Episodes
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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.
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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' methodHere 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 colleaguesThis 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 ârequest infoâ 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.
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Missing episodes?
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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. Weâll hear more about this event later on in the show, but if youâre 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. Weâll hear more about this event later on in the show, but if youâre 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 ârequest infoâ 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.
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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., & OâGuinn, 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., YĂŒcesoy-Ăzkan, 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. Weâll hear more about this event later on in the show, but if youâre 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 artĂculo 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 problemĂĄtica.
Carola se tomĂł el trabajo de traducir el artĂculo con el permiso de Dr Friman y estarĂĄ 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 revisiĂłn 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.
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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 ârequest infoâ 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.
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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!
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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 Supervisorâs 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 Supervisorâs 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.
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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) âIâsâ 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 PediĂĄtricos de la AlimentaciĂłn con la Dra Varsovia HernĂĄndez Eslava
Aunque el tema de este episodio se centra en problemas pediĂĄtricos de la alimentaciĂłn, la Dra Varsovia Hernandez Eslava nos comparte una muy interesante trayectoria profesional y un panorama e historia del anĂĄlisis de la conducta en MĂ©xico. De aquella mirada inicial pasamos a una nueva panorĂĄmica muy detallada de los problemas pediĂĄtricos de la alimentaciĂłn empezando por describir quĂ© son y de ahĂ a conocer los procesos de evaluaciĂłn y sus subsecuentes intervenciones. Son importantes los detalles y aclaraciones que la Dra Varsovia nos ofrece acerca del proceso evaluativo como tambiĂ©n los varios componentes y etapas durante la intervenciĂłn (los dejamos con intriga para que lo escuchen con detenimiento). Fue fascinante apreciar todas las sutilezas que un profesional competente considera a nivel clĂnico 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, participaciĂłn y satisfacciĂłn para aquellos que han interactuado con ella en estos contextos. Un modelo para nosotros seguir. Nos deja con la reflexiĂłn de buscar mentores y una bĂșsqueda constante por nuevos y mĂĄs profundos aprendizajes; de ser Ă©ticos y humildes.
Pediatric Feeding Issues with Dr. Varsovia HernĂĄndez 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.
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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
âą 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.
âą 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!
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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 ârequest infoâ 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.Auburnâs 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 ârequest infoâ 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 âechar cuentosâ. Ella lo atribuye a como fue criada y a su amor a la literatura. En otras palabras, lo atribuye âal reforzamiento diferencial de su conducta verbalâ. Tengo que admitir que como Venezolano tenĂa un gran interĂ©s de hablar con una paisana con quien comparto algunas nostalgias y experiencias de emigrante pero tambiĂ©n un orgullo y admiraciĂłn por alguien que puede navegar en ocĂ©anos acadĂ©micos, experimentales y aplicados. Como tal, sus adaptaciones a varios lenguajes, culturas y conocimientos le han dado una gran sensibilidad en su comunicaciĂłn y el abordaje a sus distintas audiencias. Si ella puede construir puentes entre el realismo mĂĄgico y el lenguaje cientĂfico, quiĂ©n mejor para examinar nuestras culturas y subculturas dentro de nuestra profesiĂłn y para observar cĂłmo interactuamos con quienes colaboramos. Espero que disfruten y aprendan de esta conversaciĂłn tanto como yo.
Nota: el uso de lenguaje metafĂłrico 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
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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 donât 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, thereâs lots of discussion of this topic thatâs happening, particularly in the various ABA social media groups, and as is true with so many other things, itâs refreshing to elevate the discourse by looking at empirical analyses as opposed to anecdotal observations and hunches.
If youâre a clinical director or practice owner whoâs 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 Iâve 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 âyeah, butâŠâ questions. Even though I donât 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 Iâm 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.
Iâve 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 itâs 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 youâll 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 episodeâs show notes. I also have Melissa and Colinâs LinkedIn profiles, so Iâd 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 - LinkedInHere 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. ViruĂ©s-Ortega, J. (2010). Applied behavior analytic intervention for autism in early childhood: Meta-analysis, meta-regression and doseâresponse 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, 359-383This 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, youâll also be invited each month to join a live CEU and a live mentorship session in their private community group. Youâll also have access to their extensive CEU library of recorded on-demand CEUâs on relevant, practical topics to BCBAâs in the field. Go to https://members.howtoaba.com/join. When you join today and use code BOP, youâll receive 10% off a yearly subscription (includes CEUâs!). 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. - Show more
