In Session 143, I chat with John Capodilupo, co-founder of Whoop, the maker of the Whoop strap system I've been talking about for the last several episodes. At the risk of sounding like an informercial for this neat product, I've really enjoyed using the Whoop strap for the last few months. If you aren't familiar with it, the Whoop strap is a wearable device that tracks all sorts of cool metrics, including sleep, calorie burn, heart rate, and more. As John notes in the podcast, the folks at Whoo...
Jan 05, 2021•46 min•Ep 143•Transcript available on Metacast My friends over at ABA Inside Track - Robert Parry-Crews, Diana Parry-Crews, and Jackie Macdonald, got together for our third annual year-in-review collaboration. And suffice to say, what a year it has been. In this episode, we discuss the events of 2020, both in the world of Behavior Analysis and beyond. We spoke at great length about the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on the provision of services, as well as how Behavior Analysis responded to the challenges of racism, policing, and the lik...
Dec 23, 2020•2 hr 41 min•Ep 142•Transcript available on Metacast In Session 141 I speak with Sasha Shtern and Dr. Eric Moody about using the Goally Learning Device with families. Sasha is the CEO of Goally and Eric holds the title of Research Professor at the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities . Goally is an Android-based stand-alone device that allows users to program visuals schedules, create task analyses, manage token economies, and even log problem behaviors. In this episode we talk about the conditions that motivated the creation of this device, the res...
Dec 17, 2020•40 min•Ep 141•Transcript available on Metacast In Session 140, Dr. John Michael Guercio joins me to talk about best practices for supporting adults with Autism. He is well suited to do just this, as John has been working with adults with various developmental disabilities for decades. He is currently the Clinical Director for Benchmark Human Services in St. Louis, Missouri, and is the author of the recently published book, " Assessment of Adult Core Competencies: Teaching Skills to Adults with Autism and Severe Behavioral Challenges ." As yo...
Dec 09, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Ep 140•Transcript available on Metacast A few months ago, a few BCBA's from the Boulder Valley School District reached out to me and offered to share the story of how they are fielding a team of Behavior Analysts in the public school setting. As someone who has spent a career consulting to public schools, I was instantly sold. I believe that as if this recording, the BVSD employs about 10 BCBA's, and in Session 139, I'm joined by four of them: Kelly Miller, Cosmina Barbat, Stephanie Gregory, and Shelly Roberts. We were also fortunate ...
Nov 30, 2020•2 hr 33 min•Ep 138•Transcript available on Metacast Shortly after I published Session 124 on Police Academy training with John O'Neill, Tina Long, a BCBA from Northern Virginia, emailed me to share the outreach work that she has done with her local police department in Fairfax County. Specifically, in the wake of the nationwide re-examination of the role of policing, Tina felt compelled share what she has learned about the ACT Matrix with local law enforcement personnel, and after leaning more about her story, I thought it was definitely worth sh...
Nov 23, 2020•2 hr 47 min•Ep 138•Transcript available on Metacast I can't believe it's been over two years since Andy Bondy of PECS fame came on the show! How time flies... This episode was inspired by a Facebook post Andy made a few weeks ago talking about how mand repertoires go beyond simply requesting preferred items. There were some interesting exchanges that followed Andy's post, and upon reading them, it occurred to me that this would make for a fun and educational podcast chat. (IMAGE CREDIT J. MCANINCH) So in this episode, we talk about what inspired ...
Nov 12, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Ep 137•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Kim Berens ( @KimberlyBerens5 ) joins me for a third time to discuss her new book, Blind Spots: Why Students Fail and the Science That Can Save Them .* In this show, we talk about her motivation to write this book, what she believes is wrong with the current approach to educating children in the United States, and what can be done to remedy this situation. Like our recent episode with Amelia Bowler earlier this month, this is another great example of people trained in Behavior Analysis stepp...
Oct 28, 2020•2 hr 50 min•Ep 136•Transcript available on Metacast The latest issue of JABA starts off with an editorial by the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior's (SEAB) board in which it issued a statement of concern for the controversial paper titled, Behavioral treatment of deviant sex-role behaviors in a male child . This paper described a case study conducted by George Rekers and Ivar Lovaas, and was published in the pages of JABA in 1974. To get right to the point, let me read you the editorial's abstract: In an early study in the Journal...
Oct 22, 2020•55 min•Ep 135•Transcript available on Metacast Amelia Bowler, author of The Parent's Guide to Oppositional Defiant Disorder: Your Questions Answered , joins me in Session 134 to talk about her work and personal experiences in supporting individuals with ODD. In this podcast, Amelia demystifies the term ODD and distinguishes it from other emotional/behavioral disorders. She also discusses the importance of developing relationships with individuals with ODD prior to applying first/then or if/then contingencies. We finish the show by discussing...
Oct 16, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Ep 134•Transcript available on Metacast Behavioral Karma: The 5 Scientific Laws of Life and Leadership * is the book that was just recently published by Brett DiNovi and Dr. Pauli Gavoni. In this episode, we talked about what these five laws are, and how one can apply them to just about anything in life, and see positive outcomes as a result. Because both of these gentlemen are previous guests on the show, we started off by catching up a bit. Paulie talked about joining up with Brett's company, Brett DiNovi and Associates, and Brett t...
Oct 07, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep 133•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Nick Green joins me in Session 132 for his third appearance on the show. In this episode, we discuss: How he responded to being furloughed for a few months. His contributions to Covid-19 research at the University of Florida. Nick's general principles on how he helps clients develop and accomplish fitness goals. How to overcome barriers to fitness, especially when gyms are closed. What are some basic movement patterns that people should train. Some of the great results his fitness clients ar...
Sep 29, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Ep 132•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Camille Kolu joins me in Session 131 to provide a primer on all things Trauma, and how this broad area applies to the practice of Behavior Analysis In this interview, Camille talked about how she began working in the area of trauma, what is trauma actually, how she screens for trauma histories, what ABA practices are contra-indicated for individuals with traumatic backgrounds, and so much more. This was an interview that could've gone for at least another hour if time permitted. If you're in...
Sep 14, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep 131•Transcript available on Metacast I've never attended CalABA . In fact, I've never even set foot in the state. And while I live all the way across the country, I recognize the importance of Behavior Analysts banding together to advocate for our clients, our communities, and of course, our profession. When CalABA had to cancel their conference in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the timing was such that they were not able to recoup the costs associated with hotel reservations, conference venues, and the like. The amount of mone...
Sep 10, 2020•41 min•Ep 130•Transcript available on Metacast It's back to school time for children, and in this day and age, school is looking a bit different than it has historically. In my neck of the woods, school districts are reopening with a few different models ranging from fully online/remote, hybrid in-person/remote, and full in-person instruction. It's hard to tell what impact this might have on our children's ability to learn the basics, and it is with this in mind that I'm grateful to have Michael Maloney on the show to talk about his 40+ year...
Sep 04, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Mary Jane Weiss joins me in Session 128 to talk about the evolution of the practice of Applied Behavior Analysis. This is the second interview that was recorded live during the virtual Behavior Analyst Leadership Council Conference that was held in April 2020. Mary Jane's accomplishments in the field are too great to list here in their entirety, but this bio-sketch should give you a bit of background: Dr. Mary Jane Weiss is a Professor at Endicott College, where she serves as the executive d...
Aug 28, 2020•50 min•Ep 128•Transcript available on Metacast As we discussed in the recent Inside JABA Series podcast , Applied Behavior Analysis has a long history of helping people improve their fitness, nutrition, and overall well-being. In Session 127, Brandon May joins me to delve into this history a little further, while at the same time highlighting some of the amazing research he's conducted in this area (two quick examples of this include teaching college athletes to lift weights with more velocity, and creating a token economy to improve the hea...
Aug 22, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep 127•Transcript available on Metacast I had the honor of conducting two interviews at the Behavior Analyst Leadership Council 's 2020 virtual conference back in April. In Session 126, I'm sharing the first one of those conversations, and it is with a name that should be familiar listeners, and that's Dr. Antonio Harrison ( @onecoachdoc ). Antonio, as many listeners will remember, was instrumental in pulling together and facilitating Session 120 , which was the roundtable discussion with four other African American men and Behavior A...
Aug 13, 2020•53 min•Ep 126•Transcript available on Metacast In Session 125, I had the opportunity to speak with Drs. Corina Jimenez-Gomez and Chris Podlesnik . While we spent a good deal of time discussing translational works in Behavior Analysis and covered important topics like resurgence, renewal, relapse, and generalization. We also discussed things like the ABAI Science Blog - which I highly recommend checking out, and what it's like to find a job as a Behavior Analytic power couple! We discussed a several of studies and resources, and I've done my ...
Jul 29, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Ep 125•Transcript available on Metacast The killing of George Floyd and others by police officers seems to have caused considerable reflection on how policing occurs in the United States. We first covered this topic in Session 73 in my interview with Dr. Amy Smith Wiech, and if you're interested in this topic, I would suggest going back and checking that one out. That episode aside, I think many of us in America are trying to come to grips in terms of how these events continue to happen. It is with this in mind that I'm delighted to b...
Jul 17, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep 124•Transcript available on Metacast In the fourth edition of the Inside JABA Series, I am joined by Drs. Dorothea Lerman, Linda LeBlanc, and Matt Normand to discuss the forthcoming JABA Special Series on Telehealth and Public Health . Linda and Matt are no strangers to this podcast, but this is Dorothy Lerman's first time on the show, so by way of introduction, she is currently a Professor of Behavior Analysis at the University of Houston - Clear Lake, where she directs a master’s program in behavior analysis and serves as Directo...
Jul 10, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Ep 123•Transcript available on Metacast "Does anyone have a social story for [insert challenging situation here]?" Chances are if you're like me, you've seen this question on the various ABA Facebook groups. Very often, the responses to questions like these generate some controversy, or at the very least, arguing over the empirical support for the use of Social Stories and other story-based narrative interventions. One of these types of Facebook threads popped up a month or two ago, and in response to it, I saw a post from Dr. Justin ...
Jun 25, 2020•1 hr 18 min•Ep 122•Transcript available on Metacast Russ Harris and I recorded this episode about three or four weeks ago, when the world's troubles centered around the challenges with Covid-19 related stay-at-home measures. It's amazing how fast things have changed since then! In light of the social upheaval as people in the United States and beyond come to grips with tragic examples of racism and injustice, getting irritated by one's family members pales in comparison in terms of personal suffering. I had briefly thought to shelve this episode ...
Jun 18, 2020•50 min•Ep 121•Transcript available on Metacast Since the killing of George Floyd, I’ve had colleagues approach me with suggestions on how to address the issue of police brutality and racism on Behavioral Observations. To be honest, none of the suggestions were entirely satisfying. As a white guy living in one of the whitest states in America - someone who has not had any mistreatment based on his skin color - other than condemn the actions of those police officers, sharing my thoughts on this event (as well as the broader topic of racism and...
Jun 03, 2020•2 hr 53 min•Ep 120•Transcript available on Metacast Providing feedback to staff members is essential for delivering quality services, but doing it effectively is easier said than done. That's why I'm excited to share this conversation I had with Dr. Natalie Parks from BehaviorLeader.com . Natalie, along with co-authors Adam Ventura, Erica Crowley, and Dennis Uriarte, just published " Feedback F!@# Ups and How to Avoid Them ," and in Session 119, we really dive deep into this topic. Natalie describes some best practices for providing feedback, inc...
May 27, 2020•57 min•Ep 119•Transcript available on Metacast You may recall that a few months back, I interviewed Dr. David Cox ( @davidjcox_ ). In our discussion, we spent a fair amount of time talking about the literature on the use of psychedelics for the treatment of a variety of behavioral and mental health challenges. I recently got the opportunity to extend this conversation with Dr. Matthew Johnson ( @Drug_Researcher ). Matt Johnson is a Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at John Hopkins University, and he's been a leading figure in t...
May 18, 2020•2 hr 48 min•Ep 118•Transcript available on Metacast You may recall that in Session 112 I chatted with Kelle Rich about, among other things, the upcoming Verbal Behavior Conference . In these pre-pandemic times, the event was supposed to be held in Austin, Texas. However, in anticipation of the stay-at-home orders, quarantines, and so forth, Kelle wisely shifted this event to the online space. So VBC 2020 became a virtual conference, and was executed as scheduled on April 2nd and 3rd. I had the pleasure of moderating the speakers' panel, and I tho...
May 11, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast This episode of the Behavioral Observations Podcast is brought to you by Behavior University and GoLotus . Behavior University's mission is to provide you with university quality continuing education. If you're in quarantine like I am, take this time to brush up on your skills, or push yourself to learn something new. For great deals for podcast listeners, head over to behavioruniversity.com/observations to learn more. GoLotus recognizes that ABA providers are facing their most difficult challen...
Apr 29, 2020•54 min•Ep 116•Transcript available on Metacast You've more than likely heard the saying, " A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush ." In the third installment of the Inside JABA Series, Dr. Iser DeLeon, along with Inside JABA regulars Drs. Tiger and St. Peter we do a deep-dive into the topic of accumulated versus distributed reinforcement arrangements to see if this adage is true in the context of skill acquisition and problem behavior. I'm excited to have Dr. DeLeon, better knowns as Willie to friends and colleagues, on the show. Willie...
Apr 08, 2020•1 hr 19 min•Ep 115•Transcript available on Metacast In these unprecedented times of social isolation, public education has made a rapid shift towards a distance learning model. It's probably not a surprise that outcomes will vary for students based on myriad factors. If you'd like to become more involved in your child's educational progress to ensure your child's success, then this is the podcast for you! Amy Evans, who is an expert in Instructional Design and Precision Teaching, joins me in Session 114 to discuss how setting up brief practice se...
Mar 27, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Ep 114•Transcript available on Metacast 
