Today, we’re talking all about verbal operants, as they’re one of the most components parts of work in the field that are often quite confusing. We’ll show you what you might want to teach and in what order. Verbal operants can be tough to understand, especially when you’re new. There are so many components to language, above and beyond the words we’re saying. How we use and understand words play a huge role as well as actions, images, and how we absorb all the information and teach it to our st...
Aug 16, 2022•30 min•Ep. 59
Barbara Heidenreich is an expert exotic animal trainer. We met Barbara in Boston at ABAI and we were fascinated by the way she uses ABA and behavioral principles in animal training. Barbara specializes in working with animals and she works mostly with zoos and facilities that care for exotic species. She also works with veterinary professionals and conservationists. Veterinary medicine is now becoming more focused on cooperative care, reducing animal stress, and making the animal care experience...
Aug 09, 2022•24 min•Ep. 58
In behavior analysis, we love our acronyms! Today, we’re talking about what the ABC’s of behavior are. We’ll share how you can take ABC data, why it’s so important, and so much more. All too often, we’re faced with compiling ABC data from a large amount of information, which can be overwhelming. Data is ultimately supposed to make our lives easier and help us do a better job as practitioners. ABC stands for antecedent, behavior, and consequence and when we refer to behavior, that includes the su...
Aug 02, 2022•17 min•Ep. 57
Today, we’re talking about what not to do as an ABA practitioner. We’re going to review our top five don’t-dos as a professional in the field. When we were preparing, it was difficult to narrow it down to just five, but we discuss what we believe are the most important things to keep in mind. It’s also difficult to talk about what not to do without speaking about what you should do, so we’ll offer you some tips to help you in your jobs. First, you want to avoid using technical jargon. Dumbing th...
Jul 26, 2022•14 min•Ep. 56
Today, we are talking with Michelle Vinokurov, who is a paraprofessional and RBT autistic advocate. She was diagnosed with autism at the age of two and was non-verbal until age six. Michelle’s parents advocated for her early on and got her involved with speech therapy, ABA, occupational and physical therapy. As she got older, she gained a lot more skills, including handwriting, and her services were gradually reduced. Today, she works with elementary school students with disabilities and started...
Jul 19, 2022•31 min•Ep. 55
Our guest today is Dr. Hank Schlinger. He’s a professor at California State University in Los Angeles. Hank got into the field through working with kids with autism through his undergraduate program. He practiced ABA techniques, which were then known as behavioral modification, and the results he witnessed in the children he worked with made a lasting impact on him. Today, Hank is a successful author of several books, including “How to Build Good Behavior and Self-Esteem in Children”, which puts...
Jul 12, 2022•35 min•Ep. 54
Finding solutions for families who deserve the best treatment is not easy to come by. Ling Ly Tan and Jane Button from the Linggo team are here to share all about the organization. Linggo is a company that makes communication accessible for people who have difficulty speaking. It is an assistive technology that supports the learning of language, speech, and literacy skills through an AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) platform. Ling’s a BCBA and has been working in the field for al...
Jul 05, 2022•27 min•Ep. 53
So many of us have experienced challenges with sleep and children, whether from personal experience or professionally in the field. Emily Varon is a sleep expert who’s been working in ABA since 2000. Sleep has always been of interest to Emily with her own kids and she saw the opportunity to provide solutions for clients in her job as a practitioner. With the encouragement of her agency, she started taking additional coursework and began thinking beyond the typical extinction strategies used to c...
Jun 28, 2022•47 min•Ep. 52
We are very excited to have Michael Maloney as a guest today. He’s the founder of Quincy Learning Center and an expert in precision teaching and direct instruction. Along with other professionals, Michael started sharing his methodology with other teachers and practitioners. Today, it’s becoming a sizable force within the field. We’re seeing several challenges related to literacy within the educational system and ten million students within the U.S. public school system are illiterate. So many a...
Jun 21, 2022•28 min•Ep. 51
One of our community members asked a question about reinforcement, and we discuss it in today’s mentorship sneak peek. Even though the term “reinforcement” is used often and seems simple, it can be tough to figure out what a good reinforcer is. This member’s client is a little verbal but barely communicates, and his main behavior is task avoidance. The functions of the behavior are mostly escaped and attention and so far, they haven’t been able to come up with a reinforcer that motivates him. Wi...
Jun 14, 2022•11 min•Ep. 50
Today, we’re discussing burnout with one of our members, Julie Tewell. She’s a clinical BCBA in Louisville, KY. Julie works with kids ranging from two to twelve years old. She originally wanted to be an occupational therapist but stumbled into the field after getting the opportunity to shadow at a clinic from a family member who worked in ABA. Her favorite thing about working as a BCBA is the connections she makes with families. It's important for clinics and organizations to be mindful of emplo...
Jun 07, 2022•34 min•Ep. 49
Today, we’re hosting one of our members, Kailani Bartley. She’s a case manager at CABS, the Chicago Autism and Behavior Specialists. Kailani landed in the field sort of by accident. She originally wanted to become a music therapist, but after working at a tech job for a year while she was in college, she decided she wanted to work within ABA. Today, Kailani just graduated with her master’s degree and is taking the BCBA exam in August. Kailani spent time in several jobs searching for high-quality...
May 31, 2022•23 min•Ep. 48
A member of our audience brought a situation to us that involves a three-year-old non-speaking autistic child. He has a tendency to open and close sliding doors and also a tendency to hurt other children. He’s the same across all environments. This type of behavior is worth targeting, especially since other kids are being injured. Based on the details we have, it seems like the behavior is getting automatically reinforced. Sensory or automatic behaviors often become the catch-all for things that...
May 24, 2022•16 min•Ep. 47
As behavior analysts, we have to know what the function of a problematic behavior is and why the client is doing it. When you’re confronting challenging behavior, you’re going to be capturing it in a behavior plan. It’s important to understand the data collection process around behavior reduction goals. The first step should be defining the behavior you’re looking to collect the data on and getting as specific as possible so everyone’s on the same page. Then, you can collect specific ABC data on...
May 18, 2022•25 min•Ep. 46
We’re giving you another sneak peek into our mentorship meetings where we share some questions from our members. One member is working on spontaneous manding with a three-year-old student. The student has an advanced verbal repertoire and is strong in several areas but doesn’t always verbally request items. The child also has trouble calming down in public settings and the member asked if ACT or AIM would help. No child is ever too young for these strategies, however, it’s important to figure ou...
May 11, 2022•15 min•Ep. 45
In our community, we get a lot of questions from our members and the question for this episode is: “When would be a good time to teach a client to ask questions, or what are some of the prerequisite skills before teaching to ask questions?” There are a couple of options you want to look at which usually are asking questions and answering questions. If you’re teaching the latter, you need to make sure that comprehension is there. We share how we approach it in the most tactile way by teaching the...
May 03, 2022•14 min•Ep. 44
Dr. Laura Cesaroni is the Clinical Director of FERN in Toronto. FERN stands for Family Education Resource Network. They assist parents, grandparents, and teachers who require specialized resources for teaching, managing, and parenting children who experience challenges. Laura saw a number of children in her practice that were dysregulated and started seeking out effective strategies to deal with big behaviors. Self-regulation is all about understanding stress and the importance of relationships....
Apr 26, 2022•48 min•Ep. 43
Today, we cover all things related to staff hiring and training. When hiring, sometimes personality means more than what’s on a resume or how many years of experience a person has. How someone presents themselves and how prepared they are going a long way. Asking the right questions in an interview is key. When interviewing for a new job, try your best to let your personality shine through. As an interviewer, having a candidate interact with a potential student could uncover valuable information...
Apr 19, 2022•21 min•Ep. 42
We’re answering another question from the community regarding our opinions on ACT and AIM. ACT stands for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. It’s a branch of behavioral psychology that’s been adopted by the field of ABA. AIM is an acronym for Accept, Identify, Move, which is an ABA curriculum that’s based on the principles of ACT. We’re no experts on these modalities, but we’ve used them in the field and have encountered them in training and at conferences. We discuss the ACT Values Matrix and h...
Apr 12, 2022•23 min•Ep. 41
We received a question from a member on echolalia and scripting and wanted to share our thoughts in this episode. They were wondering if there were any practical tips to help reduce scrolling responses, as their current treatment methods weren’t working. First, it’s important to identify if the behavior is associated with specific operants. Therapist responses are important to note as well. With imitation, if we’re not doing enough mixing and varying, the student may resort to the one action the...
Mar 29, 2022•21 min•Ep. 40
One of our members came to us for advice on how to address separation anxiety with a client. The anxiety turns aggressive while the mother is leaving, but then subsides and the session can continue normally. The data they collected indicated that the problem was attention maintained, but the emotional component seems very compelling. We discuss similar situations we’ve encountered in our own practices. In one example, the parents were phased out gradually until the child was comfortable. The “ri...
Mar 22, 2022•13 min•Ep. 39
Leticia Moreno is the Clinical Director and CEO of Within Me Therapy in Maryland. Before becoming a BCBA, she was a special education teacher working in an early intervention setting. Her aunt introduced her to ABA, inspiring her to blend it with early learning in her own practice. She works to incorporate the natural environment into her treatment strategies and helps parents continue the learning outside of the classroom. Leticia uses a coaching model to work with parents instead of a direct a...
Mar 15, 2022•25 min•Ep. 38
Today, we’re discussing contingent and non-contingent reinforcement, including the difference between the two and how to know which one to use. Reinforcement is a huge focus as an ABA practitioner. It can also be a slippery slope. When all reinforcement becomes contingent, a child can feel like they have to earn everything. Parents often get confused with the two types of reinforcement as well. It’s helpful to always keep the difference between contingent and non-contingent in our heads so we ca...
Mar 08, 2022•18 min•Ep. 37
Today, we’re discussing behavior, more specifically, how to develop a functional behavior plan (FBA) and assessment. While behaviors often seem random, there’s always a reason behind them. A good FBA helps you figure out what those reasons are so you can replace undesired behavior with new skills. Many times, a behavior is learned because, at some point, a child realized they can use it to get what they want. It’s never because they want to misbehave on purpose. Before you get started with an FB...
Mar 01, 2022•17 min•Ep. 36
Part three of our “sneak peek” series showcases more from our monthly mentorship meetings. In this session, we share our thoughts on using timers for transition periods. We also share resources on addressing challenging behaviors around tolerating peers. To wrap up, we discuss working with the PECS system. This series has been loaded with great tips and insights and we’re looking forward to doing more of these! We love being able to brainstorm and problem solve with our community, which includes...
Feb 22, 2022•23 min•Ep. 35
Welcome to Part 2 of our “sneak peek” series where we give you a behind-the-scenes look into our monthly mentorship meetings. Every month, members of the How To ABA community get together to discuss what’s going on in the field. It’s a great place to share resources and connect with other professionals. In this second session, we’ll cover techniques to help kids tolerate losing, treating oppositional behavior, and different assessment tools for social skills. We break down our strategies and sha...
Feb 15, 2022•26 min•Ep. 34
In these next few podcasts, we wanted to give you a sneak peek into our monthly mentorship meetings. These meetings are dedicated to answering questions from How To ABA members. Every month, we meet to discuss a variety of different issues as it relates to being a BCBA in today’s environment. During this first sneak peek, some of the topics include working with attention-seeking learners, tips to help RBTs to stay engaged with clients, and ideas for sensory social routines. To join us on the nex...
Feb 09, 2022•20 min•Ep. 33
The field of ABA is constantly growing and evolving. After being in the field for several years, we wanted to share our perspectives on what has changed and what still needs to change. Our field is making great strides in moving from the perception that ABA “fixes” kids to honoring who they are as people. Shayna has been in the field since 1997 and shares what it was like when she was first starting out. Nobody really knew what autism really was, let alone ABA. Supervision looked a lot different...
Feb 01, 2022•25 min•Ep. 32
Rachel Torrance is a BCBA and the Assistant Regional Vice President at Cultivate Behavioral Health and Education. She’s also the co-owner of a company called Supervision Academy, a remote supervision training agency. ABA was a huge component of her special education studies and gained a lot of hands-on experience through teaching in the classroom. She eventually left the classroom to become a consultant and a BCBA. If you’re a new BCBA, Rachel recommends that you always ask questions and be open...
Jan 25, 2022•29 min•Ep. 31
Today, we’re going to be talking about ABA principles that we use in our homes. In addition to being professionals, we’re also moms. It’s so interesting how much we can learn from our kids and how they help us to become better BCBAs. Non-contingent reinforcement works really well with kids, letting them know that not everything in the household needs to be earned. Scheduling, predictability, and expectations are key. Laying down the family ground rules and consistently reinforcing them goes a lo...
Jan 18, 2022•34 min•Ep. 30
