year in Review show, and this year was no different. In this podcast, we went over a handful of happenings in the world of Applied Behavior Analysis. 

In this episode, we covered:

• The changes in leadership of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and the Association for Professional Behavior Analysis.
• What shows from each of our pods resonated with our respective audiences.
• Whether West Coast or New England IPAs are best (c'mon, is this even worth talking about?), including an impromptu short history of American Craft Beer. 
• Other questions from the audience.
• The passings of Tameka Meadows, Beth Sulzer-Azaroff, David Jarmolowicz, and Dale Bretthower.

With regard to the latter, I would like to say that I wish we had more time to elaborate on the contributions of these behavior analysts. We were pressed for time, not only for recording, but also in terms of show preparation, and I apologize if that segment of the show fails to live up to the standards you've come to expect from Behavioral Observations. 

We also fielded a great question from long time listener, Penny Holloway. Again, time did not allow us to do her question justice, but if you listen to the very end of the show, I do my best to address it, and I hope you get a chance to check that out. 

Huge thanks again for the ABA Inside Track crew, along with Alan Haberman for being such great conversational partners. I look forward to sharing more fun discussions with you in 2023 and beyond!!!

Here are the links to some of the things we discussed:

• Inside JABA 13 (John Borrero and Linda LeBlanc).
• Inside JABA 2 (Big Idea Papers).
• Session 205 (Matt Brodhead/Ethics and the use of Punishment).
• Session 201 (Holly Gover/Preference for Contingent Reinforcement).
• Session 180 (Merrill Winston/Why Your Behavior Plan Stinks).
• Inside JABA 10 (Rajaraman/Austin/Trauma Informed Behavior Analysis).
• Apollo Case Study Series.
• For Kids With Severe Behaviors, Hospital ERs Increasingly Becoming De Facto Homes.
• ABA Inside Track - Facilitated Communication.
• ABA Inside Track - A Call to Action re: Rekers and Lovaas.
• Session 122 (Justin Leaf/The Case Against Social Stories).

If you're a long-time listener, you've likely heard me talk about the Verbal Behavior Conference at various points over the last few years. If you're not familiar with the event, it's a two-day workshop that my friends at the Central Texas Autism Center have been putting on for years. 

What you're about to hear is the panel discussion from the 2022 event, which was the first post-pandemic live event for the conference, which took place, as always, in Austin, Texas. 

This panel discussion included Kevin Luczynski, Sarah Lechago, Francesca Delgi Espinosa, Tamara Kasper, Mark Sundberg, David Palmer, David Roth, and Pat McGreevy. 

This particular panel discussion started off with going over some granular details about Joint Attention and Joint Control, but as panels often do, this one got a little more freewheeling as it went on. For example, there were some great discussions regarding assessing bilingual clients, the role of eye contact, core vs. fringe vocabulary, rule-governed behavior, and much more!

I had the honor to be invited to moderate this amazing lineup. These duties included asking my own questions, taking questions from the in-person crowd (and huge thanks to Kelle Rich for sprinting around the mic!), and monitoring the on-line chat to take questions from those participating at home. As such, there are some occasional long pauses here and there throughout the discussion, so please bear with that, as I think it will be worth your time. 

If an event like this sounds fun to you, you're in luck because the 2023 Verbal Behavior Conference is just around the corner. It's taking place on March 30th and 31st, as always, in Austin, Texas. However, if you can't be there in person, the Verbal Behavior Conference will be presented online via Behavior Live, and for what it's worth, they do a fantastic job doing this. Whether virtually or in person, I'd love to see you there. 

This year's event includes talks from Pat McGreevy, Troy Fry, Lina Slim, Andresa De Souza, Sarah Frampton, Einar Ingvarsson, and Samantha Bergman. Once again, I will be moderating the panel at the end of the first day. All in all, it's a really fun time. 

If you're listening to this and it's still 2022, early-bird pricing is still in effect, so if this all sounds fun to you, grab your ticket today and save some cash in the process. 

This podcast is brought to you by:

• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• Session 204 guest Rose Griffin's FREE masterclass, The Power of Joint Attention. In this 30 minute training you will learn how to use books in therapy so your students are running over to listen to you read. The course then moves onto using songs in therapy so that your students are eager to participate and play, so that your students are ready to engage with you every session. Rose shares 3 actionable tips that you can use in your next therapy session, and shares BONUS printiables that you can use and share with parents.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

I'm really excited to chat with Dr. Paulie Gavoni again on the podcast. As long time listeners know, he's been on the show many times, and always brings a down-to-earth, practical point of view to what we do as Behavior Analysts.

In preparation for a talk at the recent Hoosier Association for Behavior Analysis event, Paulie did a deep dive on characteristics of bad leadership. It went over very well, and we thought it would make for an informative podcast episode. And Paulie presents his findings in his own unique and fun manner. I won't spoil it here, so be sure to hear him go through it all.

I should also note that Paulie and I talk all the time and our banter may have drifted into what I'll refer to here as 'middle school language.' Nothing terribly profane mind you, but I did want to give a heads up because I know many of you listen to the podcast while ferrying your kids around.

On a different note, Paulie and I, along with our colleague Anika Costa, are working on a really fun project for behavioral professionals in public school settings. We are hoping to have it out in the first quarter of 2023, so stay tuned for that.

Here are the links:

• Follow Paulie on LinkedIn; he's always posting thought provoking-articles.
• Check out Paulie's Podcast.
• Paulie's first appearance on BOP.
• Hoosier ABA.
• The Magic Relationship Ratio.
• Quick Responses for Reducing Misbehavior and Suspensions.
• Quick Wins! Accelerating School Transformation through Science, Engagement, and Leadership.
• Deliberate Coaching: A Toolbox for Accelerating Teacher Performance.
• Downloadable Performance Diagnostic Checklist.

This podcast is brought to you by:

• The Empowering Parents with ACT course, from Praxis Continuing Education and Training. Taught by Dr. Lisa Coyne and Dr. Evelyn Gould, this course presents a powerful acceptance and commitment training-based approach to supporting parents and caregivers with evidenced-based interventions. Designed for anyone who works with caregivers and their families, including children with mental health issues, autism, physical or developmental differences, chronic health issues, and other challenges, this self-paced training will help you work with caregivers to help their families grow and thrive. To watch a free video lesson from Empowering Parents with ACT, go to: praxiscet.com/parents.
• Session 204 guest Rose Griffin's FREE masterclass, The Power of Joint Attention. In this 30 minute training you will learn how to use books in therapy so your students are running over to listen to you read. The course then moves onto using songs in therapy so that your students are eager to participate and play, so that your students are ready to engage with you every session. Rose shares 3 actionable tips that you can use in your next therapy session, and shares BONUS printiables that you can use and share with parents.
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.

Editor's Note:

I generally publish three episodes a month, but I wanted to share this bonus, fourth episode with you as I know there will be a lot of people embarking on road trips in the coming days. As such, I’ve chosen one of my earliest interviews to re-release, and it’s my first interview with Dr. Pat Friman (originally released in August of 2016!?!?), who as many of you know, went on to appear in several more Behavioral Observations Episodes.

What I will say though is that if you’re listening to this re-release of Session 10 shortly after it is published, that there is a huge CEU sale going on right now. These huge discounts that are available now through November 27th. And if you’re catching this show after the sale is over, I usually have a few different discounts going so it’s worth checking out no matter when you hear this. 

And speaking of Pat Friman, three of his later appearances on the show are indeed eligible for CEUs, so if you enjoy his message and want to hear more of it, and earn CEUs along the way, then this sounds like a win-win.

In Session 10 of The Behavioral Observations Podcast, I speak with none other than Dr. Pat Friman. Pat is the Vice President of Behavioral Health Services at Boys Town as well as a Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska School of Medicine.

In today's show, Pat tells the story of how he literally wandered into a career in Behavior Analysis as well as the remarkable story of how Boys Town was started and how it serves children and families today. We then talk about his point of view on functional assessment practices, how he interviews parents, his take on what we refer to as, "kids these days," and Behavior Analysts as parents. With regard to the latter, I accidentally broach some of my own parenting struggles, so you might have some fun at my expense (your welcome).

If you enjoyed the show, please share it with friends and colleagues!

In the 6th installment of the Apollo Case Study Series, I'm joined by my regular conversation partner, Dr. Jim Moore, along with Christina Nylander. Christina is a BCBA who works at Apollo's Lawrenceville, GA clinic.

In this episode, Christina opens up quite a bit and describes how she encountered Applied Behavior Analysis, her early experiences as an RBT, the mentoring and supervision she's received as a BCBA in the early stages of her career, the value of learning about typical child development, the successes she's had as a clinician, learning the PEAK curriculum, and much more. 

Christina quite vulnerably discussed juggling the immense challenges of being a working mother in our field as well. From sleep deprivation to feeling like one is never fully caught up... she candidly describes how she navigated that process. 

Throughout the podcast, Jim related Christina's points to Apollo's unique clinical and supervision models. If you are interested in learning more about what they do, you can find more information here. 

Here are some of the resources we discussed: 

• Prior Apollo Case Study podcasts.
• Making the Science Part of Your Practice, Session 167.
• Rapport Building and Instructional Fading Prior to Discrete Trial Instruction: Moving From Child-Led Play to Intensive Teaching (Shillingsburg, et al., 2019).
• Last year's Verbal Behavior Conference. For those who are interested, the 2023 VBC (disclosure: VBC is a podcast sponsor).

In parting, I have two requests: 

First, if you have any questions about this episode or any other ACSS podcasts, I encourage you to hit Jim up on LinkedIn.... even if it is just to say hello. Second, please share this show with friends and colleagues. I think Christina's story is highly representative of many people in the field right now, and this podcast may be helpful to quite a few BCBAs out there. 

In Session 206, I spoke with Dr. Melissa Gonzalez, BCBA-D, about Pediatric Feeding Disorders, and what Applied Behavior Analysis can offer in this area. 

Melissa is the Clinical Therapy Director at the Siskin Children's Institute in Chattanooga, Tennessee, arriving there by way of Louisiana State University's Clinical Psychology program and the Kennedy Krieger Institute, amongst other waypoints. 

In this episode, we discussed how she got into working with individuals with Pediatric Feeding Disorders, what are the diagnostic criteria for this repertoire, what we know what works for PDFs, the difference between picky eaters and individuals with PFDs, the importance of taking a multidisciplinary approach to treatment, and much more!

This is a topic I'm not terribly familiar with, so I learned a ton. If you have the same reaction to this podcast, please share it with friends and colleagues!

Here are some of the resources we discussed:

• Feedingmatters.org 
• Pediatric Feeding Disorders Fact Sheet 
• S3E7: Ethical Considerations of Behavioral Feeding Interventions with Lisa Tereshko and Mary Jane Weiss
• Ethical Considerations of Behavioral Feeding Interventions (the paper... Tereshko, et al., 2021).
• Pediatric Feeding Disorder: A Nationwide Prevalence Study (Kovacic, et al., 2020).
• Pediatric Feeding Disorder: Consensus Definition and Conceptual Framework (Goday, et al., 2019).

This podcast is brought to you buy:

Abaspeech.org - the brainchild of Session 203 guest, Rose Griffin, is giving listeners a 30% discount on all of her courses which include, The Advanced Language Learner, Help Me Find My Voice, and Start Communicating Today. The offer is valid through December 1st, 2022. Go to abaspeech.org, check out the ‘courses’ link, and use the promo code, aba30, at checkout.

The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.

 HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.

After a long hiatus, Dr. Matt Brodhead returns to Behavioral Observations. In this episode, we discuss the use of punishment in the context of creating effective, ethical behavioral interventions. 

Of course, pursuant to the Behavior Analysis Certification Board's Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, punishment should only be considered, "only after demonstrating that desired results have not been obtained using less intrusive means, or when it is determined by an existing intervention team that the risk of harm to the client outweighs the risk associated with the behavior-change intervention" (Code Element 2.15, page 12). 

So Matt and I talked about what this means in practice, the role of coercive or aversive events in everyday life, weighing the pros and cons of treatment choices, and much more. 

As we state in the first few minutes of the show, we made the editorial decision not to discuss the ABAI Task Force report on Contingent Electric Skin Shock. It's not that we don't have opinions on this topic; rest assured, we certainly do. But we felt like it would be more helpful for practitioners to hear Matt's thoughts on things like response cost, time-out, and so forth, as these are procedures that are more likely to be used by "everyday" practitioners. 

We also meandered into a few other topics, like the necessity of teaching cooperation and compliance under certain stimulus conditions, the utility or role of descriptive assessments vs. analog functional analyses, as well as other digressions. 

On a stylistic note, because Matt and I have gotten to know each other pretty well, this is an even more conversational episode that usual (versus one that is a series of questions and answers), with the attendant joking around that we usually engage in.

If you're interested in Matt's work, go over to his website, betteraba.com, and pick up a copy of his excellent workbook, Behavioral Systems Analysis and Ethical Behavior. It's a bargain at $25 bucks... and remember, the holidays are right around the corner  Matt is also available for workshops and consultations, and you can reach him through the same website. 

And while I'm plugging Matt's stuff, the popular text book he co-authored with Drs. David Cox and Shawn Quigley, is out in its second edition (disclosure: Amazon Associates Link).

Other resources we discussed:

• Brodhead and Oteto (2022): Ethics and Ethical Problem Solving. 
• Thomas and Brodhead (2022): Bringing Challenge to Coercion and the Status Quo. 
• Matt's earlier appearances on the BOP. 
• Musical references: "I Love this Bar" and "Check Yo Self"
• Hanley et al. (2005). On the Effectiveness of and Preference for Punishment and Extinction-Based Components of Function-Based Interventions. 
• Hanley (2012): Functional assessment of problem behavior: dispelling myths, overcoming implementation obstacles, and developing new lore.
• Congenital Insensitivity to Pain.
• Perone (2003): The Negative Effects of Positive Reinforcement.
• The Importance of Red Teams, Peter Attia, MD.
• Michael (1975): Positive and Negative Reinforcement, a Distinction That Is No Longer Necessary; Or a Better Way to Talk about Bad Things.
• MacKenzie (2021): Caring by Lying. 
• Fisher et al. (1996): On the reinforcing effects of the content of verbal attention. 
• CBIT for Tic Disorders.
• Inside JABA #3 with Iser DeLeon on Accumulated vs. Distributed Reinforcement.

This podcast is brought to you with the generous support of:

• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• Abaspeech.org - the brainchild of Session 203 guest, Rose Griffin, is giving listeners a 30% discount on all of her courses which include, The Advanced Language Learner, Help Me Find My Voice, and Start Communicating Today. The offer is valid through December 1st, 2022. Go to abaspeech.org, check out the ‘courses’ link, and use the promo code, aba30, at checkout.
• Behavior Development Solutions For BCBA and BCaBA candidates, they report a 98.5% pass rate for first-time exam takers… plus a money-back guarantee! They also have solutions for RBT aspirants, plus CE courses, and live webinars (most of which are free for anyone to attend). To learn more, head over to bds.com/bop for a special offer for podcast listeners! 

On November 26th, 2019, the first Inside JABA Series podcast was published. This series was the brainchild of Dr. Linda LeBlanc, who at the time was the incoming Editor in Chief, and I have to say, doing these shows has been a highlight of producing this podcast. 

As I remind people often, I'm not involved in the production or publication of Behavior Analytic research, so you can imagine how much I've learned about this process in making what is now 13 Inside JABA Series podcast episodes. 

At the same time, it's been an incredible privilege to share these shows - including the papers we've hi-lighted therein - with you.

At the time of this recording, Linda recently transitioned out of the role of Editor in Chief. This position is now filled by Dr. John Borrero, from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. 

As such, for the 13th installment in this series, the three of us got together to discuss a range of nerdy JABA topics, including how editors-in-chief are selected, what repertoires make for successful editors-in-chief, how to manage the review process, and more. 

We also talked about what makes a paper a "JABA paper." I think you might find some of Linda and John's thoughts on this surprising. Linda also shared a story on how she solved a specific clinical problem she encountered early on in her career by getting inspiration from the pages of JABA. 

Finally, we closed the show by looking back on some of Linda's accomplishments and discussed where John sees JABA moving forward. I won't spoil it here, but let's just say he has some really cool ideas, so please be sure to tune in for that segment.

Even if you're not involved in conducting and publishing research, I think you'll find the discussion of how our flagship journal works very interesting. 

Lastly, as I have expressed numerous times, I am profoundly grateful for this opportunity to work with the JABA team, and I look forward to working with John on future installments of the Inside JABA Series.

References mentioned in this episode:

• Previous JABA Podcasts.
• Treatment of Self-Injury and Hand-Mouthing Following Inconclusive Functional Analyses. (Vollmer, Marcus, and LeBlanc, 1994).
• Editor's note: The Power of Big Ideas (LeBlanc, 2020).
• Dr. Claire St. Peters' research on treatment integrity. 
• Sign up for the Newsletter.
• Grab some Inside JABA (and other) CEUs!

In the world of Behavior Analysis, Rose Griffin is a unicorn of sorts, which is the unofficial mascot of those select few who hold both Speech Language Pathologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst credentials. 

For 20 years, Rose supported students in public school settings, but these days, she is concentrating on taking all the knowledge she's acquired and sharing it in the form of podcasts, online trainings and courses, and much more. 

In this interview, Rose and I discuss how she got into speech therapy and then behavior analysis, the challenges and benefits of collaboration, the subtleties of joint attention that many behavior analysts miss in our training programs, her awesome podcast, the Autism Outreach Podcast, and advice for newly-minted BCBAs. 

Rose and I also spend a few minutes nerding out over our mutual podcasting hero, Pat Flynn. 

Here are the links to the things we discussed:

• Rose's website.
• The Autism Outreach Podcast.
• Free Joint Attention Training for Parents and Staff.
• Rose's solo show on Joint Attention.
• Rose's interview with Jared Stewart.
• Language Development: An Introduction, by Robert Owens (note: Amazon Associates link).
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
• Univ. of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension child development newsletter.
• Rose's Advanced Language Learner Course.
• Pat Friman's Public Speaking Tutorial (also available as a CEU).
• Rose on Pat Flynn's podcast.
• ABA Speech on TikTok.
• The Verbal Behavior Conference/Central Texas Autism Center.

Rose was kind enough to provide listeners with a 30% discount on her courses through December 1st, 2022. These courses include: The Advanced Language Learner, Help Me Find My Voice, and Start Communicating Today. Just use the promo code, aba30, at checkout, and you'll be good to go.

Two footnotes to add:

First, I mistakenly noted in this interview that Rose was the first SLP/BCBA on the show. That honor goes to Dr. Barbara Esch, who appeared on a panel discussion for the Verbal Behavior Conference. 

Second, in the spirit of transparency, I want to note that ABASpeech.org will be sponsoring several upcoming podcast episodes. 

Speaking of sponsors, Session 203 is brought to you by the following:

• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

After a brief hiatus, the Apollo Case Study Series returns to Behavioral Observations for its fifth installment. 

In this episode, Dr. Jim Moore shares his approach to modifying existing clinical programs that aren't making progress. More specifically, we talk about the temptation to go out and purchase the 'new shiny thing' (as in curriculum, assessment protocol, data collection systems, etc...), and what things to consider before deciding whether making such changes is an appropriate course of action. 

If you're a clinical director or supervisor, I'd say this is a must-listen episode. At one point, our internet connection phases out. Thankfully it passes quickly and the remaining conversation is pretty stable. 

If you're digging these conversations with Jim, hit him up on LinkedIn, or email him  (jim.moore at apollobehavior dot com). Also, many of you have reached out to see if Apollo is a good fit as an employer, and if you're wondering the same thing, you can talk to Jim about that too, or check out their openings in the Atlanta Metro area. 

Here are the links to what we discussed:

• Previous ACSS shows.
• Session 167 with Jim, "Making Science Part of Your Practice."
• Fisher et al. (2014). Increasing the saliency of behavior-consequence relations for children with autism who exhibit persistent errors. 
• Fisher, Kodak, and Moore (2007). Embedding an identity-matching task within a prompting hierarchy to facilitate acquisition of conditional discriminations in children with autism.
• Cariveau et al. (2019). A Review of Error Correction Procedures during Instruction for Children with Developmental Disabilities.
• Hayes et al. (1999). The Scientist Practitioner: Research and Accountability in the Age of Managed Care (2nd Edition) 2nd Edition (note: Amazon Associates link). 
• EFL Methods of Alternative Speaking (Pat, you're welcome ;-).

I hope you enjoy this ad and intro-free episode, brought to you courtesy of Apollo Behavior! If you enjoy it, please share it with friends and colleagues!

Would you rather earn preferred items or get them for free? More technically stated, would you prefer response-contingent reinforcers over response-independent ones (and to further split hairs, if the preferred items are provided response-independently, are they really reinforcers?)?

It turns out that there has been some basic and applied research in this area, and some studies demonstrated participants' general preference for earning reinforcers as opposed to simply getting them for "free."

My guest for Session 201, Dr. Holly Gover, published a review and meta-analysis on this topic in a recent issue of The Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, called, "On the generality of preference for contingent reinforcement." 

In this episode, we discuss how she became interested in this topic, what motivated her to review this literature, what she learned from this process, and perhaps of most interest to you, what implications these findings have for practice. 

Towards the end of the conversation, we changed gears a bit and discussed Holly's work in the area of feeding challenges. She quickly reviewed what is currently known about the assessment and treatment of these problems, as well as the unique approach to resolving feeding issues that she has outlined. 

Holly will be presenting on this topic at the upcoming Stone Soup Conference on October 21st (disclosure: the Lake Ridge Community Support Services, host of the conference, is a BOP sponsor, and they are providing listeners with discounted registration when using the promo code, PODCAST).  

Lastly, I'd be remiss if I didn't ask - no, I mean beg you to to listen to Holly's advice for newly-minted BCBAs. I'm not kidding you that this has to be one of the best pieces of advice offered on this podcast. Please do yourself a favor and check it out and let me know if you agree. 

OK, here are some links:

• Holly's Vanderbilt University page.
• Holly's Google Scholar page.
• TRIAD - Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders.
• Session 186: Enhanced Choice Model, Adithyan Rajaraman.
• Luczynski and Hanley (2013). Do Children Prefer Contingencies? An evaluation of the efficacy and preference for contingent versus non-contingent social reinforcement during play. 
• Luczynski and Hanley (2010). Examining the Generality of Children's Preference for Contingent Reinforcement via Extension to Different Reinforcers, Responses, and Schedules.
• QCABA - Quebec Association for Behaviour Analysis.
• Koffer and Coulson (1971). Feline indolence: Cats prefer free to response-produced food.
• Osborne (1977). The free food (contrafreeloading) phenomenon: A review and analysis.
• Honig & Staddon: Handbook of Operant Behavior (disclosure: Amazon Associates link).

In addition to the Stone Soup Conference, if you're interested in learning more about addressing feeding challenges, my colleague, Jen Farris, is putting together a 10-week mentoring cohort on this topic called Happy, Relaxed, and Eating. This is for a 10-week cohort consisting of 6, 2-hour LIVE virtual meetings and includes 12 CEs. There is also an option for no CEs at a discounted rate. And she is giving podcast listeners a 10% discount. So use the code BOP at checkout, or just tell Jen you heard about it on the podcast.

If you're looking for continuing education on a wide variety of topics, don't forget that many of your favorite Behavioral Observations shows are available for approved continuing education.

I’ve always maintained that this is a show that is all about the listeners and the guests, and so it is with that in mind that I’m thrilled to share the following interview segments that were nominated by so many of you. We did have many entries, so I couldn’t fit all of them in, but I genuinely appreciate all of you who took the time to write in and share your thoughts.

While I’m expressing gratitude here, I’d be remiss to not mention the support that I’ve received from podcast sponsors, especially the OG’s like Barb Voss at HRIC Recruiting and Behavior University. I’m also very thankful to all of you who have supported the show through Continuing Education sales, and Patreon memberships.

Together, we’ve created this medium that has been downloaded almost 3.6 million times in over 100 countries. As I’ve told many friends and colleagues, back when I was conceptualizing this show, I always knew there would be an audience for this type of content, but I had no idea that it would develop into what it is these days.

All of this to say that I’m extraordinarily thankful for all of you who have tuned in over the years. Thanks so much for letting Behavioral Observations into your commutes, your workouts, your laundry folding, your dog walking… or when or wherever else you take in the show. It’s been a privilege to be able to share these conversations with you, and I look forward to the next 200 episodes!

Here's what we have in store for you:

• Session 87: Merrill Winston
• Session 31: Pat McGreevy
• Session 181: Francesca Delgi Espinosa
• Session 51: Ashley Rose
• Session  193: Claire St. Peter
• Inside JABA 7: Pat Friman
• Session 41: Russ Harris
• Session 160: Greg Hanley
• Session 63/91: Chuck Merbitz

Lastly, huge thanks to Miguel Avila, Celia Heyman, Natalie Todd, Rob Harvey, Sarah DiGioia, Alesia Patterson, Alexa, as well as my colleague, Jen Farris (who also nominated some of the same segments from Session 63, which I forgot to mention in the broadcast). 

If your social media consumption is anything like mine, you've likely seen some feel-good stories in the media as of late that report on non-speaking students - generally students with Autism - who are graduating from college, giving valedictorian speeches, and so forth. 

Unfortunately, what's often underpinning many of these cases is a form of Facilitated Communication, or FC for short. What is FC? Glad you asked!

In today's episode, Dr. Jason Travers, Associate Professor at Temple University, joins me today to answer this very question (follow him on Twitter here). 

We covered the history of Facilitated Communication, the early scientific investigations that discredited this practice, FC's variants like the Rapid Prompting Method and Spelling to Communicate, where the practice of FC stands today, the harms that Facilitated Communication causes both users and caregivers, and how Behavior Analysts should both view and talk about these practices. 

Jason also provides the audience with a treasure trove of additional resources:

• Jason's Research Gate and Google Scholar pages.
• Facilitatedcommunication.org 
• ASHA Policy Statements on Facilitated Communication and Rapid Prompting Method.
• Facilitated Communication—what harm it can do: Confessions of a former facilitator (Boynton, 2012).
• An Examination of the Role of the Facilitator in “Facilitated Communication” (Shane and Kearns, 1994).
• Ideomotor Effect explained.
• The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (note: Amazon Associated link).
• Skeptic Magazine (Amazon Associate Link); The Skeptical Inquirer. 
• The Reading Wars.
• Facilitated Communication: The Clinical and Social Phenomenon (Shane 1994; Amazon Associate Link).

This podcast is brought to you by the following sponsors:

• Supervision Sidekick. Supervision Sidekick is not only a comprehensive curriculum that helps you mentor the next generation of Behavior Analysts, it's also a community of like-minded supervisors. Check out their easy to use digital platform and comprehensive instructional materials at www.sidekicklearning.net. Also, if you sign up for a monthly or yearly program, use coupon code behavioralobservations and save 10% at checkout.
• Behavior Development Solutions (aka “BDS”) is back to sponsor Behavioral Observations! I know BDS, because their modules were part of my own exam prep strategy when I took the BCBA exam back in 2002. Their modules are so thorough, you’ll feel confident at the Board Exam and, you’ll be well prepared for your career. For BCBA and BCaBA candidates, they report a 98.5% pass rate for first-time exam takers… plus a money-back guarantee! They also have solutions for RBT aspirants, plus CE courses, and live webinars (most of which are free for anyone to attend). To learn more, head over to bds.com/bop for a special offer for podcast listeners! 
• The 2022 Stone Soup Conference! Great speakers, great cause, all for a great price. October 22nd (or later if you're busy that day). Come hear from Kirk Kirby, Drs. Camille Kolu, Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi, Merrill Winston, Holly Gover, Tom Higbee, and Florence DiGennaro-Reed. Be sure to save at registration by using the promo code, PODCAST.
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.

If you're anywhere in the upper part of the northern hemisphere, you already know that fall is in the air. And with that comes the annual return of students to their community schools. 

As such, I thought it would be fun to bring on fellow New Hampshire behavior analyst, Elissa Johnson, to talk about the work she's doing in school settings. 

Elissa is the Director of Behavioral Health for Constellations Behavioral Services, which was founded right here in the Granite State. As an aside, long time listeners might remember my interview with Kim and Tim Heald, the founders of Constellations way back in Session 35. 

So in the episode, Elissa and I discuss how she got into the field, some common mentors we worked with, and how Constellations has transitioned into an ESOP or employee-owned company (a topic perhaps worthy of its own podcast for sure). 

However, we spent the bulk of our time discussing how to do good behavior analytic work in school settings, including implementing multi-tiered systems of support, such as PBIS. If you're new to these terms, don't worry, because we do go through and define all the acronyms that are so common in this type of work. 

As always, we end with some great advice for the newly-minted. And Elissa had some special words for those of you who are still in your coursework or otherwise working on becoming a newly-minted BCBA, so you'll want to stick around for that. 

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

Stuff we mentioned in the show:

• Session 35 with the CBS founders. 
• The Behavioral Health Improvement Institute.
• Session 67, Deliberate Coaching with Paulie Gavoni.
• Session 171: How to Play the Good Behavior Game with Jeanne Donaldson.
• What is an ESOP (employee owned company)?
• How to use Choral Responding in classroom settings.
• New Hampshire Ed MTSS-B Technical Assistance Center.
• Session 173: Quick Responses for Problem Behaviors in School Settings.
• SAEBRS Social-Emotional Universal Screening Tool.
• Session 78: PBIS, Mental Health, and Supporting Students with Trauma Histories, with Barry McCurdy.

This session of Behavioral Observations is brought to you by the following:

• Behavior Development Solutions (aka “BDS”) is back to sponsor Behavioral Observations! I know BDS, because their modules were part of my own exam prep strategy when I took the BCBA exam back in 2002. Their modules are so thorough, you’ll feel confident at the Board Exam and, you’ll be well prepared for your career. For BCBA and BCaBA candidates, they report a 98.5% pass rate for first-time exam takers… plus a money-back guarantee! They also have solutions for RBT aspirants, plus CE courses, and live webinars (most of which are free for anyone to attend). To learn more, head over to bds.com/bop for a special offer for podcast listeners! 
• The 2022 Stone Soup Conference! Great speakers, great cause, all for a great price. October 22nd (or later if you're busy that day). Come hear from Kirk Kirby, Drs. Camille Kolu, Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi, Merrill Winston, Holly Gover, Tom Higbee, and Florence DiGennaro-Reed. Be sure to save at registration by using the promo code, PODCAST.
• Want to get a data-based picture of your physical activity, sleep habits, and more? I've been wearing the Whoop Strap for over two years now, and I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed getting quantitative information on all aspects of my health, including sleep analytics, heart rate, heart rate variability, calorie burn, exercise intensity, and Whoop's proprietary "strain" score. I could extol this neat device's virtues indefinitely to you, but instead, you can go check it out for yourself. To get your first month free, head over to behavioralobservations.com/whoop!

The full title of Merrill's talk is, "Whitesplaining Racism: Part Deux! Logic, Disproportionality, Avatars, Hate Crimes, and Uncomfortable Feelings."

As you'll learn in this episode, Bruce was in the audience for most of Merrill's talk, and was so enthused with it, he wanted him to review its main points here on Behavioral Observations. So we did just that, and Bruce was kind enough to join us as a discussant. 

But in the first segment of the show, we get to know a little about Bruce and his background. It turns out that he's had quite a bit of success reducing the overall rates of restraint in the school he worked in, so we spend a some time discussing how he was able to create that change. Bruce also closed out the show with some great advice for BCBAs, so you'll definitely want to stick around for that.

This episode is quite long, even by Behavioral Observations' standards, so I'm going to keep these opening comments short. For your convenience, I tracked down most of the links and references we discussed below:

• Black Applied Behavior Analysts. 2023 Conference Info. Donate to BABA.
• Winston Behavioral Solutions.
• Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network.
• The movie, Highlander (not to be confused with Outlander).
• All-things Merrill on BOP.
• Adam Ruins Everything.
• Daryl Davis' Ted Talk.

Session 197 is brought to you by the following:

• Supervision Sidekick. Supervision Sidekick is not only a comprehensive curriculum that helps you mentor the next generation of Behavior Analysts, it's also a community of like-minded supervisors. Check out their easy to use digital platform and comprehensive instructional materials at www.sidekicklearning.net. Also, if you sign up for a monthly or yearly program, use coupon code behavioralobservations and save 10% at checkout.
• Behavior Development Solutions (aka “BDS”) is back to sponsor Behavioral Observations! I know BDS, because their modules were part of my own exam prep strategy when I took the BCBA exam back in 2002. Their modules are so thorough, you’ll feel confident at the Board Exam and, you’ll be well prepared for your career. For BCBA and BCaBA candidates, they report a 98.5% pass rate for first-time exam takers… plus a money-back guarantee! They also have solutions for RBT aspirants, plus CE courses, and live webinars (most of which are free for anyone to attend). To learn more, head over to bds.com/bop for a special offer for podcast listeners! 
• The 2022 Stone Soup Conference! Great speakers, great cause, all for a great price. October 22nd (or later if you're busy that day). Come hear from Kirk Kirby, Drs. Camille Kolu, Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi, Merrill Winston, Holly Gover, Tom Higbee, and Florence DiGennaro-Reed. Be sure to save at registration by using the promo code, PODCAST.

If you care about the future of ABA, it's important to understand not only its strengths, but also the myriad challenges the field faces. And to that end, I can't think of a more difficult challenge the field of Applied Behavior Analysis has right now than figuring out how to adequately measure outcome quality, and how this relates to funding ABA services. 

My guest for Session 196 is Amanda Ralston, and she's been thinking a lot about these issues for quite some time, and she was kind enough to spend some an hour with me to share her thoughts. 

As you'll learn in this episode, Mandy has been in the ABA field for over 20 years, and has experience founding and operating a large, statewide ABA provider, consulting with large multi-state ABA organizations, and much more. Mandy most recently founded NonBinary Solutions, which she talks about briefly.

We discuss the current model of insurance reimbursement, and contrast that with what's referred to as Value-Based Pay or Value-Based Care. These payment models differ considerably from the current Fee-For-Service arrangements that most listeners are likely familiar with. 

While Behavioral Observations is not a health-care policy podcast, I was encouraged to explore this topic by some friends and confidants, largely because this treatment model may be coming our way at some point. Given that Behavior Analysis is not a mature field as of 2022 - especially when it comes to funding our services - I thought it would be a good idea to explore the topic. 

If you experience this conversation the same way I did, I think you'll come to the realization that there are more questions than answers when it comes to Value-Based Care (many of which are articulated in this short video), so I may return to this topic from time to time as things develop. 

Here are some links to resources we discussed:

• NonBinary Solutions website, Instagram.
• Mandy's personal website, with links to related topics of interest.
• Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP).
• Behavioral Health Center of Excellence, plus Session 163 with Sara Litvak and Dr. Ellie Kazemi (discussion of standards, etc... in ABA Practice).
• The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM).
• A series of Forbes articles on VBC.

Session 196 is brought to you by the following:

• The 2022 Stone Soup Conference! Great speakers, great cause, all for a great price. October 22nd (or later if you're busy that day). Come hear from Kirk Kirby, Drs. Camille Kolu, Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi, Merrill Winston, Holly Gover, Tom Higbee, and Florence DiGennaro-Reed.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.

In the fourth installment of the Apollo Case Study Series, Dr. Jim Moore and I are joined by his fellow Apollo clinician, Jennifer Freedman. Jen is a newer BCBA, and we spent most of this episode talking about the advanced training and professional development she's received while working in Apollo's unique clinical model. 

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | YouTube

In particular, here are just a few of the topics we covered in this wide-ranging conversation:

• How Jennifer learned advanced skills in the staff development practices at Apollo
• A review of the case of Jennifer's biggest success at Apollo
• The importance and utility of using universal behavior management protocols
• How Jennifer learned to use Relational Frame Theory concepts in her practice
• How to help learners who hit seemingly have hit developmental plateaus
• The role that various assessment and curricula have at Apollo (PEAK, EFL, VB-MAPP, etc...)
• How to communicate successful outcomes to funding sources
• How Jennifer learned to incorporate ACTraining in clinical practice
• Ways in which the clinical approach at Apollo is responsive to many current critiques of ABA
• Jim's critique of current social skills training approaches, and how he looks at it differentlyA Unique Approach for Staff Development

As always, huge thanks to Kim Dean, Jim Moore, and everyone else at Apollo Behavior for bringing this case study series to you commercial free. Please take a minute to check Apollo out, either at their website, or on social media. 

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

• Apollo Behavior (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn)
• PEAK Materials (FYI: no sponsored relationship... Mark, you're welcome  
• Emergent Learning Academy (PEAK and AIM Training Resources)
• A handful of ACT CEUs here (see Sessions 6, 14, 50, and 92)
• Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life (note: Amazon affiliate link)

According to the Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts, Code Element 1.07 states: 

"Behavior analysts actively engage in professional development activities to acquire knowledge and skills related to cultural responsiveness and diversity," and that "they evaluate their own biases and ability to address the needs of individuals with diverse needs/ backgrounds..." 

In order to provide some direction in this effort, the guests for the 12th installment of the Inside JABA Series, Drs. Corina Jiminez-Gomez and Lauren Beaulieu have written a pair of well-researched and thoughtful papers that have been published in the spring and summer issues of JABA. These papers are:

• Cultural responsiveness in applied behavior analysis: Self-assessment (Beaulieu and Jimenez-Gomez, 2022), and,
• Cultural responsiveness in applied behavior analysis: Research and practice (Jimenez-Gomez and Beaulieu, 2022).

And they were kind enough to join Dr. Jeff Tiger and me to discuss their scholarship in this area. In particular, we talked about how Lauren and Corina became interested in this topic, some basic terms - as well as misconceptions - in this area, the importance of self-assessment, what it's like to venture into unfamiliar literatures, the role of culturally responsive functional assessment practices, "western science" as a culture, mistakes we sometimes make as practitioners, social validity, and much more. 

This episode will be available for 1.5 Credits (Ethics) of BACB Continuing Education, and you can find out how to access this it here. Also, if you want to support the mission of JABA, please consider subscribing. As we mention in the episode, each JABA issue is about the size of a small textbook, and to my way of thinking, it represents an incredible value. If you have limited space on your bookshelf, you can purchase an online-access subscription too. 

As noted above, these papers are extremely well-researched, and Lauren and Corina mentioned tons of work in the literature during the podcast. I've done my best to capture as many of those references as possible below. But for more information, I recommend simply going to the reference sections of the papers themselves, as they represent a treasure-trove of additional reading for those who are interested.

• Editor's Note: The Power of Big Ideas (LeBlanc, 2020)
• Multicultural alliance of behavior analysis standards for cultural competence in behavior analysis (Fong and Tanaka, 2013)
• Cultural Humility in the Practice of Applied Behavior Analysis (Wright, 2019)
• A Race Is a Nice Thing to Have: A Guide to Being a White Person or Understanding the White Persons in Your Life 3rd ed. Edition (Helms, 2019)
• Cultural Humility vs Cultural Competence (Tervalon and Murray-Garcia, 1998)
• Racial-cultural competence: Awareness, knowledge, and skills (Sue & Torino, 2005)
• Using Behavior Analysis to Examine the  Outcomes of Unproven Therapies: An Evaluation of Hyperbaric Oxygen  Therapy for Children with Autism (Lerman et al., 2008)
• An experimental analysis of gender-biased verbal behavior and self-editing using an online chat analog (Oda et al., 2022)
• Reporting Demographic Variables in JOBM and JAP: A Comparison and Call to Action (Natasi, Crowe, and Gravina, 2022)
• On the Standardization of the Functional Analysis (Jessel et al., 2020)
• Humble Behaviorism Redux (Kirby et al., 2022)
• Dr. Melanie Domenech Rodriguez Google Scholar Page 
• Assessment of social validity trends in the journal of applied behavior analysis (Ferguson et al., 2019)

If you've been tuning into one of the many Inside JABA Series I've done over the last few years, you're undoubtedly familiar with today's guest, Dr. Claire St. Peter. Claire is a Professor as well as the Director of Graduate Training at West Virginia University. 

According to her university bio, Claire's "primary research interest is the assessment and intervention of challenging behavior. She is particularly interested in the development of effective interventions for challenging behavior displayed in school contexts (including the effects of degraded integrity on intervention efficacy) and with the dissemination of behavioral approaches to caregivers (teachers, parents, etc.)."

And we do get to this very important topic of supporting typically developing individuals with behavior problems in school settings... but we get there in a roundabout way. 

Before getting there, we talk about how she got into behavior analysis, and we spent a little more time on this than usual, because as it happens, Claire was doing her graduate training at The University of Florida at a time when many other prominent researchers and practitioners in Behavior Analysis were going through that program. I won't spoil the story here, but it's worth checking out because in my opinion it provides an interesting window into the development of an incredibly productive cohort of people. 

We then transition into a primer of sorts in what's known as the "Constructional Approach" to behavioral treatment, intervention, and so forth. This approach was first described by Dr. Israel Goldiamond, and I highly recommend reading his seminal paper on this topic that was published in 1974. This topic has been getting a lot of attention in our field as of late, and I was thrilled to have Claire walk us through the basics of this perspective. 

Towards the end of the podcast, Claire shares a fascinating case study in which she and her colleagues used this constructional approach to develop a novel behavioral intervention for a child who was exhibiting behavior problems in a school setting. 

Again, if you're familiar with Claire's contributions to the Inside JABA Series, you know she loves a good soapbox, and in keeping with that, she offers some great advice for the newly minted at the close of the show. 

Lastly, I don't want to forget to mention that Claire is the Editor in Chief of the journal, Education and Treatment of Children, which I think we mention briefly. There's a lot of good work being published there, so check it out if you get a chance. Also, Claire has made significant contributions in the area of treatment integrity (aka procedural fidelity), and I look forward to having her back on the show for a deep dive into that important topic. 

Here are links to some of the resources we mentioned:

• Claire's lab website 
• Claire's Google Scholar Page 
• Goldiamond (1974): Toward a constructional approach to social problems: ethical and constitutional issues raised by applied behavior analysis 
• More Goldiamond: A Programming Contingency Analysis of Mental Health 
• Layng (2009). The Search for an Effective Clinical Behavior Analysis: The Nonlinear Thinking of Israel Goldiamond 
• Romano, St. Peter, Milyko, Mesches, and Foreman (2021). Incorporating Curricular Revision to Treat Escape-Maintained Behavior for Children with ADHD 
• Mammacare 
• Word of the Podcast 
• Inside JABA 7: There's No Such Thing as a Bad Boy, with Pat Friman
• Friman (2021). There is no such thing as a bad boy: The Circumstances View of problem behavior 
• Johnston, Pennypacker, and Green: Strategies and Tactics for Behavioral Research and Practice (note: Amazon Associates link). 

Session 193 is brought to you by the following:

• Supervision Sidekick. Supervision Sidekick is not only a comprehensive curriculum that helps you mentor the next generation of Behavior Analysts, it's also a community of like-minded supervisors. Check out their easy to use digital platform and comprehensive instructional materials at www.sidekicklearning.net. Also, if you sign up for a monthly or yearly program, use coupon code behavioralobservations and save 10% at checkout.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.

Dr. Jim Moore returns in the third installment of the increasingly popular Apollo Case Study Series (which by the way, is also Session 192). 

In this episode, we cover quite a lot of ground, such as:

• Jim and his team's practical approach for language intervention
• How Jim encountered Relational Frame Theory by accident
• How rigid language repertoires can contribute to problem behavior
• How one does not need to be dogmatic as it relates to specific camps (i.e., Verbal Behavior vs. RFT; Isolated FA's vs. Synthesized ones, etc...)
• The "heaviness" of Megadeath and Metallica 
• Deriving or Bi-Directional Naming?
• Multiple Exemplar Training
• Is PEAK synonymous with RFT?
• When Jim uses the VB-MAPP and/or the Essential for Living 
• The Verbal Behavior Conference 
• Apollo CSS 2, CSS 1 

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

And by the way, this episode is presented to you ad-free by Apollo Behavior. To learn more about them, check out their website, Facebook page, and LinkedIn profile. 

Why do people lie? It's an age-old question that's been asked for perhaps as long as our species has had verbal capabilities. 

In this episode, Dr. Corey Stocco from The University of The Pacific joins me to discuss the existing scholarship in this area, as more specifically, the work that he and his colleagues have done in this area. Specifically, we walk through a recent paper that was published in Behavioral Interventions, Further Evaluation of Contingencies on Lying About Homework Completion. 

Regarding this paper, we got way into the weeds in terms of how he recruited participants, the data that they had to leave out for space considerations, what they learned from this work, and where they want to go next in looking into the lying/truth-telling dynamic. 

We even talked about how Kevin Luczynski's kid earned reinforcement for peeing on his floor. 

As always, Corey closes out the show with some great advice for the newly minted!

Lastly, on a housekeeping note, if I sounded more nasally than usual, your ears are working correctly. I was battling a cold during the interview, and I hope it wasn't too distracting for the purposes of this interview. 

• Bon Iver 
• Matt Norman's appearance in Session 65 of the BOP
• Prisoners of Silence film
• Rollins College speech (see the likely incomplete Editor's note at the bottom of the article)
• UW Eau Claire Behavior Analysis Undergraduate Program 
• Pat Friman's Under the Dome article
• A Behavior Analytic View of Human Development by Hank Schlinger (note: Amazon associates link)
• Stocco et al. (2021). Further evaluation of contingencies on lying about homework completion. 
• Resources for Corey's lab (website, IG)
• Say-Do Correspondence review paper 
• Parsons (1989). Lying 
• Victoria Talwar's Google Scholar page 
• Nurtureshock: New thinking about children (Amazon associates link)
• Bergstrom et al. (2016). Teaching children with Autism to tell socially appropriate lies 

This episode of Behavioral Observations is brought to you by:

• Behavior Development Solutions (aka “BDS”) is back to sponsor Behavioral Observations! I know BDS, because their modules were part of my own exam prep strategy when I took the BCBA exam back in 2002. Their modules are so thorough, you’ll feel confident at the Board Exam and, you’ll be well prepared for your career. For BCBA and BCaBA candidates, they report a 98.5% pass rate for first-time exam takers… plus a money-back guarantee! They also have solutions for RBT aspirants, plus CE courses, and live webinars (most of which are free for anyone to attend). To learn more, head over to bds.com/bop for a special offer for podcast listeners! 
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• Do you need CEUs? Do you want to learn while you're on the go? Check out the podcasts that are available for BACB Continuing Education. Learn about Functional Assessment, Ethics, Supervision, and lots more from your favorite Behavioral Observations guests!

Have you ever felt the thrill of rolling a 20-sided die? If you're in the general demographic of a Behavioral Observations listener, I'd guess probably not. However, it may not surprise you to learn that being the cosmically uncoordinated and socially challenged kid of the 80s, I certainly have. 

Which is why I jumped at the chance to speak with Session 190 guest, Rob Harvey, about how he uses role-playing games, like Dungeons and Dragons (D&D for short), to teach social skills to his clients. 

If you're not familiar with D&D, don't worry. We go over what that is in this podcast. Rob also goes on to explain that by playing these games, clients get to practice skills like speech prosody, turn taking, teamwork, conflict resolution, perspective taking, and so much more. So even if you are not interested in role-playing games in principle, you might want to check this show out nonetheless because of the benefits it may have for the people you work with. 

I would also offer that this type of activity seems like an unexplored area for research. Rob shared some of the anecdotal outcomes he's seen in this podcast, and it just made me think of how great it would be to see if these findings could be scientifically investigated. As far as numbers go, Rob has some data that suggest over 90% of his clients go on to play these games with peers outside of therapeutic hours, so it definitely seems like something is there. 

Here links to things we discussed:

• Rob's grad program and BOP Sponsor (and no, we didn't plan this), University of Cincinnati Online.
• Rob's band, Vose.
• D & D stuff on Amazon (disclosure: affiliate link).
• Famous people who play D & D.
• Dungeons & Dragons Reddit. 
• Dungeons & Dragons Wikipedia page.
• D & D Discord. 
• What is an Alignment?
• Here's a quiz to find out your alignment.
• Game To Grow organization.
• Geek Therapeutics organization.
• Link to the Stranger Things D&D scene from the picture above.

Session 190 is brought to you with support from:

• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• Lastly, need CEUs on the go? Check out the podcasts that are available for BACB Continuing Education.

Oh boy, as the kids these days say, this show is a straight up banger. Dr. Jim Moore joins me again in our second installment in the Apollo Case Study Series, where we go deep into all things functional assessment. 

Right out of the gate, I want to note that we do spend time reviewing both functional analysis and treatment data of clients that Jim has worked with in the past. We do the best we can to narrate the these data, but you're going to want to go to the show notes of the episode to see what we're talking about in order to get the most out of the discussion. 

OK, in this episode, we discuss the following:

• How much evidence does one need in order to move forward with a behavioral intervention.
• How to assess the confidence in your functional assessment interview, and get the most out of these interactions with caregivers.
• How to train staff to be great interviewers.
• Treatment decisions based on functional assessment outcomes.
• When to use Isolated vs. Synthesized contingencies.
• How the staff at Apollo are mentored and supported in these functional assessment and treatment strategies.

This list could actually go on and on (including a sidebar about values-based care - a topic I'd like to return to at some point), so I encourage you to listen to the episode all the way through. For example, in the last moments of the show, we discussed how to navigate some of the quasi-tribal verbal behavior that comes with the functional analysis territory. You definitely don't want to miss that. 

Here are some links to resources we discussed in this episode:

• The inaugural Apollo Case Study Series show where Jim discusses scientific problem-solving.
• Mueller, Sterling, and Moore (2005). Towards Developing a Classroom-Based Functional Analysis Condition to Assess Escape-to-Attention as a Variable Maintaining Problem Behavior.
• A podcast I did with longtime friend, Dr. Jim Murphy, on Motivational Interviewing. 
• Forehand and Long book, as well as a podcast I did on those parenting principles with Brandon Franklin.
• Apollo Behavior's website, as well as their Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
• House, MD.

This was a fun one for sure. In Session 188, I chatted with Drs. Jill Dardig and Bill Heward about a whole host of topics, including their new book, Let's Make a Contract: A positive way to change your child's behavior. 

In this conversation, we covered:

• How Jill and Bill discovered Behavior Analysis, especially at a time when it wasn't as ubiquitous as it is now.
• How they of course met each other (yes, there is a love story here).
• Why they wrote an earlier iteration of this book titled, Sign Here: A contracting book for children and their parents.
• The success Jill and Bill had in getting their works translated in various languages, and distributed to countries across the globe.
• The power of storytelling.
• The basics of behavioral contracting. 
• Special circumstances that make contracting challenging, and what to do about them.
• What to make of the "open economy" of today's screen-based reinforcers.
• Directions for future research in this area.
• Advice for the newly minted.
• Their hopes for the future of ABA. 

This bullet list of course could go on and on. There are so many storylines in this conversation, from the history of ABA, to dissemination across cultures and languages, to the power of storytelling, to parenting, and so much more. I think there is something in this episode for everyone (note: we get to the actual mechanics of behavioral contracting about 1/2 to 2/3 the way into the conversation). Bill and Jill more generally offer some great parenting strategies in their description of the contracting process.

We discussed some of the following resources in this episode:

• Their book of course, Let's Make a Contract.
• Michael (1993). Concepts and Principles of Behavior Analysis.
• Highlights for Children magazine.
• Risley (2005). Montrose Wolf memoriam in JABA.
• Today's ABA with Greg Hanley (Session 160; shameless plug: CEU for this podcast here).
• Gover et al (2021). On the generality of preference for contingent reinforcement. 
• Their soon-to-be developed companion website for the book. 
• Strain and Joseph (2004). A not so good job with "good job," A response to Cohn (2001).

Session 188 is brought to you with support from:

• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.

Also:

• Check out the BOP Patreon Tiers if you want an ad-free feed that includes occasional bonus content!
• Need CEUs on the go? Check out the podcasts that are available for BACB Continuing Education.

In Session 187, Steve Ward joins me to discuss how to help individuals - in particular, individuals with severely limited communicated repertoires - who demonstrate challenging repertoires that are colloquially referred to as Anxiety. 

Given that tortured sentence, you can probably already imagine that in this episode, we discuss how Steve conceptualizes what exactly Anxiety is, especially in populations who cannot verbally report on their private verbal behavior. More importantly, we discuss how he developed what he calls the "calm counts" procedure, and review a case study of this intervention that he recently published. 

Here are the resources we discussed in this podcast:

• Using Differential Reinforcement in the Presence of Stressors to Teach Self-Calming (Ward, 2022).
• Calm Counts data sheet.
• Video of the technique being implemented.
• Whole Child Consulting (Steve's website that has tons of resources). 
• Whole Child Consulting FB Page.
• Good Learner Repertoires FB Group.
• Task As Reinforcer paper.
• Pink Floyd reference.
• Top Shelf Sports Bar and Grille.
• Steve's first appearance on BOP, Session 111.
• Friman, Hayes, and Wilson (1998). Why Behavior Analysts Should Study Emotion: The example of anxiety. 

This session is brought to you with support from:

• Behavior Development Solutions (aka “BDS”) is back to sponsor Behavioral Observations! I know BDS, because their modules were part of my own exam prep strategy when I took the BCBA exam back in 2002. Their modules are so thorough, you’ll feel confident at the Board Exam and, you’ll be well prepared for your career. It's the premier exam-prep and curriculum supplement for BCBA and BCaBA candidates with a 98.5% pass rate for first-time BCBA exam takers… plus a money-back guarantee! They also have solutions for RBT aspirants, plus CE courses and live webinars (most of which are free for anyone to attend). To learn more, head over to "bds.com forward-slash "B O P"  for a special offer! 
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• Pick up some CEUs while you listen to Behavioral Observations! Click here to see the various ACE events on topics like Functional Assessment, Trauma-Informed Behavior Analysis, ACT, and much more!

In Session 186, I am joined by Chrissy Barosky, Clinical Director for Bierman Autism Centers. In this episode, we discussed how their organization adopted a Precision Teaching approach for their learners. 

You heard that correctly, a large multi-state organization transitioned all of their data collection practices to the Standard Celeration Chart. So in this show, we dive into how Chrissy and her colleagues managed to pull this off, what they learned during the process, and the benefits they've seen from taking on such a large endeavor.

We also discussed a paper that Chrissy and her colleagues published in Behavior Analysis in Practice titled, Increasing Trials Presented to Children With Autism: Using Frequency Building With Modeling and Feedback. This is a case study of how the authors taught behavioral technicians to improve the efficiency of their teaching using a frequency-building approach.

Whether or not you care about the chart, I think this is an interesting episode because it speaks to a larger issue of organizational change. Chances are, if you're listing to this podcast, you're not using the chart. Imagine for a moment that your agency decided to adopt it? So in many respects, this episode presents an opportunity for a fun thought experiment about about changing clinical practices, and I hope you find the exercise helpful. 

As a matter of housekeeping, I to apologize for some of the audio quality challenges issues we had during this episode, including my dogs barking for several minutes when my town decided to do some tree-trimming along my road. I don't think it detracts from the overall conversation, but wanted to make a note of this. 

Here are links to some of the resources we mentioned:

• Bierman Autism Centers 
• Can precision teaching save the world? 
• Barosky, Keane, and Gallagher (2021). Increasing Trials Presented to Children With Autism: Using Frequency Building With Modeling and Feedback
• A slideshow where a 5 year old teaches a charting tutorial (translation: you can do it too!)
• Where you can purchase charts and learn more.
• The Standard Celeration Society FB group
• Links to several BOP shows on Precision Teaching
• Bulla et al (2021). Introduction to the Special Section: Precision Teaching: Discoveries and Applications
• Octave's Project Blue training for aspiring charters
• Rick Kubina's Precision Teaching books
• PrecisionX charting software

Session 186 is brought to you with support from:

• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Behavior University. (who incidentally is sponsoring the Stone Soup Conference!) Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.

In Session 185, AKA Inside JABA Series #11, I'm joined by Drs. Linda LeBlanc, Jeff Tiger, and Javier Virues-Ortega for a deep dive into automatically maintained behavior. This session was inspired by the study Javier and his colleagues published in the Spring 2022 issue of JABA (Virues-Ortega, Clayton, Perez-Bustamante, Gaerlan, and Fahmie, 2022). 

In this episode, we discuss the nature of, and challenges with automatically-maintained problem behavior. And this is tackled from both conceptual and treatment angles. As I mention in the episode, I don't encounter these types of problem behaviors that frequently these days, so it was a treat to update my knowledge in this area. 

It's easy to think of automatic reinforcement as a monolith, but as it turns out, even dividing it up between positive and negative reinforcement may not be sufficient enough to render effective treatment. 

We spent probably the first 25-30 minutes discussing some of the known challenges associated with assessing and treating these repertoires, and then spend the remaining time discussing Javier and his colleagues' paper, which presented two very unique investigations. 

If you work with individuals with these profiles, you'll want to listen all the way through, and better still, check out the paper itself. 

Here are some of the studies we discussed:

• Functional analysis patterns of automatic reinforcement: A review and component analysis of treatment effects (Virues-Ortega et al., 2022)
• An analysis of the reinforcing properties of handmouthing (Goh et al., 1995)
• Delineating subtypes of Self Injurious Behavior maintained by automatic reinforcement (Hagopian, Rooker, and Zarcone, 2015).
• A retrospective analysis of stereotypy: Applicability of the behavioral subtyping model (Wunderlich, Hemstreet and Best, 2022; not discussed during this episode, but in the same issue of JABA, and on my list to read next). 

Lastly, I'd be remiss if I did not take a minute to thank Linda LeBlanc for reaching out to me to start the Inside JABA series. As I tell her every chance I get, I consider it an honor to be involved with the flagship journal in our field. If someone told me as an undergraduate at the University of New Hampshire that I'd be regularly involved with JABA in some capacity, I wouldn't have believed them. 

As some of you might know, Linda's term as Editor in Chief is expiring, but we are planning to continue the podcast series with incoming EIC, Dr. John Borrero. More info on this to come, but in the meantime, please enjoy this installment of the Inside JABA Series. 

I'm really excited to introduce a new special podcast series that I'm publishing with Dr. Jim Moore of Apollo Behavior. In this series, we're going to talk about a lot of practical topics that we hope will resonate with BCBA's of all experience levels.

We have great plans to discuss topics like supervision, functional assessment, skill acquisition, and much more. Real world challenges that just about every practitioner faces.

In this episode, we focused on a clinical problem solving model that Jim's been developing over the years. So if you're working with learners who are struggling to make progress, this is the show for you.

We don't have a ton of links for this one, but here are some things that we referenced:

• Apollo Behavior's website
• The 7 Steps to Instructional Control
• The Founder (movie Jim references)
• Skinner's Attitudes of Science
• What does Mise en Place mean?

Lastly, I should note that this series is brought to you ad-free by Apollo Behavior. If you're interested in what they do, and/or if you want to learn more about what Jim discussed, reach out to them either at [email protected] or [email protected].

I've seen posts on social media here and there about World Behavior Analysis Day, but honestly I did not know a whole lot about it. And this is why I was really excited to sit down and chat with WBAD President, Elizabeth Drago, for a deep dive. 

It turns out that WBAD is more than a 'high five' amongst like minded behavioral scientists. In fact, the WBAD Alliance is doing a lot for dissemination, especially internationally. So as you might expect by now, we get into that and a whole lot more in this special episode of Behavioral Observations!

In our chat, Elizabeth mentioned various resources, etc... and I hope I've captured all of them below:    

• The WBAD main website 
• The WBAD contact page for inquiries
• WBAD on YouTube 
• Ways to get involved 
• WBAD on Facebook and Instagram 

Please note:

• Check out the 2022 Verbal Behavior Conference!
• Learn about the benefits of subscribing via Patreon!
• Grab some CEUs on the go... learn by listening to your favorite Behavior Analysts!

Dr. Kevin Luczynski joins me for a really fun conversation in Session 182 of The Behavioral Observations Podcast. If you're not familiar with Kevin, he is an Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the Director for the recently initiated Virtual Care Program at the Munroe Meyer Institute. 

In this episode, we cover the following:

• How Kevin discovered Behavior Analysis.
• How Kevin endeared himself to his then co-worker, now wife, and previous BOP guest, Dr. Nicole Rodriguez.
• What inspired some of the early Preschool Life Skills studies.
• How universal protocols like Balance and PLS fit into PBIS. 
• The role of preference for contingent reinforcement, and,
• A brief primer on Joint Control... something I am not very familiar with, but am looking forward to learning more about, especially at Kevin's upcoming talks at the 2022 Verbal Behavior Conference. 

Kevin also leaves us with four pieces of just outstanding advice. I've been pushing my guests lately to really think hard about answering this question lately, and Kevin does not disappoint. As such, you're going to want to listen through to the end. 

For Patreon subscribers, we spend an additional 5-10 minutes talking about his interest in the role that ecological validity plays in applied research. 

Here are some resources for what we discussed:

• Session 164 with Kelsey Ruppel.
• The folks at FTF!
• An Introduction to Joint Control. Lowenkron (2006).
• The maintenance of behavior change as an indicator of social validity. Kennedy (2002).
• Nearly all the other publications we discussed.
• Never split the difference, Chris Voss.
• How to have impossible conversations, Boghossian and Lindsay.
• Cruciallearning.com.

This podcast is brought to you with support from:

• Institutional Tier Patron Greenspace Behavioral Technology. Greenspace behavior offers cutting edge supervisor coaching, performance and competency-based trainings, and organizational supports for new BCBA and trainees. Find out how you can optimize your supervision practices, improve clinical outcomes, and increase employee satisfaction at Greenspacebehavior.com.
• We are also brought to you by HRIC Recruiting. If you’re a new BCBA – or a BCBA of any experience level for that matter – and you need an independent person to advise you on today’s job market, go to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential appointment with Barbara Voss.
• Are you interested in getting CEUs on the go, all while listening to your favorite BOP episodes? Click here to learn more!

In Session 181, Dr. Francesca Degli Espinosa, Ph.D, BCBA-D, joins me for a wide-ranging conversation that in my opinion, got better and better as it went on!

If you're not familiar with Francesca or her work, she is director and consultant at ABA Clinic Ltd., adjunct professor at the University of Salerno, and a guest lecturer at Queen's College, Belfast, and Pennsylvania State University. She is regarded as an expert in Skinner's analysis of verbal behavior, and will be one of the featured speakers at the 2022 Verbal Behavior Conference, which incidentally, is coming up right around the corner.

We cover quite a lot in this interview, including why she pivoted away from studying medicine, her first response to reading Verbal Behavior, how she 'stalked' Vince Carbone at a conference, her paper, Teaching generalized question-discrimination skills to children with Autism: Conceptual and applied considerations, why clinicians at all levels should still do direct therapy, what she plans to discuss at this year's Verbal Behavior Conference, why we should seek to understand concepts and principles better rather than being overly technological in nature, and lots more!

As always, we close the public feed with Francesca sharing some excellent advice for newly-minted BCBA's. And, for you, the Patreon subscriber, we spend another 15-minutes or so discussing dog training. In this subscriber-only segment, Francesca talks about why she finally got a dog (his name is Darwin), the ups and downs of training, and what she's learned from this experience. 

Other resources mentioned in this podcast

• Schlinger (1995). A Behavior Analytic View of Child Development.
• Remington et al. (2007). Early intensive behavioral intervention: Outcomes for children with Autism and their parents after two years. 
• Michael, Palmer, and Sundberg (2011). The multiple control of verbal behavior.
• Horne and Lowe (1996). On the origins of naming and other symbolic behavior. 
• Miguel (2016). Common and Intraverbal Bidirectional Naming.
• Verbal Behavior Conference registration page. 

Session 181 is brought to you with support from:

• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• Tate Behavioral, a progressive ABA provider located in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts. If you’re a BCBA looking to work for a supportive and innovative team, and live in the heart of charming New England, visit their jobs page by clicking here!
• The Secret Agent Society Small Group Program helps kids 8 to 12 years old crack the code of emotions and friendships through an animated ‘secret agent’ theme.  With a sophisticated digital health platform now at the heart of the program, you can deliver groups face-to-face, with telehealth, or a combination of formats. Follow this link to book a live demo from anywhere around the world. Also, don’t forget to mention that “Matt sent you” to have your SAS Provider establishment fee waived (a minimum $500 USD value)!
• Last but not least, special thanks goes to this year's Verbal Behavior Conference! Click here to learn more and register.

This recording was a fun and way-overdue Patreon member hangout with the incomparable Dr. Merrill Winston. In this episode, we discussed how Greg Hanley influenced Merrill's departure from his previous employer, how he wanted to do more than be considered as the restrain and seclusion guru, his new enterprise, Winston Behavioral Solutions, when it's OK to break the rules, and much more. 

As a matter of fact, we spent the most amount the hangout discussing what makes a good behavior plan (and conversely, why some of them stink!). 

This session started out in an interview format, but we quickly transitioned to Q and A with the attendees, and what resulted was a genuinely enjoyable conversation amongst several experienced Behavior Analysts.

And if you don't listen to anything else, you have to listen to the hilarious story that Merrill closes the hangout with. While I'd love it if you listened to the podcast in its entirety, you could be forgiven for skipping to the end to hear it. 

Here are some links to things that came up in Session 180:

• Merrill's new company/website.
• Callahan et al. (2019). Behavioral Artistry: Examining the Relationship Between the Interpersonal Skills and Effective Practice Repertoires of Applied Behavior Analysis Practitioners.
• Before Rosa Parks, There Was Claudette Colvin.
• The Patreon Group!
• Merrill's first and second appearances on the show.
• Shoutout to Dr. Paulie Gavoni (grab his latest book here).
• Correlation between self-reported rigidity and rule-governed insensitivity to operant contingencies (Wulfert, Greenway, Farkas, Hayes, and Dougher, 1994).
• Who was Troy McClure?

This podcast is brought to you by:

• The Secret Agent Society Small Group Program helps kids 8 to 12 years old crack the code of emotions and friendships through an animated ‘secret agent’ theme.  With a sophisticated digital health platform now at the heart of the program, you can deliver groups face-to-face, with telehealth, or a combination of formats. Follow this link to book a live demo from anywhere around the world. Also, don’t forget to mention that “Matt sent you” to have your SAS Provider establishment fee waived (a minimum $500 USD value)!
• The 2022 Verbal Behavior Conference! The 2022 event will be taking place both in-person and virtually over April 7th and 8th. If you can't make it to Austin, Texas, then head over to behaviorlive.com/vbc for info on how to tune in from afar. The conference itself will feature Vince Carbone, Francesca Degli Espinosa, Tamara Kasper, Pat McGreevy, Sarah Lechago, Kevin Luczynski, Kelle Rich, David Roth, Mark Sundberg, and Hank Schlinger. I will be there too to host the 2022 Panel Discussion, so again, if you’re interested in learning more, head on over to behaviorlive.com/vbc for more details.
• Institutional Tier Patron Greenspace Behavioral Technology. Greenspace behavior offers cutting edge supervisor coaching, performance and competency-based trainings, and organizational supports for new BCBA and trainees. Find out how you can optimize your supervision practices, improve clinical outcomes, and increase employee satisfaction at Greenspacebehavior.com.
• Yours Truly... If you're in need of BACB Continuing Education, get some credit for the shows you're already listening to, because the Behavioral Observations Podcast is an Approved Continuing Education provider. That's right, learn on-the-go with some of your favorite podcasts guests. Click here to learn about not only the variety of topics offered, but also the significant discounts for bulk purchases!

Dr. John Michael Guercio joins me again to discuss a topic that we briefly covered in his last appearance; Behavioral Relaxation Training.

In this show, John does a deep dive into this work, drawing on the research of Drs. Roger Poppen, Duane Lundervold, and of course John himself. 

Along with the aforementioned Drs. Poppen and Lundervold, John is the co-author of the third edition of the text, Behavioral Relaxation Training. He is also the author of Assessment of Adult Core Competencies: Teaching Skills to Adults with Autism and Severe Behavioral Challenges, which we discussed at length in his earlier appearance in Session 140. 

We discuss how BRT was developed, its current applications, and the training required to do it. We also spent a good deal of time talking about becoming trained to implement BRT, scope of practice issues, and protecting client safety. So in case we were not clear in the discussion, if this is something you'd like to do, please seek out the appropriate training and supervision.

For Patreon Subscribers, there is an additional 10 minutes or so where John tells a fun story about meeting his childhood football hero, and how said hero invited him to his house for wings and beer. How cool is that!?!? I hope Tom Brady hears this so I can have a similar experience in the next 10 or 15 years, lol. 

Here are links to resourced mentioned in the show:

• The movie, Paper Tigers
• Stillness Speaks, by Eckhart Tolle
• NADD Accreditation Programs
• Why Behavior Analysts Should Study Emotion: the example of anxiety. (Friman, Hayes, and Wilson, 1998)
• John's ABAI bio sketch (with email contact link)

This podcast is brought to you by:

1. Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
2. Tate Behavioral, a progressive ABA provider located in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts. If you’re a BCBA looking to work for a supportive and innovative team, and live in the heart of charming New England, visit their jobs page by clicking here!
3. The Secret Agent Society Small Group Program helps kids 8 to 12 years old crack the code of emotions and friendships through an animated ‘secret agent’ theme.  With a sophisticated digital health platform now at the heart of the program, you can deliver groups face-to-face, with telehealth, or a combination of formats. Follow this link to book a live demo from anywhere around the world. Also, don’t forget to mention that “Matt sent you” to have your SAS Provider establishment fee waived (a minimum $500 USD value)!
4. The Whoop Strap! I've been wearing the Whoop Strap for over a year now, and I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed getting quantitative information on all aspects of my health, including sleep analytics, heart rate, along with heart rate variability, calorie burn, exercise intensity, and Whoop's proprietary "strain" score. I could extol this neat device's virtues indefinitely to you, but instead, you can go check it out for yourself. To get your first month free, head over to behavioralobservations.com/whoop! Also, feel free to join the Behavior Analysts who Whoop Facebook group!

In Session 178, we're going to hop in the time machine and take a trip back to April 2021. That's correct. 

This episode of The Behavioral Observations Podcast comes from the recorded panel discussion at last year's Verbal Behavior Conference. The panel consisted of Drs. Pat McGreevy, April Kisamore, Nicole Rodriguez, Alice Shillingsburg, Hank Schlinger, and Vince Carbone. With regard to Vince's appearance on the panel, I'm told that he really never does them, so our hosts at the Central Texas Autism Center must have been incredibly persuasive to get him to participate!

Here are just a few things we covered in this panel event:

• Prompts and prompt dependence
• Training, supervision, and burnout issues for direct service providers
• How to think about the concept of ‘behavioral artistry’
• How the behavior of the client informs and influences the behavior of the therapist
• How to advocate teaching functional skills instead of academic ones
• How three BCBAs hired an OBM consultant to assess their practice
• Why some of the panelists feel teaching to the BACB task list is not good for the field

One of the reasons I held back on publishing this until now is that the 2022 VBC is coming up soon, and I thought that this would be a great way to get folks adequately prepared for it. 

The 2022 event will be taking place both in-person and virtually over April 7th and 8th. If you can't make it to Austin, Texas, then head over to behaviorlive.com/vbc for info on how to tune in from afar. 

One of the unique things about the 2022 event is that Dr. Hank Schlinger will be teaching a four-part Verbal Behavior master class to get you prepared for the conference. These will occur in four, 2-hour sessions that will take place on February 16th, February 23rd, March 2nd, and March 9th. 

The conference itself will feature Vince Carbone, Francesca Degli Espinosa, Tamara Kasper, Pat McGreevy, Sarah Lechago, Kevin Luczynski, Kelle Rich, David Roth, Mark Sundberg, and Hank Schlinger. I will be there too to host the 2022 Panel Discussion, so again, if you’re interested in learning more, head on over to behaviorlive.com/vbc for more details.

This episode is brought to you by Tate Behavioral, a progressive ABA provider located in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts. If you’re a BCBA looking to work for a supportive and innovative team, and live in the heart of charming New England, visit tatebehavioral.com

We are also brought to you by HRIC Recruiting. If you’re a new BCBA – or a BCBA of any experience level for that matter – and you need an independent person to advise you on today’s job market, go to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential appointment with Barbara Voss.

As far as podcast go, this episode was kind of tough to write a headline for (a task that I probably devote way too much time to doing!). My guest in Session 177, John McElwee, has been in the field - to paraphrase a line from Aubrey Daniels - before there was a field.

John has had a long and productive career that's had some very interesting twists and turns. He's still going strong these days, and learning new things to help individuals with a wide variety of developmental and behavioral challenges.

With that in mind, I suppose an overarching theme in this episode could be thought of as how John charted his own career path. In other words, by being open to new experiences, and actively investing in his professional development, he has been able to do some really interesting things in the field of ABA. So for early career professionals, try to listen to this episode with this in mind.

In this episode, we discuss how John got into the field, the he took a detour in his graduate training to work as a union electrician, the work he did in the area of marriage and family systems, his connections with folks like Drs. Alan Kazdin and Russell Barkely, and lots more.

But in the latter half of the show, we spend a considerable time discussing how John serendipitously discovered Relational Frame Theory by chatting up Dermot and Yvonne Barnes-Holmes at an ABAI conference, and how he saw the benefits of using this approach with individuals with ASD in an Early Intervention context.

Along the way, we discuss the upcoming webinar series that John's doing with Peak Behavioral. If you're interested in learning more about this, it starts in March 2022. You can find information about this webinar series as well as individualized coaching opportunities with John through Peak Behavioral Services' website: www.pkservice.org/purchase. If this is something you're interested in and you'd like to save a few bucks in the process, use the promo code "podcast22" at checkout to receive a discounted price of $79 per webinar.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Check out John's webinar series with Peak Behavior!
• Oregon Social Learning Center.
• Dr. Russell Barkley.
• Dr. Alan Kazdin.
• The Purple Book.*
• Brief Report: The Training and Assessment of Relational Precursors and Abilities (TARPA): A Preliminary Analysis (Moran, Stewart, McElwee, and Ming, 2010).
• Using RFT to Promote Generative Language, Volume 1 (Ming, Stewart, and McElwee).

This podcast is brought to you with the support of:

• The Whoop Strap! I've been wearing the Whoop Strap for over a year now, and I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed getting quantitative information on all aspects of my health, including sleep analytics, heart rate, along with heart rate variability, calorie burn, exercise intensity, and Whoop's proprietary "strain" score. I could extol this neat device's virtues indefinitely to you, but instead, you can go check it out for yourself. To get your first month free, head over to behavioralobservations.com/whoop!
• Institutional Tier Patron Greenspace Behavioral Technology. Greenspace behavior offers cutting edge supervisor coaching, performance and competency-based trainings, and organizational supports for new BCBA and trainees. Find out how you can optimize your supervision practices, improve clinical outcomes, and increase employee satisfaction at Greenspacebehavior.com.
• And of course, the aforementioned Peak Behavioral, where you can sign up for John's webinar series using the discount code, podcast22 at checkout.

In the 10th (tenth!!!) installment of the Inside JABA Series, Dr. Linda LeBlanc and I are joined by Drs. Jenn Austin and Dithu Rajaraman to discuss the paper they co-authored with Drs. Holly Gover, Tony Cammilleri, David Donnelly, and Greg Hanley.

The paper is titled, Towards Trauma-Informed Applications of Behavior Analysis, and you can find it in the latest issue of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.

If you haven't seen the paper yet, check out the abstract below:

Despite a growing acknowledgement of the importance of understanding the impacts of trauma on therapeutic approaches across human service disciplines, discussions of trauma have been relatively infrequent in the behavior analytic literature. In this paper, we delineate some of the barriers to discussing and investigating trauma in applied behavior analysis (ABA) and describe how the core commitments of trauma-informed care could be applied to behavior analysis. We then provide some examples of how trauma-informed care might be incorporated into ABA practice. We conclude by suggesting opportunities to approach trauma as a viable avenue for behavior analytic research and argue that omitting trauma-informed care from ABA could be detrimental not only to the public perception of ABA, but to the effectiveness of our assessment and treatment procedures.

Rajaraman et al. (2022)

During the discussion, we covered:

• How this large group of authors became connected.
• What motivated them to write this paper.
• What literatures outside of Behavior Analysis informed their point of view.
• How this paper is a "Big Idea Paper."
• Why Behavior Analysts may shy away from discussing trauma.
• The core commitments of Trauma-Informed ABA.
• The parallels between Compassionate Care and Trauma-Informed ABA.
• The role of Respondent Conditioning.
• Whether a Trauma-specific certification for ABA providers would be helpful.

If you haven't done so already, I do recommend going back in the catalog and checking out Session 131 with Dr. Camille Kolu. As a matter of fact, I've been in contact with her recently, and we're planning on a follow up episode, so if you're interested in learning more about the implications of adverse experiences as they relate to the practice of Behavior Analysis, simply stay tuned.

As with the other shows in the Inside JABA Series, this episode is available for BACB Continuing Education. If you'd like to learn more about how to access these podcasts for your professional development needs, click here.

Also, if you enjoy the Inside JABA content, please consider subscribing to the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. Compared to other journals, it's quite a bargain price-wise, and it helps to support the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Resourced discussed in this episode:

• The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma*
• Toxic Childhood Stress*
• Compassionate Care in Behavior Analytic Treatment. Taylor, LeBlanc, and Nosik (2018).
• Centers for Disease Control ACES page.

As noted in the first few minutes of this episode, Dr. Florence DiGennaro Reed has been one of the most-requested guests by audience members, and I'm thrilled to have her back on the show for a one-on-one chat. 

Dr. DiGennaro Reed, better known as Flo by friends and colleagues, is the Chairperson of the Department of Applied Behavioral Science as well as the Director of The Performance Management Laboratory at the University of Kansas. 

In this interview, we chat about her unique early experiences in Behavior Analysis and the fascinating research that she's conducting at KU. We also spent a good chunk of time talking about meetings. I know that may sound boring, but hear me out... we talk about the attributes of bad meetings, and conversely how to run effective meetings. We also talk about how to determine whether that meeting you had really could have bene an email (insert meme here ;-). 

We then segued into discussing navigating power differentials in the workplace, having difficult conversations in the workplace, optimizing Behavioral Skills Training sequences, and learning essential professional repertoires for today's BCBAs. 

We close the public feed of this interview with some fantastic advice for the newly-minted BCBA (or BCBAs of all experience levels for that matter!)

For Patreon subscribers, we spend some additional content time discussing how to present effectively via Zoom or other conferencing platforms. 

Resources discussed in this episode:

• The Performance Management Laboratory.
• An Introduction to Behavior Analysis (disclosure: Amazon Affiliate Link). 
• Meeting vs. Email decision chart. 
• Planning and Leading Effective Meetings (LeBlanc and Nosik, 2019). 
• Enhancing the training integrity of human service staff using pyramidal behavioral skills training (Erath et al, 2020). 
• Training human service staff to implement behavioral skills training using a video-based intervention (Erath, DiGennaro Reed, and Blackman, 2021). 
• Functional Assessment and Intervention for Organizational Behavior Change: Improving the Timeliness of Staff Meetings at a Human Services Organization (Fienup et al, 2013). 
• Crucial Conversations (disclosure: Amazon Affiliate Link).
• ACT Bullseye Exercise. 
• Reddit ABA page.

Session 175 is brought to you with support from:

• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Behavior University. (who incidentally is sponsoring the Stone Soup Conference!) Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.

Hi folks, as I note in my opening comments, my friends from ABA Inside Track and I got together again for a Year-In-Review episode.

Perhaps in keeping with our mood, we kept this year's review somewhat light. Instead of discussing the weighty issues of Behavior Analysis, we talked about what we've been up to in 2021. Jackie and I talk about our Covid stories, Diana shares her go to source on all things pandemic, and Rob and I talk about what we're seeing in schools these days.

We also talk about what's new for our shows, and at the very end, we discuss some of our favorite non-ABA podcasts too.

Before signing off for 2021, I want to extend a huge thanks to everyone who listened to the show this year. I'd also like to thank my awesome sponsors (special shout outs to Behavior University and HRIC!), Patreon subscribers, and CEU customers. Collectively, you've all made this podcast truly viable, and for that I am eternally grateful!

On that note, I hope everyone in listener-land has a safe, happy, and prosperous New Year. I look forward to sharing more fun conversations with you in 2022!

If you're like me, you are seeing more and more news articles about the challenges schools are facing with students engaging in problem behavior. For example, not too far from my home, a school district in Vermont recently proposed to shorten the school week in order to provide teachers with extra time to prepare for, and perhaps recover from, challenging behaviors in the classroom setting.

As we've discussed many times before on this podcast, clearly there is a role for Behavior Analysis in these settings. And it is with that in mind that I was excited to chat with Dr. Paulie Gavoni, Anika Costa, and Andrew Houvouras about the book that they recently published with co-authors Frank Krukauskas and Eric Gormley. It's called "Quick Responses for Reducing Misbehavior and Suspensions: A behavioral toolbox for classroom and school leaders."

In this episode, we spend a good chunk of time discussing the impact of the pandemic on student behavior, and why they felt this type of book was necessary to write. And while they provide an overview of the Quick Room process, I do think the book is worth getting for any school leader who is grappling with these increasingly common problems.

For Patreon subscribers, we spent an additional 10-20 minutes talking about the book writing process more generally, along with what the authors learned after putting this incredible resource together. If you'd like to become a Patreon member to get commercial free access to the show, it's really easy to do so. Just go to Patreon.com/behavioralobservations to learn more.

During our chat, we referenced a ton of resources, and I have done my best to catalog them below:

• The Quick Responses book
• The "Sprick Ratio"
• The 5:1 ratio in marriage
• "Human Competence," Thomas Gilbert
• Motivating Human Services Staff, Reed and Parsons (2006)
• School consultation pods (Session 74, Session 101, Session 78, etc...)
• Motivational Interviewing

This podcast is brought to you by the following:

• Institutional Tier Patron Greenspace Behavioral Technology. Greenspace behavior offers cutting edge supervisor coaching, performance and competency-based trainings, and organizational supports for new BCBA and trainees. Find out how you can optimize your supervision practices, improve clinical outcomes, and increase employee satisfaction at Greenspacebehavior.com.
• Our very own BOP CEU offerings! Did you know we offer over 28 CEU events? To add to that, I'll have a few more that I'll be putting out there in early 2021, so if you'd like to learn about functional assessment, supervision, ethics, school consultation, along with the nerdy goodness of all the Inside JABA episodes, learn more at Behavioralobservations.com/Get-ceus!
• Lastly, if your 2022 plans include marketing your product, service, or agency to one of the largest and most engaged ABA audiences, consider advertising on Behavioral Observations.

Mandy Mason's road to discovering Behavior Analysis is a little different than most of my guests. When her daughter was diagnosed with Autism, she literally traveled the globe to find out how best to help her.

I don't want to spoil the story too much, but what I will say is that Mandy's search for an effective treatment changed not only her daughter's life, but the lives of countless others. That's because once Mandy discovered ABA, and combined it with the power of Precision Teaching and Precision Measurement, she was off to the races.

Mandy is the founder and CEO of Fit Learning Australia, where she and her team provide learning and behavioral interventions for a wide variety of clients. Her talents extend far beyond the world of Precision Teaching though. She is an Autism advocate in Australia, a Motivational Speaker, and in her spare time, a World Champion sprinter.

Oh yeah, in her "spare" time, she also hosts The ABA and PT Podcast, which you can find on just about all podcast platforms (please check it out, and if you do, be sure to leave a great rating and review!).

In this episode, we get into how Mandy discovered ABA, what led her to adopting a PT approach to her daughter's programming, how she connected with longtime friend-of-podcast Dr. Kimberly Berens, how she started Fit Learning Australia, how she balances such incredible work and life demands, and much more.

For Patreon subscribers, we spend about another 20 minutes talking about how she got into sprinting, athlete management and coaching, and other fitness-related topics.

This podcast is brought to you by:

• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Behavior University. (who incidentally is sponsoring the Stone Soup Conference!) Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• The Professional Crisis Management Association, or PCMA for short. Later on in the show, you'll hear from one of the most popular podcast guests, Dr. Merrill Winston, where he'll talk about how PCMA helps agencies support individuals who exhibit dangerous behaviors. For more info on them, go to PCMA.com.

If you're a BCBA supporting kids in public school settings, or even if you're a parent who has kids in school, you probably already know that sound classroom management is hard to come by. This phenomenon is perhaps more acute as schools have to contend with the disruptions in continuity imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

As such, it is reasonable to ask what Behavior Analysis has to offer when it comes to helping teachers spend more time teaching, and less time dealing with conduct problems.

Luckily, Behavior Analysis has provided us with a tried and true, easily implemented strategy for improving classroom management, and it's called The Good Behavior Game (GBG for short). And in Session 171, I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Jeanne Donaldson from Louisiana State University about the GBG in quite a bit of detail.

As you'll discover in the interview, Jeanne earned her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Florida and is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Louisiana State University, where she conducts research on commonly-encountered childhood behavioral challenges. She was the 2018 recipient of the B. F. Skinner Foundation New Applied Researcher Award from APA Division 25. She is currently an Associate Editor at the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. Dr. Donaldson is a BCBA-D and Licensed Behavior Analyst in the state of Louisiana.

In this episode we discuss how Jeanne got into Behavior Analysis, we provide an overview of the general structure of the GBG, and we hear what it was like for Jeanne to run the GBG for the first time in a classroom setting. We also talk about procedural variations of the GBG as well as how to troubleshoot when the GBG.

In these exchanges, I hope you'll develop an appreciation of the broad applicability of this approach, especially in light of some of the positive outcomes that have been documented in some longitudinal studies of the GBG.

At the same time, I always get a bit disappointed when discussing the GBG, because we have an extraordinarily robust intervention ready to offer the world, but as we discuss in this episode, most public school teachers have no clue about it. It's kind of the opposite of the Habit Reversal literature, where the behavioral treatment of tic disorders could be considered standard-of-care these days.

As such, for my fellow school-based practitioners, I'd love to hear what you think the barriers are to this intervention.

Lastly, Jeanne has also contributed to the Time Out literature, and for Patreon subscribers, we spend the last 15 minutes or so discussing what some current best practices are for using this procedure. Patreon subscribers can get early access and ad-free episodes, along with bonus content like this.

Here are links to the resources we discussed:

• Kindergarten Cop.
• Perone (2013), The Negative Effects of Positive Reinforcement.
• Groves and Austin (2018), Does the GBG Evoke Negative Peer Pressure?
• Joslyn et al (2020), A Practitioner's Guide to the GBG (ed note: highly recommended!).
• Donaldson et al (2013), An Evaluation of the GBG in Kindergarten Classrooms (data from Jeanne's first use of the GBG, as discussed in the episode).
• Where to sign up to hear Jeanne's talk at MABA 2021.
• Asking for a discount/the world is more flexible than you think (comfort challenge reference)

This podcast is brought to you with the support of:

• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Behavior University.  Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• Consider joining the BOP Patreon. Patreon members get early access to podcasts, bonus podcast material, discounts on CEU events from FTF and other continuing ed purveyors, occasional Zoom hangouts, and more!
• Institutional Tier Patron Greenspace Behavioral Technology. Greenspace behavior offers cutting edge supervisor coaching, performance and competency-based trainings, and organizational supports for new BCBA and trainees. Find out how you can optimize your supervision practices, improve clinical outcomes, and increase employee satisfaction at Greenspacebehavior.com.

In the ninth installment of the Inside JABA Series, I'm joined by Drs. Claire St. Peter, Jeff Tiger, and many-time guest Derek Reed. Unfortunately the JABA Editor in Chief, Dr. Linda LeBlanc, was not able to join us, but she did choose some very cool articles for us to talk about. The articles are:

• Vaidya & Armshaw (2021). Surface electromyography and gamification: Translational research to advance physical rehabilitation.
• Gravina et al. (2021). Increasing adherence to a standardized rounding procedure in two hospital in-patient units.
• The reason Derek joined us for this episode because he was the action editor for these two papers.

And while we did review the papers, we went super deep into the inner workings of the JABA review process. In doing so, what qualities an action editor looks for in selecting manuscript reviewers and how reviewers become 'known' for specific areas of expertise.

While we didn't solve the mystery of why Reviewer #2 is consistently a pain in the neck, we did talk about considerations of when to publish in JABA, and when to look towards other scientific outlets. This led to an unexpected but nonetheless fascinating discussion of how to disseminate one's research outside of mainstream behavior analytic journals. If you don't listen to any other part of this episode, please check that section out.

I'll leave you with this quote from the abstract from Sidman (2011):

 

I have written before about the importance of applied behavior analysis to basic researchers. That relationship is, however, reciprocal; it is also critical for practitioners to understand and even to participate in basic research. Although applied problems are rarely the same as those investigated in the laboratory, practitioners who understand their basic research background are often able to place their particular problem in a more general context and thereby deal with it successfully. Also the procedures of applied behavior analysis are often the same as those that characterize basic research; the scientist-practitioner will appreciate the relation between what he or she is doing and what basic experimenters do, and as a consequence, will be able to apply therapeutic techniques more creatively and effectively.

As always, the Inside JABA Series podcasts are presented without sponsors, though I would encourage listeners to subscribe to JABA, which when compared to many other journals, is relatively inexpensive, especially when you consider the number of papers that a typical issue of JABA has. When I first started subscribing to JABA in the 90's, I think the issues were about 1/5 to 1/4 of the size of those that are published currently. If this is something you're interested in, click here to subscribe.

The last thing I'd like to mention is that these Inside JABA episodes are eligible for BACB Continuing Education credits though the CEU store at behavioralobservations.com. What's even better is that because so much of this episode focused on dissemination, this one will qualify for 1.5 hours of ethics related CEU's. That's code element 6.02 for those playing along at home.

If I could beg of you one final indulgence, if you are enjoying the Behavioral Observations Podcast, please share your favorite episodes with friends, colleagues, random people on the street, and so on.

This, my friends, is a conversation that I've been looking forward to sharing with you for quite some time. In this episode, I'm joined by Drs. Mara Vanderzell and Erik Jacobson from the Upstate Cerebral Palsy Center.  As you'll hear right out of the gate, we started the episode off by attempting to operationally characterize the Boy Band pop music genre. You read that correctly... but, don't worry if you're not a fan of Nsync or 98 Degrees... there's a lot of fantastic insights into the clinical leadership model in this conversation. 

And if you are indeed interested in organizational and clinical change on a big scale, this is the episode for you. As Erik and Mara describe, residential and day treatment centers have historically provided treatment from a care model. Over the past few years however, the leadership at UCP has been busy changing this philosophy to an active treatment model. 

As such, they've made considerable investments in bringing in various thought leaders in the field to implement things like Essential for Living, Pre-school Life Skills, the BALANCE program, Skills-Based Treatment, and much much more. In our conversation, we discuss what they've learned from this process, and where the organization is going moving forward. 

We also went down a few unexpected rabbit holes here and there, so you'll want to check out the entire conversation. One of those included Mara telling us about what it was like to be a student of Ted Carr. That's a segment you definitely don't want to miss. 

If you’re a Patreon subscriber, well, you’re not listening to this feed as the ad-free subscriber feed was published last week. That episode also featured an additional 15-20 minutes of content at the end of the interview, where the three of us discuss things like running, cross-fit, and health/fitness more generally. So if you’d like to learn more about this, please check out patreon.com/behavioralobservations.

Last but not least, I'd like to thank Dr. Tony Cammilleri, the Director of Education at FTF and all around great guy, for his help in crafting the questions and talking points for this conversation.

Here are the links to the things we referenced in the show:

• Carr and Durand 1985.
• Carr 1977.
• Upstate Cerebral Palsy.
• UCP YouTube Clinical Playlist.
• Practical Functional Assessment.
• FTF Behavioral Consulting.
• Essential for Living.
• DoBetter.
• Pyramid Educational Consultants. 
• The Daily BA.
• John Kotter.
• Adam Grant.
• Motivating Human Resource Staff, Reed and Parsons, 2006 (*disclosure: Amazon Affiliate Link).

This episode was brought to you with the support from the following sponsors:

• The Secret Agent Society Small Group Program helps kids 8 to 12 years old crack the code of emotions and friendships through an animated ‘secret agent’ theme.  Now with flexible face-to-face or telehealth options, services who have used the SAS program for many years are blown away and excited by the new digital health solution. Mention this podcast for a free Secret Agent Society Assistant Short Course to sample the SAS program. Also, if you’re interested in learning more, there will be a free SAS demo on November 2nd.
• Institutional Tier Patron Greenspace Behavioral Technology. Greenspace behavior offers cutting edge supervisor coaching, performance and competency-based trainings, and organizational supports for new BCBA and trainees. Find out how you can optimize your supervision practices, improve clinical outcomes, and increase employee satisfaction at Greenspacebehavior.com.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.

My friends at the Virginia Association for Behavior Analysis were kind enough to invite me to moderate their panel discussion at their annual conference that took place last April. One of the fun parts of moderating panels like these is being able to share it with the wider Behavioral Observations audience.

This event was no exception. The 2021 VABA panel featured Drs. Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi, Christine Barthold, and T.V. Joe Layng. In our chat, we fielded questions from VABA attendees, which occasioned discussion of some of the following topics:

• How to deal with Imposter Syndrome.
• Subtle biases in the workplace.
• Advice the panelists would give to their early-career selves.
• Reading literatures outside of Behavior Analysis.
• Ecological Systems Theory and Meta-Contingencies.
• How perspective taking in married couples is overrated.
• The value of mentoring (including some exceptional mentee duties Joe performed as a graduate student... not to be missed, and gives new meaning to the phrase, "and other duties as assigned").

I should note at the outset that we had both connection issues and some general unevenness in the audio feed. I've done my best to smooth things out in post production, so please bear with us, because I think the conversation is really interesting.

Again, it's worth pausing and giving a shoutout to our hosts, VABA, as well as their conference sponsor, Mary Baldwin University. If you'd like to attend their 2022 convention, it is taking place on April 29th and 30th, with speakers, etc... to be determined (hop on their email list here to keep up to date as more info becomes available, and you can follow them on Facebook here).

This episode is brought to you by:

• The Stone Soup Conference, again, use the promo code PODCAST to save, and hear talks from folks like Drs. Linda LeBlanc, Adithyan Rajaraman, Jordan Belile, and more!
• Behavior University. (who incidentally is sponsoring the Stone Soup Conference!) Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• Consider joining the BOP Patreon. Patreon members get early access to podcasts, bonus podcast material, discounts on CEU events from FTF and other continuing ed purveyors, occasional Zoom hangouts, and more!
• The Professional Crisis Management Association, or PCMA for short. Later on in the show, you'll hear from one of the most popular podcast guests, Dr. Merrill Winston, where he'll talk about how PCMA helps agencies support individuals who exhibit dangerous behaviors. For more info on them, go to PCMA.com.

Dr. Jim Moore returns to Behavioral Observations in this session. And I'm so thankful he had the time to chat, because this episode is jam-packed with great information for practitioners at all experience levels.

We spent a few minutes catching the audience up on some of the changes in Jim's life since his last appearance on the show. In particular, we discuss his new job as Chief Clinical Officer of Apollo Behavior and his move to the Atlanta area.

Afterwards, we managed to touch on several important issues in clinical practice, including the following:

• Our differing (initially) views on what it means to engage in scientific behavior... i.e., who is and is not a scientist.
• How identifying research questions differs in academia and practice.
• Solving behavior problems by examining overly strict rule adherence (and what to do about it).
• What to pay attention to when interviewing caregivers about problem behavior.
• How to trouble shoot stalled learner progress.
• Using Socratic questioning during clinical supervision (if you listen to any part of this episode, listen to this one!).
• A preview of what sounds like an incredibly interesting talk at the upcoming Stone Soup Conference (and if you're interested in attending this incredibly affordable and informative event, use the code PODCAST to save even more at checkout).
• Jim's point of view on the varying functional analysis practices that are being discussed in the literature.

We also recorded about 20 or so minutes of bonus content, which is available to Patreon subscribers (check out this link to learn more). In this segment of the show, Jim went into some detail regarding his ups and downs with his health and fitness, and how he's trying to get back on track, what it's like to be a Saints fan in the Atlanta Metro area, the parallels between good coaching and good leadership, and lots more.

Lastly, Jim was too gracious to shamelessly plug his practice group, but if the type of practice he describes interests you, hit him up on LinkedIn, or elsewhere on social media, as he's pretty easy to find.

Here are links to some resources we discussed:

• Jim's Research Gate page (lots of cool stuff!).
• Hayes, et al., 1986. Instructions, Multiple Schedules, and Extinction: Distinguishing rule-governed from scheduled-controlled behavior.
• Hayes, et al., 1986a. Rule-governed behavior and sensitivity to changing consequences of responding.
• Skinner's Six Attitudes of Science Quizlet (credit: Hillary Robbins).
• The Seven Steps to Instructional Control.

Quote #1:

The differences between applied and basic research are not differences between that which “discovers” and that which merely “applies.” Both endeavors ask what controls the behavior under study

                                         Baer, Wolf, & Risley (1968)

Quote #2:

An applied behavior analysis will make obvious the importance of the behavior changed, its quantitative characteristics, the experimental manipulations which analyze with clarity what was responsible for the change, the technologically exact description of all procedures contributing to that change, the effectiveness of those procedures in making sufficient change for value, and generality of that change

                                         Baer, Wolf, & Risley (1968)

Quote #3:

Applied research is designed to solve practical problems of the modern world, rather than to acquire knowledge for knowledge’s sake. One might say that the goal of the applied scientist is to improve the human condition.

                                         Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory

This episode is brought to you by:

• The aforementioned Stone Soup Conference, again, use the promo code PODCAST to save, and hear talks from folks like Drs. Linda LeBlanc, Adithyan Rajaraman, Jordan Belile, and more!
• Behavior University. (who incidentally is sponsoring the Stone Soup Conference!) Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• Consider joining the BOP Patreon. Patreon members get early access to podcasts, bonus podcast material, discounts on CEU events from FTF and other continuing ed purveyors, occasional Zoom hangouts, and more!
• The Professional Crisis Management Association, or PCMA for short. Later on in the show, you'll hear from one of the most popular podcast guests, Dr. Merrill Winston, where he'll talk about how PCMA helps agencies support individuals who exhibit dangerous behaviors. For more info on them, go to PCMA.com.

I'm not a gamer... well, at least not at this stage of my life. But that aside, I really enjoyed this conversation with FIT doctoral student, James Riswick-Estelle.

We talked about his he got into ABA in the first place, a brief history of eSports, the current status of eSports, and then, how he uses behavior analytic principles to enhance the performance of athletes.

To be honest, I was blown away with how vast and popular eSports is right now. So popular that Florida Tech now has their own department dedicated to it! And James and I discussed how he "pitched" the use of ABA to the eSports director, and shared his thoughts on how to do this successfully.

We went on to discuss some of the specific interventions that he and his colleagues have used to optimize player performance. I think you'll find it quite interesting. Even if you're not a gamer, I believe there will be many parallels that you'll likely readily identify.

In this episode, we mentioned the following resources:

• James on LinkedIn.
• Department of Behavior Analysis at FIT.
• FIT eSports Department.
• FIT eSports on Twitch.
• FIT eSports on Instagram.
• FIT eSports on Twitter.
• FIT eSports Discord.
• The practice of gifting books.
• The movie Moneyball.
• A background on eSports.
• "Don't Wag the Dog: Expanding the Reach of Behavior Analysis," Normand & Kohn.
• A primer on Implementation Science.

Today's episode is brought to you with the support of the following sponsors:

• The ABA Marketing Minute from Rich Brooks at Flyte New Media. If you're wondering how to successfully market your ABA practice, go to takeflyte.com/abaminute, and check out Flyte New Media's free 35 minute lesson on building effective websites.
• The Professional Crisis Management Association, or PCMA for short. Later on in the show, you'll hear from one of the most popular podcast guests, Dr. Merrill Winston, where he'll talk about how PCMA helps agencies support individuals who exhibit dangerous behaviors. For more info on them, go to PCMA.com.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Institutional Tier Patron Greenspace Behavioral Technology. Greenspace behavior offers cutting edge supervisor coaching, performance and competency-based trainings, and organizational supports for new BCBA and trainees. Find out how you can optimize your supervision practices, improve clinical outcomes, and increase employee satisfaction at Greenspacebehavior.com.

In Session 165, I spoke with Brett Yarris, founder of The Bx Movement and co-founder of the Pro Football Network.

I first heard about Brett when he was featured on The Controversial Exchange podcast with Ryan and Dimitri. In that episode, I recall how passionately Brett advocated for a wider application of our science, and in this regard, he is really leading by example.

In this episode, we discussed how he found his way into Applied Behavior Analysis, how his frustration with the status quo led him to start his own company, how he got into coaching elite-level football players, and how he broke into the crowded and noisy field knowns as the NFL sports media.

In addition to these topics, I think the two most interesting segments of this show came from his discussion of how he devotes a significant amount of consultation and training time to helping individuals with Developmental Disabilities improve their physical health, and then later on in the show, where Brett shares his thoughts on the relevance of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board. That part of the show came towards the end, and without spoiling things too much, Brett doesn't hold back, so you'll definitely want to listen all the way through.

I should also note that there are some over-arching lessons in this conversation, mainly about identifying one's occupational interests and values, and offering novel solutions and/or services to common problems, all while using behavior-analytic principles as a guide. As such, if you've been contemplating striking out on your own, this is a must-listen episode, regardless of whether you care about the NFL, sports, wellness, and so on.

Lastly, for Patreon subscribers, Brett hangs out a little while longer and answers some questions about the upcoming NFL season. In particular, we discuss the 2021 prospects of my son's favorite team, the LA Chargers, and then of course, the New England Patriots. With regard to the latter, Brett shared some insider insight as to why New England cut Cam Newton, and we discussed the AFC East more generally. We ended the Patreon segment with Brett's prediction for the Superbowl.

Here are the links to the resources we discussed in this episode:

• Brett's company, The Bx Movement.
• Pro Football Network.
• The Controversial Exchange episode with Brett.
• The More Than Football show.
• "Don't Wag the Dog: Extending the Reach of ABA," (Normand and Kohn, 2013).
• Dr. Kim Berens' 2nd appearance on the BOP.
• The Offensive Value Metric.
• Precision Teaching in One Minute (Ryan O'Donnell and Amy Evans).

This podcast is brought to you by:

• The ABA Marketing Minute from Rich Brooks at Flyte New Media. If you're wondering how to successfully market your ABA practice, go to takeflyte.com/abaminute, and check out Flyte New Media's free 35 minute lesson on building effective websites.
• The Professional Crisis Management Association, or PCMA for short. Later on in the show, you'll hear from one of the most popular podcast guests, Dr. Merrill Winston, where he'll talk about how PCMA helps agencies support individuals who exhibit dangerous behaviors. For more info on them, go to PCMA.com.
• The 2021 New Hampshire ABA Conference! If you're in New England on September 11th, 2021, take the short drive to beautiful Concord, NH to attend this year's event. If you're not local to the region, don't worry, the event is available virtually as well! This year's program features both clinical and business tracks, a free lunch, an afternoon ice cream social, oh, and there will be great talks too, including Drs. Kelsey Ruppel, Paulie Gavoni, Byron Wine, Peter Gerhardt, Antonio Harrison, and more! Go to NHABA.net, and click the conference tab for details. While you're there, use the promo code Matt2021 to save at checkout.
• Institutional Tier Patron Greenspace Behavioral Technology. Greenspace behavior offers cutting edge supervisor coaching, performance and competency-based trainings, and organizational supports for new BCBA and trainees. Find out how you can optimize your supervision practices, improve clinical outcomes, and increase employee satisfaction at Greenspacebehavior.com.

Earlier this summer I had the chance to chat with Dr. Kelsey Ruppel, who is a Senior Consultant and the Director of Operations at FTF Behavioral Consulting. After I stopped getting tongue-tied in the introduction, we were able to cover a wide variety of topics, including:

• How she got into ABA.
• Pro-tips for remote consultation.
• A quick review of the Preschool Life Skills curriculum.
• Her research on addressing emerging problem behaviors, i.e., the development of the BALANCE program.
• More pro-tips: How to speed up the Skills-Based Treatment Process.
• What Kelsey plans to talk about at the upcoming Stone Soup Conference.
• And what is meant by the term, "Gray Reinforcement."

In short, this interview has tons of practical tips for everyday BCBA's, and I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.

Here are some links to what we discussed:

• An Evaluation of “Balance”: a Home-Based, Parent-Implemented Program Addressing Emerging Problem Behavior (Ruppel et al., 2021).
• Session 145 with The Consultants for Children (Lessons from Implementing the PFA Process).
• Preschool Life Skills: Recent Advancements and Future Directions (Fahmie and Luczynski, 2018).
• Prevention of problem behavior by teaching functional communication and self-control skills to preschoolers (Luczynski and Hanley, 2013).
• Free resources and downloads re: all things Practical Functional Assessment, Skills Based Treatment, and more!
• The Stone Soup Conference (save at registration using coupon code: PODCAST).
• Not included in the interview, but just as exciting, Kelsey will keynote the New Hampshire ABA 2021 conference on 9/11/2021. Link is here, and you can save at registration by using coupon code Matt2021.
• The FTF on-demand courses. As an FYI, Early-adopter and above tier Patrons can get a 20% discount on the 10-hour PFA/SBT course, the BALANCE course, and the Stereotypy course.
• And here are some bluetooth earpieces in case anyone is interested (note: Amazon affiliate link).

This episode is brought to you with the support of the following:

• The 2021 Stone Soup Conference! I challenge you to find a better CEU value in any virtual conference out there. With pod faves like Drs. Linda LeBlanc, Dithu Rajaraman, Jim Moore, Kerri Milyko, and more, there's something for everyone at this event. Use promo code PODCAST to save even more at checkout! Click here for additional details.
• The 2021 New Hampshire ABA Conference! If you're in New England on September 11th, 2021, take the short drive to beautiful Concord, NH to attend this year's event. If you're not local to the region, don't worry, the event is available virtually as well! This year's program features both clinical and business tracks, a free lunch, an afternoon ice cream social, oh, and there will be great talks too, including Drs. Kelsey Ruppel, Paulie Gavoni, Byron Wine, Peter Gerhardt, Antonio Harrison, and more! Go to NHABA.net, and click the conference tab for details. While you're there, use the promo code Matt2021 to save at checkout.
• If you like what you hear on the Behavioral Observations Podcast, you can support the show by either joining the Patreon group, which provides numerous benefits (ad-free podcasts, members-only events, discounts on cool stuff, and more!), or by considering the BOP for your continuing education needs.

Sara Litvak and Dr. Ellie Kazemi return to the podcast - this time together - to catch us up on what's new with the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence, or BHCOE for short.

Specifically, we discuss how the BHCOE has grown since Sara last checked in with us, how Ellie joined up with the organization as their Chief Science Officer, how the BHCOE determines quality standards, documentation guidelines for clinical records, ethical marketing practices, why the BHCOE is the "nicest place to complain to," and much more. We close the show by talking about what newly-minted BCBAs should look for when selecting an employer.

If you'd like to learn more about what the BHCOE does, head over to BHCOE.org.

Here are some links to resources, etc... we discussed:

• Sara's first appearance in Session 62 of the podcast.
• Ellie's first appearance in Session 88 of the show.
• BHCOE's most recent Annual Report.
• BHCOE's position statement on the use of Non-Compete Agreements in ABA.
• BHCOE's guide to ethically marketing your ABA practice.
• BHCOE on Instagram.
• BHCOE on Facebook.

This show is brought to you by the following sponsors:

• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• I also want to let you know that Behavior University is also a huge supporter of the 2021 Stone Soup Conference! I challenge you to find a better CEU value in any virtual conference out there. With pod faves like Drs. Linda LeBlanc, Dithu Rajaraman, Jim Moore, Kerri Milyko, and more, there's something for everyone at this event. Use promo code PODCAST to save even more at checkout! Click here for additional details.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Lastly, if you get a chance, check out the BOP CEU offerings as well as the benefits of joining our Patreon group.

Dr. Natalie Parks from Behavior Leader stopped by the podcast again for another fun conversation. In her previous appearance, we talked about the importance of providing feedback "the right way." And in this episode, we extend that theme and discuss the work that she and her colleagues have done in helping several fire departments in the St. Louis area improve their operations.

In particular, we covered:

• The challenges of consulting in a shift-work setting.
• The cultural idiosyncrasies of fire departments.
• Working with unionized personnel.
• Streamlining policies and procedures for more efficient fire department operations, and,
• Making inroads relative to diversity and inclusion in these settings.

Even if you have no connection with, or interest in emergency service settings, I encourage you to listen all the way through this episode anyway, as I think there are plenty of lessons that easily translate to other workplace environments.

I also want to note that Natalie's company, BehaviorLeader, offers training in the areas of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Leadership, and Business Development. They're even developing a course on inclusion, which you can learn more about here . Be sure to follow their work on Facebook.

Session 161 is brought to you by the following:

• The ABA Marketing Minute from Rich Brooks at Flyte New Media. If you're wondering how to successfully market your ABA practice, go to takeflyte.com/abaminute, and check out Flyte New Media's free 35 minute lesson on building effective websites.
• The Professional Crisis Management Association, or PCMA for short. Later on in the show, you'll hear from one of the most popular podcast guests, Dr. Merrill Winston, where he'll talk about how PCMA helps agencies support individuals who exhibit dangerous behaviors. For more info on them, go to crisisintervention.com.
• If you like what you hear on the Behavioral Observations Podcast, you can support the show by either joining the Patreon group, which provides numerous benefits, or by considering us for your continuing education needs.

In Session 159 of The Behavioral Observations Podcast, Michael Maloney returns to the show. We spend a few minutes catching up since the last time we spoke (see Session 129), but then pivot to his recent collaboration with the Canadian charity organization, the Amorak Society. With help from the Rotary International's literacy initiative, these partners deployed Michael's reading program, The Maloney Method, to over 2500 children in some of the poorest areas of Bangladesh via a smartphone-based app. 

I won't spoil the all the good parts here in the episode description, but let me just say that this is an amazing story of dissemination that I hope you enjoy as much as I did. 

For those interested in learning more about Michael and/or the reading software, check out his website, MaloneyMethod.com. Michael will also be conducting a series of webinars with Behavior Development Solutions throughout the month of June, so please check those out if you'd like to learn directly from him. 

This episode of Behavioral Observations was brought to you with support from:

• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Consider joining the BOP Patreon. Patreon members get early access to podcasts, bonus podcast material, discounts on CEU events from FTF and other continuing ed purveyors, occasional Zoom hangouts, and more!
• The Whoop Strap! I've been wearing the Whoop Strap for just a few weeks and I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed getting quantitative information on all aspects of my health, including sleep analytics, heart rate, along with heart rate variability, calorie burn, exercise intensity, and Whoop's proprietary "strain" score. I could extol this neat device's virtues indefinitely to you, but instead, you can go check it out for yourself. To get your first month free, head over to behavioralobservations.com/whoop! Also, feel free to join the Behavior Analysts who Whoop Facebook group!
• Lastly, check out the 2021 Stone Soup Conference! I challenge you to find a better CEU value in any virtual conference out there. With pod faves like Drs. Linda LeBlanc, Dithu Rajaraman, Jim Moore, Kerri Milyko, and more, there's something for everyone at this event. Use promo code PODCAST to save even more at checkout! Click here for additional details.

Rather than writing up a compelling introduction to this episode, I'm tempted to say, "just listen to the whole thing!" and leave it there. In Session 158, I chat with one of my oldest friends and Auburn classmate (obligatory "War Eagle!"), Dr. Jim Murphy from the University of Memphis, about the impossibly-broad topic of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs).

Fortunately for us, Jim has spent over 20 years studying this issue from Behavior Analytic/Behavioral Economic points of view, and he has developed an uncanny ability to discuss these complicated repertoires in easy to understand, everyday terms.

As such, in this episode we cover the following:

• How the environment often plays a key role in substance use.
• Why the abstinence model for problem drinkers may not be the best fit for some individuals.
• Why the terms, "alcoholic," and "addict," are neither descriptive, nor helpful.
• Why we should be more concerned about binge drinkers.
• How alcohol increases social interactions.
• How certain age-ranges are at risk for binge-style use patterns.
• What is Motivational Interviewing, and how it can be used to address binge drinking.
• The differences in substance use patterns between young adults who do and don't go to college.
• How developing hobbies and other values-based activities can help curb problem drinking.
• What does the research say about Alcoholics Anonymous and similar 12-step programs, and in general, the pros and cons of these approaches.
• How using a Hypothetical Demand Curve analysis can be used to assess motivation to reduce drinking behavior.
• Why BCBAs should consider getting training in Motivational Interviewing.

Jim was also kind enough to stick around after the interview for a few more minutes in the commercial-free Patreon feed. In this bonus segment, Jim shares his thoughts on drug legalization in America, particularly the legalization of cannabis. If you're interested in checking this out, as well as partaking in other Patreon-only benefits, check out patreon.com/behavioralobservations.

Here are the links to the resources we discussed:

• Jim's page at The University of Memphis.
• Jim's Google Scholar page.
• Drunk Monkeys video.
• Rat Park study.
• Alcohol/Social Bonding experiment.
• Marlatt, et al. (1999). Screening and Brief Intervention for High-Risk College Student Drinkers.
• A scientific review of Alcoholics Anonymous.
• Relevant APA Divisions: Division 50 (Society of Addiction Psychology) and Division 28 (Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse).
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
• Maureen Dowd's NYT column (2014; will make sense for those listening to the extended Patreon episode).

Please permit me a few quick housekeeping notes:

• We had a few connection issues, so the audio fades in a few places, but I don't think it detracts from the overall content of the show.
• As with Session 157, this episode was recorded in December of 2020, so there may be a few time-based references that will seem out of sync... however, I don't think they have much bearing on the overall gist of the podcast.

This episode is brought to you today with the generous support of:

• Institutional Tier Patron Greenspace Behavioral Technology. For more information on their products and services check out greenspacebehavior.com.
• The Whoop Strap! I've been wearing the Whoop Strap for just a few weeks and I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed getting quantitative information on all aspects of my health, including sleep analytics, heart rate, along with heart rate variability, calorie burn, exercise intensity, and Whoop's proprietary "strain" score. I could extol this neat device's virtues indefinitely to you, but instead, you can go check it out for yourself. To get your first month free, head over to behavioralobservations.com/whoop! Also, feel free to join the Behavior Analysts who Whoop Facebook group!
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• Consider joining the BOP Patreon. Patreon members get early access to podcasts, bonus podcast material, discounts on CEU events from FTF and other continuing ed purveyors, occasional Zoom hangouts, and more!

Dr. Becca Tagg from Del Mar Behavioral Health joins me to discuss the unique approach her agency uses to train early-career BCBAs. This conversation was inspired by the interview I conducted with Dr. Mary Jane Weiss last year, in which we talked about how cool it would be if the field had an ABA equivalent of a medical residency model, so that BCBAs can learn about practicing with a variety of populations.

As you'll hear in the interview, Becca heard this and reached out to say that this is exactly what they do, and we spend the majority of the conversation discussing just how they implement this unique training strategy.

Before we get to the residency topic, we spent a little bit of time catching up since our last chat, and especially focus on how Del Mar's services adapted to the Covid-19 pandemic. To this end, I should also note that we recorded this conversation in December, and as such, some of the references may seem a bit anachronistic, but many of these challenges are still with us in the Spring of 2021, so I chose to keep that part of the conversation in this episode.

If you like these types of topics, I suggest that you join the ABA Business Builders Facebook Group if you haven't already done so. While you're there, say hello to Becca!

Here are the links to resources we discussed:

• Becca's first episode with me, Session 97.
• My interview with Mary Jane Weiss (definitely check out if you haven't heard it yet), Session 128.
• A golden oldie, my conversation with Tim Courtney, Session 46.
• Becca's podcast and business consulting services.
• Sniffy, the Virtual Rat.
• #DoBetterMovement.
• Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, Stone, Patton, Heen and Fisher.

This episode of Behavioral Observations was brought to you with support from:

• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.
• Consider joining the BOP Patreon. Patreon members get early access to podcasts, bonus podcast material, discounts on CEU events from FTF and other continuing ed purveyors, occasional Zoom hangouts, and more!
• The Whoop Strap! I've been wearing the Whoop Strap for just a few weeks and I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed getting quantitative information on all aspects of my health, including sleep analytics, heart rate, along with heart rate variability, calorie burn, exercise intensity, and Whoop's proprietary "strain" score. I could extol this neat device's virtues indefinitely to you, but instead, you can go check it out for yourself. To get your first month free, head over to behavioralobservations.com/whoop! Also, feel free to join the Behavior Analysts who Whoop Facebook group!

Dr. Adithyan "Dithu" Rajaraman joins me in Session 156 to discuss his work in the Practical Functional Assessment/Skills-Based Treatment literature. 

Dithu is a former student of pod-fave Dr. Greg Hanley, and as one might expect, Dithu approaches his work with a similar degree of humility and open-mindedness. He earned his Ph.D. at Western New England University, and is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County 

As we discuss in the first few minutes of the show, I met Dithu about four or five years ago at APBA, and I was instantly struck with how well he communicated complex ideas in a manner that just about anybody can understand. We've kept in touch since then, and I was fortunate enough to find a time where we could get together for an in-depth conversation on the podcast. 

In this episode, we covered his entry into the field of ABA, the seemingly false distinction of behavior-reduction vs. skill instruction, the basics of the Practical Functional Assessment and Skills-Based Treatment models, dealing with caregiver objections to these approaches, Dithu's research on what he calls the Enhanced Choice Model of skill instruction, implementing these procedures in public school settings, and much more. We also talk about how he stumped me with a question when I was a panelist at an ABAI event…

You’re going to want to stay through to the very end because Dithu provides some really unique advice – not only for newly-minted BCBAs, but practitioners of all experience levels.

The Patreon version of this show involves an extra 45-50 minutes of content, in which we talk about Dithu’s passion for the sport Cricket and field questions from Patrons. Last but not least, Dithu, as some of you might know, is quite the singer, and he ends the bonus footage by sharing his vocal stylings. To get access to this content, as well as commercial-free podcast feeds, discounts on FTF trainings, and more, check out patreon.com/behavioralobservations. And while we’re on the topic of Patreon, Dithu has agreed to do a Zoom call with members, where he’ll take questions directly from listeners.

I should also add that Dithu insisted I give some shoutouts to the following folks who helped him with his research, and they include the aforementioned Greg Hanley, as well as Holly Gover, Johanna Staubitz, John Staubitz, Kathleen Simcoe, Rachel Metras, Robin Landa, and Kelsey Ruppel. This research has been recently published in Behavior Analysis in Practice as well, so I recommend you check it out when you get a chance. 

If you like Dithu's approach and want to learn more from him, my friends at Behavior University are hosting a webinar with him titled: Enhanced Choice Model: Trauma-informed Process for Assessing and Treating Dangerous Behavior. Behavior University is a sponsor of the podcast, and if you'd like to save on your registration for this event, use the code PODCAST at checkout. 

Also, if you're looking for a grad program and you really want to dive deep into this area, UMBC is always accepting applicants to their Master's program in ABA, which is closely affiliated with the Kennedy Krieger Institute, and that Dithu is accepting doctoral students in the Applied Developmental Psychology program. 

In addition to Behavior University and the Patreon Group, this episode is also brought to you by How-to-ABA. Being a BCBA can be lonely and overwhelming.  At howtoaba.com, we help BCBA’s feel supported and confident by providing easy to access printables, CEU's and a collaborative community. Also, your monthly pro membership includes access to CEU’s! Along with the community of over 1000 ABA professionals, howtoaba.com will help you save time, feel confident and master what you love! For more information, Go to howtoaba.com/joinbxresource.  When you join today and use code BOP, you’ll receive 10% off a yearly subscription (includes CEU’s!).

In previous appearances on this podcast and elsewhere, Pat Friman has told the story of Father Flanagan, founder of BoysTown. According to Pat, Father Flanagan often made the following statement when describing his philosophy of helping troubled youths: "there is no such thing as a bad boy, only bad environments, bad modeling, and bad teaching."

For the Spring 2021 issue of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Dr. Linda LeBlanc invited Pat to expand on these remarks in the issue's lead paper. In this podcast, I'm joined by both Linda and Pat, as well as Inside JABA regular, Dr. Claire St. Peter, where we talk at length about the "circumstantial view" of behavior as it applies to both clinical practice in particular, and societal trends more generally.

Specifically, we discuss the following:

• How this paper fits into LeBlanc’s “big idea paper” concept.
• How “big idea” papers are often conceptual rather than data based.
• Why Pat stopped presenting papers with original data, and why he started giving more thematic talks.
• The difference, from Pat’s perspective between giving a talk and writing a journal article.
• A brief history of BoysTown.
• Just what is the Circumstantial View of problem behavior?
• Some examples from Pat’s life where he failed to take the Circumstantial View of behavior.
• Why the Circumstantial View has failed to flourish?
• How supervisors can incorporate these views with trainees and other team members?
• Why it is important to tell a real-life story as a vehicle for explain a behavioral principles.
• Why Pat’s view of Walden Two has changed.
• Movies that demonstrate both the Circumstantial and Characterological View of behavior.
• And much more!

During this conversation, we discussed many papers and other resources. I've done my best to capture all of them below:

• The paper that inspired this podcast, "There is no such thing as a bad boy: The circumstantial view of problem behavior."
• The JABA Homepage.
• Pat Friman's appearances on Behavioral Observations (Session 10, Session 16, Session 42, and Session 77).
• Goldiamond (2002). Toward a Constructional Approach to Social Problems: Ethical and Constitutional Issues Raised by Applied Behavior Analysis.
• Pat's TedTalk.
• The short film Pat referenced.
• The DailyBA clip we discussed (Pink Sweater/Didn't Know her Circumstances).
• This Way of Thinking (CE/Short film by Team OnLocation).
• Session 72: Compassionate Service Delivery.
• Quotable Quote: “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” – Alexander Den Heijer.
• Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman.
• A Clockwork Orange.
• Walden Two.

In keeping with previous Inside JABA Series podcasts, there will be no ads in this episode. However, this show happens to be eligible for BACB Continuing Education. So click here for more information. And, to help incentivize getting Pat's important message out there, I’m running a 50% 55% off sale from now, through the first week of May, 2021. Use offer code Boystown, to get more than half off any CEU in the Behavioral Observations catalog.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. If so, please consider sharing with friends and colleagues!

I had a great chat with fellow Auburn University alum Dr. Alice Shillingsburg. Alice has been doing great work in the field for decades, as you can see from her bio below:

Dr. Shillingsburg currently serves as Sr. Vice President of Children’s Clinical Services and Training at May Institute. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Auburn University and completed her predoctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at the Marcus Institute. She previously served as the Director of the Language and Learning Clinic at the Marcus Autism Center and held an appointment of Associate Professor at Emory University in the Division of Autism and Related Developmental Disabilities. Dr. Shillingsburg is a licensed psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D). Her clinical expertise includes the development of language and behavioral programming to address a variety of behavioral difficulties and social communication deficits associated with autism and other developmental disabilities. She has published over 50 empirical papers and book chapters on interventions for children with autism and related developmental disabilities. She is currently an associate editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, editorial board member of Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, and is past associate editor for The Analysis of Verbal Behavior.

In this episode we talk about:

• How she got into the ABA field.
• Our similar experiences at Auburn University's Psychology Department. 
• Her work in clinical leadership at The May Institute.
• Things to avoid when trying to advocate for change.
• Her upcoming talks (two of them!) at the Verbal Behavior Conference 2021. 
• Teaching Social Skills.
• Using Speech Generation Devices... and so much more. 

As noted in the interview, the VBC is coming up right around the corner. If you do decide to register, use the code Podcast10 at checkout to save some $$$. As we mentioned towards the end of the show, the May Institute is looking for staff to invest in, so click here to learn more about available job opportunities.

This podcast is brought to you by the following:

• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• How-to-ABA. Being a BCBA can be lonely and overwhelming.  At howtoaba.com, we help BCBA’s feel supported and confident by providing easy to access printables, CEU's and a collaborative community. Also, your monthly pro membership includes access to CEU’s! Along with the community of over 1000 ABA professionals, howtoaba.com will help you save time, feel confident and master what you love! For more information, Go to howtoaba.com/joinbxresource.  When you join today and use code BOP, you’ll receive 10% off a yearly subscription (includes CEU’s!).
• Consider joining the BOP Patreon. Patreon members get early access to podcasts, bonus podcast material, discounts on CEU events from FTF and other continuing ed purveyors, occasional Zoom hangouts, and more!