Episode description

A few weeks ago, I sat down with Kelle Rich, founder of the Central Texas Autism Center, to discuss a handful of topics, one if which being the upcoming Verbal Behavior Conference. If you've tuned into the last few episodes, you've likely heard me talk about this event.

At the time of our conversation, the Coronavirus was just coming onto the nation's radar screen, but the "plan" was to go ahead with the event, which was scheduled to take place in Austin, Texas, unless conditions changed.

Well, as you can guess, the conditions have changed since we recorded this interview. The bad news is that the spread of Covid-19 has continued, and Kelle made the difficult, yet prudent decision to cancel the on-site event. The good news however, is that Kelle decided not to take this lying down, as it were, and she's now hosting this event in a webinar format.

As such, tickets remain on sale, so if this is something you're interested in, head to ctac1.com/podcast to grab one for yourself. Aside from the availability of the breakfast tacos, the program will remain the same. It includes talks by Drs. Mark Sundberg, Barbara Esch, Pat Mcgreevy, and more. Kelle was also kind enough to ask me to moderate a panel at the end of day 1.

If you're not interested in the conference, I still urge you to check this show out, as we actually spend the majority of the time discussing the development of Applied Behavior Analysis in Texas, why Kelle started the Central Texas Autism Center, how she recruits, trains, and maintains high quality staff members, and more. Long story short, there are plenty of lessons no matter where your interests lie.

This episode is brought to you with the generous support of the following:

• FTF Behavioral Consulting. Dr. Greg Hanley and the rest of the FTF team are holding a two-day workshop covering all aspects of the Practical Functional Assessment and Skills-Based Treatment processes (formerly known as the IISCA). It will be held at the DCU center on April 16th and 17th in Worcester, Massachusetts. For more information, go to ftfbc.com and click the events tab. Like everyone else, they're taking the Covid-19 pandemic seriously, and so they will likely change the details of this event as a result. If that happens, not to worry! They have a lot of online learning options available, so check out ftfbc.com/services/courses.
• GoLotus. GoLotus is an easy to use, intuitive practice management platform. From scheduling, to notes, to data collection and more, they do it all. And with no contracts or obligations. Find out more about what they have to offer at golotus.com/register. And If you do sign up, the coupon code Matt2019 and you will get 25% off for the first 3 months.
• The ABA Marketing Minute. Former two-time guest, Rich Brooks, has teamed up with me to provide a series of 60-second micro lessons on marketing your services. You'll hear the first installment in this episode, but Rich has also set up a web page with more resources on this topic, including a free 30-minute webinar called, How to Build an Effective Website for Your Small Business. You can check it out at takeflyte.com/abaminute.

Lastly, you probably hear me reference the show notes to this podcast quite frequently. You can always find them at behavioralobservations.com, however, if you want to save a step and have the shownotes directly emailed to  you, go to behavioralobservations.com, look for the red button on the right hand side, and click to sign up for the newsletter. I don't share your email address, and I only send a few emails a month.

OK, that's it for opening announcements, so without any further delay, please enjoy this conversation with Kelle Rich!