Many of our students struggle with initiating language and conversation. Because of this, we usually place a strong emphasis on teaching requesting, or manding, in an ABA program. Here, we discuss how we can teach more advanced manding skills using WH questions. If our learners can mand a request for their wants and needs, it helps reduce challenging behaviors and motivates them to talk. We discuss the prerequisite skills a learner needs before teaching manding with WH questions. We talk about s...
Dec 03, 2024•18 min•Ep. 179
Chris Topham is a behavior scientist and the owner of Celeration ABA. Along with his wife, who is also a BCBA, Chris founded Celeration ABA in 2020. At first, they mostly focused on supporting families through the COVID-19 pandemic by providing telehealth ABA and academic support while their children weren’t in school. Within a few years of launch, they’ve grown to become a profitable ABA company focused on delivering high-quality, personalized ABA to families in the San Francisco Bay Area. Here...
Nov 26, 2024•32 min•Ep. 178
Intraverbals are one of the most challenging concepts for our learners. They can also be the hardest to teach. Here, we cover some of the best ways to teach intraverbals so we can set our learners up for success. Ideally, we want our learners to have the comprehension and ability to hold information in their heads and answer questions correctly without visual support. We discuss why intraverbals are so important for conversation skills and the appropriate age at which to teach them. We talk abou...
Nov 19, 2024•18 min•Ep. 177
Dr. Peter Gerhardt is the Executive Director of Epic Programs in New Jersey. Dr. Shanna Bahry is the founder and executive director of Meaningful Hope. Dr. Gerhardt and Dr. Bahry us to discuss their experiences in the field and the gaps they see when it comes to setting up our learners for a successful, independent life. Together, they created a blueprint of how ABA practitioners can help the people they support make lasting, effective changes. Here, Peter and Shanna share their background and w...
Nov 12, 2024•35 min•Ep. 176
Functional communication and replacement language are important skills to work on with learners. Are you incorporating appropriate protests into these teachings? Here, we cover what appropriate protests are and some of the best ways to include this skill in our programs. We discuss the reasons why teaching protests is so important and how to break down our teaching into multiple steps. We also talk about the different ways to teach appropriate protesting, recording triggers, and how to teach lea...
Nov 05, 2024•9 min•Ep. 175
Leila Farshchian is the CEO of ABA Toolbox, a comprehensive practice management software system for agencies, schools, and private ABA practices that provide services to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Leila is a Certified Special Educator and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 27 years of experience working with children with autism and special needs. Since 1997, she has used ABA methods for the treatment of learners with ASD in school, home, and community settings. L...
Oct 29, 2024•30 min•Ep. 174
Let's face it, one-to-one ABA is awesome, but it's not realistic forever and ever. We really want our learners to start paying attention, responding and learning in group situations. Therefore, at some point we need to practice some whole group instruction. Here, we cover how to do it and how to come up with the best way to initiate and facilitate whole group instruction. In this discussion, we define whole-group instruction and talk about the benefits of choral responding. We also discuss why g...
Oct 22, 2024•11 min•Ep. 173
In order for children to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks, they need good executive functioning skills. Many children with autism and other developmental delays lack these critical skills that come naturally to other kids. Here, we discuss how to teach executive functioning skills effectively to our learners. Executive functioning skills include time management, emotional control, working memory, and task initiation. When it comes to executive functioning, ...
Oct 15, 2024•16 min•Ep. 172
Teachers have so much to manage in their roles. As BCBAs, how can we support them and gain their buy in without adding more to their plates? Here, we discuss the importance of respecting a teacher’s classroom and how to pair yourself with positive reinforcement. It’s also important to start small and identify something you can help them with as a quick win. We discuss how to incorporate a teacher’s values and what they want for their classroom. This will help you create meaningful goals. Our con...
Oct 08, 2024•11 min•Ep. 171
A member of our Bx Resource membership community raised a question about teaching receptive language skills, specifically receptive labels, as the strategies she tried weren’t working. Here, we cover how to teach receptive language skills and discrimination to our learners. We go over the steps to take when building a receptive language program, starting with finding things that are meaningful to our learners. We discuss the importance of teaching across categories and how to mix things up so ou...
Oct 01, 2024•15 min•Ep. 170
All ABA programs require us to take data, but what does that mean? The data we collect is only worth something when it’s properly analyzed. Once we have a program in place for our learners, it’s important to ensure that we’re using the information we collect to make data-based decisions. Here, we discuss how to make the best data-based decisions to achieve progress. When we look at data, we’re looking for trends so we can troubleshoot programs and ensure success for our learners. We also look at...
Sep 24, 2024•13 min•Ep. 169
Jenna Mazzillo is a BCBA and the owner of the Instagram and TikTok accounts of ABA Naturally. She’s a special education teacher with 13 years of experience and has also served as a CSE Chairperson, instructional coach, and District Behavior Analyst. Jenna specializes in applying the principles of behavior analysis to classroom settings and implementing evidence-based practices to support all types of learners. Through ABA Naturally, Jenna helps parents and teachers understand behavior. Here, she...
Sep 17, 2024•27 min•Ep. 168
Dr. Cody Morris is the executive producer and host of the Behavior Analysis in Practice Podcast. He’s also the Graduate Program Director of Psychology at Salve Regina University, and his clinical focus is improving the practice of behavior analysis. Cody’s research has been published in prominent behavior analytic journals, including the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behavior Analysis in Practice, and the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management. Additionally, Cody is the director o...
Sep 10, 2024•41 min•Ep. 165
We’re featuring some of our fellow OG podcasters that have been around for many years—our friends from the ABA Inside Track Podcast! Here, Diana, Robert, and Jackie share all about their backgrounds and how their journeys led them to where they are today. They also share what inspired them to start the podcast and how it’s grown over the years. The team shares the challenges they’ve seen among new grads getting started in the field of ABA. They discuss the changes the field has experienced since...
Sep 03, 2024•34 min•Ep. 165
Dr. Saul Axelrod is a professor emeritus of education at Temple University. His major interests include applying behavior analysis principles to behavioral problems exhibited by people with disabilities and increasing the academic development of children living in poverty. Dr. Axelrod has served on the editorial boards of several journals, including the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, the Journal of Behavioral Education, and Behavior Modification. He has written numerous journal articles a...
Aug 27, 2024•32 min•Ep. 164
Once you complete the assessment process, it’s time to set up programs for your learners. Here, we dive into how to know whether a program is effective and how to measure progress. As ABA professionals, we take data collection seriously. However, sometimes we might get stuck in determining the data’s purpose, how much data to collect, and what to do with all of the information. The important thing is to figure out what we want the data to tell us and how to make it meaningful. We discuss data co...
Aug 20, 2024•13 min•Ep. 164
Schools require IEPs, or individual education plans, for all students who receive special education services. Here, we discuss how BCBAs should approach the IEP process. We start by defining an IEP, which is essentially a contact between the parents and the school. It outlines what happens throughout the school year and how the student is best supported. The goal of the IEP is to give the child access to the general education curriculum and for them to be the most successful in the least restric...
Aug 13, 2024•17 min•Ep. 163
Dr. Paul “Paulie” Gavoni is a renowned behavior scientist and leader and has significantly influenced human performance and organizational leadership for nearly 30 years. He’s a director at PCMA, a keynote speaker, and a WSJ and USA Today best-selling author. Specializing in organizational behavior management, Dr. Paulie addresses critical issues in education with a direct, solution-focused approach grounded in behavioral science. He advocates for high performing, engaging environments, extendin...
Aug 06, 2024•35 min•Ep. 162
In school, we learned all about ABA theory and principles, but we may not have learned how to write individualized ABA programming. Many of us wind up in supervision or post supervision not knowing how to choose programs after an assessment and write them so students make real progress. Here, we show you how to choose meaningful programs that include teaching across operants for optimal success. We discuss the purpose of assessments and why it’s important to take a step back to identify skills, ...
Jul 30, 2024•12 min•Ep. 161
ABA is a data-driven and evidence-based field. The 7 dimensions of ABA are the core principles that ensure effectiveness in each treatment plan. As BCBAs, we had to memorize these 7 dimensions for our exam, but it may have been a while since you last revisited them. Here, we recap each dimension and show you how to apply them in your own ABA programs. The 7 dimensions of ABA are applied, behavioral, analytic, technological, conceptually systematic, effective, and generality. Our walkthrough of e...
Jul 23, 2024•14 min•Ep. 160
Teaching body parts is an essential skill we must teach our learners. They get hurt just like we do, but often have difficulty expressing when and where they are in pain. Here, we dive into some of the best ways to teach body parts. Sometimes, problem behaviors are a result of our learners being in pain but not being able to explain it. We need to make sure that we’re looking at what they’re trying to tell us and not letting their behaviors cover up their physical needs. The first step is for ou...
Jul 16, 2024•14 min•Ep. 159
We turn to crisis intervention plans when our learners show severe problem behavior that could cause harm to themselves or others. Here, we dive into how to best implement a crisis intervention plan and why practicing the associated skills is so important. We start by defining crisis intervention and discuss some of the underlying reasons for challenging behavior. We also discuss why a crisis isn’t a teachable moment, how being proactive can prevent a crisis in the future, and reinforcing lower-...
Jul 09, 2024•10 min•Ep. 158
Our main goal when working with our learners is that they make progress and become as happy and independent as possible. Here, we discuss how to choose meaningful goals to help them succeed. The BCBA code of ethics talks about assessments and says that, as professionals, we must implement them before we design any behavior change intervention. However, while many assessments are amazing tools, they shouldn’t take the place of curriculum. It’s important to focus on the big picture and choose the ...
Jul 02, 2024•15 min•Ep. 157
Many of our learners struggle with rigid behavior and showing flexibility, which is part of the diagnostic criteria for autism. This can impact the lives of our learners in a negative way, but fortunately, there are ways to help them overcome these struggles. Here, we discuss the best ways to incorporate teaching flexibility into our programs. We start by defining rigidity and flexibility and how to determine when rigid behaviors are normal or problematic. We talk about how to obtain ascent and ...
Jun 25, 2024•14 min•Ep. 156
Social skills lessons are designed to strengthen social interaction and communication skills, which can be a challenge for our learners. Here, we discuss how to approach teaching social skills to effectively target social communication goals. Social skills vary depending on personality preferences, and we cover how to determine which ones to focus on with our learners. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, so it’s important to understand your learners’ values. We discuss how to balance caregive...
Jun 18, 2024•12 min•Ep. 155
Trauma informed care is a trending topic in our field and here, we discuss how to best incorporate it into our practice. When we talk about trauma, we’re not just referring to the big things, but really anything that happens in our learners’ lives that can make them a bit more sensitive. We want our students’ experience with us to be positive, so we should always go in with a compassionate, holistic approach. We define the different types of trauma and stress and discuss why relationship buildin...
Jun 11, 2024•12 min•Ep. 154
As BCBAs, we know the intake process with our learners sometimes takes up a ton of time. Fortunately, there are ways to streamline the process so you don’t have to spend hours on assessments. What things seem like on paper isn’t always what they are in person, and we should look at things from a place of clinical judgment and relationship building. Establishing trust when teaching someone is super important, so it’s important to build this into your intake process. Here, we discuss our streamlin...
Jun 04, 2024•16 min•Ep. 153
We typically use direct instruction programs with some of our advanced learners, especially when working towards academic goals. Direct instruction programs are based on ABA principles and designed around reviewing previously mastered skills and moving in small increments to help our learners feel successful. Here, we cover some of our favorite direct instruction programs and provide tips on how to use them most effectively. We walk through the history of direct instruction programs in American ...
May 28, 2024•21 min•Ep. 152
Toilet training is one of the most important skills we can teach our learners. When it comes to our learners with special needs or autism, it means we can promote their dignity. We feel strongly that toilet training should be introduced as soon as a child is ready. Here, we talk about prerequisite skills, intrinsic motivation, and how to build momentum before starting the training. Priming is essential as well and we discuss how to make the toilet a familiar, positive place. We talk about using ...
May 21, 2024•21 min•Ep. 151
Our approach to Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT) today might look a lot different to what we did in the past, or how we were taught in school. In the past, DTT was heavy on memorization, and it often lacked a natural environment component. Here, we discuss the evolution of DTT, what’s changed, and how we can apply it in our current work. We talk about the three-term contingency model of DTT and discuss some of the common misconceptions of the technique. We also discuss what a true child-led approac...
May 14, 2024•12 min•Ep. 150
