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The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

This is a podcast about the field of Behavior Analysis. Each episode will feature an interview with a Behavior Analyst where we discuss a specific topic in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. Some of these topics include functional behavioral assessment, treating severe behavioral disorders such as aggression and self-injurious behavior, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), behavioral ethics, autism treatment, parenting, and the history of Applied Behavior Analysis.
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The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria
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Now displaying: 2019
Dec 25, 2019

My friends at ABA Inside Track - Rob, Diana, and Jackie - invited me back for another Year-in-Review episode. I've enjoyed getting to know these guys over the last few years, and doing an episode like this seems like it's a fun tradition-in-the-making.

So what did we talk about? Well, it seems like 2019 was the year of the ABA podcast. So many shows were launched that it's hard to keep track of. In addition to Behavioral Observations, I've listed all the currently published ABA shows below, and I'll apologize in advance to my podcasting brethren if I've missed any:

We also discussed some milestones that both of our shows hit in 2019, specifically, crossing the 100 episode mark, and having over 1,000,000 downloads. It's positively humbling that so many people have taken interest in what we've been doing.

Rob, Jackie, Diana, and I also discussed the passing of prominent leaders in our field, including Drs. Barbara Etzel, Janet Ellis, and Murray Sidman. (note: we did not discuss the passing of Chuck Merbitz, but you can hear about his work and legacy in the memorial episode that was published earlier this year).

We then rounded out the show by covering some of the trends in ABA practice that we observed in 2019, and gave a preview of what's coming up for both shows in 2020!

And on this note, I want to extend a personal thanks to all of you who tuned in to the podcast in 2019. I wish you a safe and happy holiday, and I look forward to providing informative Behavior-Analytic content for you in 2020 and beyond!

This podcast is sponsored by the following:

HRIC Recruiting. If you're looking for your dream job, work directly with agency owner Barb Voss, and let her put her 30+ years of recruiting experience to work for you. Whether you're re-locating or just wondering what else is available, go to HRIColorado.com and schedule a confidential chat right away.

The ACT for HFA workshop that’s being held in Santa Ana, CA on February 7-9th in Santa Ana, CA. Check out connections-behavior.com/events/act4hfa for more info, and if it’s something you want to attend, use the promo code podcast 25!

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, tell them use the coupon code Matt2019 and you will get 25% off for the first 3 months.

Dec 12, 2019

Welcome to Session 103 of The Behavioral Observations Podcast!

What you’re about to hear is my follow up interview with Dr. Kim Berens from Fit Learning. I spoke with her way back in Session 44, which went out in January of 2018.

This interview was conducted at the First Annual Tate Behavioral Conference, which was held in Springfield, Massachusetts, back in October of 2019. As an aside, during the interview itself, I reference our location as Springfield, New Hampshire… which was probably stuck in my mind because it’s two towns over from where I live. So to be clear, this did take place in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Kim and I covered a ton of ground in this podcast, and, as you’ll see, she doesn’t hold back from sharing her opinions. In particular, we talk about her views on Board Certification of Behavior Analysts, and why she let hers lapse, how Fit Learning is using mindfulness activities to improve learning in their students, as well as her take on the American educational system.

With regard to the latter, she references a book she has written on the subject. At the time of the conference, she was not able to share the title, but now I’m able to announce that the book will be called, Blind Spots: What you don’t know you don’t know about American Education. I don’t have a specific release date yet, but I think she’s shooting for the book to be available sometime in the fall of 2020.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to thank the folks who made this all happen, and that’s Christina Tatreau, Kelley St. Clair, and the rest of the awesome people at Tate Behavioral. They were awesome hosts, and they put on an amazing and informative event. When I was down in Springfield, I had a chance to meet many of their employees, and it seems like they’ve really developed a positive culture. To learn more about them, check out tatebehavioral.com.

Today’s episode is sponsored by the following:

  • The University of Cincinnati Online. The UC Online program can be a rewarding way to advance in your career. Gain the cutting-edge knowledge and skills so you can help others while increasing your career options and earning potential. For more information, please visit behavioranalysisuc.online for more information.
  • Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings and podcast-specific discounts over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
  • 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, tell them use the coupon code Matt2019 and you will get 25% off for the first 3 months.
  • Last but not least, Session 103 is brought to you by the ACT for HFA workshop that’s being held in Santa Ana, CA on February 7-9th in Santa Ana, CA. Check out connections-behavior.com/events/act4hfa for more info, and if it’s something you want to attend, use the promo code podcast 25!
Dec 7, 2019

Several weeks ago, Greg Hanley reached out to me and asked if he could help do something to commemorate the 100th episode of the show. Specifically, he invited me down to the offices of FTF Behavioral Consulting in Worcester, Mass to hang out with all the amazing behavior analysts he works with for the afternoon. 

During the visit, Greg turned the tables on me and put me in the interview hot seat. He asked me some really good questions about the podcast, and what I’ve learned from doing it over the last 4 years or so. I’ve been interviewed before, both on this podcast as well as a few others, but I think Greg managed to eke out a few stories from me that I haven’t told before, and more generally, asked some really great questions. By the end of this show, you might be asking yourself why he doesn’t have a podcast himself? 

My original plan going into this was to try to deflect every question and turn the conversation back to the cool stuff that he’s doing with FTF, what’s new with practical functional assessment, and so forth. Sadly, before we started recording, he strictly forbade me from doing so. As such, I’ll just have to have him on again in the future, or do another private Q & A with Greg with the Behavioral Observations Podcast Membership Group

Before I mention this episode’s sponsors, I’d like to take a minute to thank you, the listener, for helping me get to Session 100. I really feel that this show is an interactive endeavor, as I have met so many people in my travels and corresponded with BCBA’s from around the world. We talk about this for a little bit in this episode, but I want to mention it again and just let you know how much I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to download and listen to the podcast. The responses in the never-ending task analysis that is podcasting would’ve extinguished long ago if it wasn’t for all the encouragement and feedback I’ve received. At the risk of sounding overly sappy, this podcast has changed me as a person and a professional, so let me just conclude this session with a heartfelt thank you. 

This episode is brought to you by:

Behavior University. Behavior University provides university-quality continuing education for everyday practitioners. To learn more about their CE offerings, discounts for podcast listeners, etc... please visit behavioruniversity.com/observations

Go Lotus is an intuitive, easy to use, and dare I say beautiful system. It handles every aspect of practice management from data tracking and automatic SOAP notes, to scheduling and billing. They even offer a white-glove in-house billing service if you want billing fully managed outside your clinic.  It is so simple your entire team can be up and running in less than an hour.  For more information, go to golotus.com/register for a free demo.   If you do sign up, tell them I sent you or use the coupon code Matt2019 and you will get 25% off for the first 3 months.  They are so confident that you will love the system they allow you to cancel at any time.  There is no risk and no commitment required.  If you want more info, head over to golotus.com/register

The OBM 2.0 Pro-Social Teaming Model workshop, which will be taught by Drs. Darnell Lattal and Thomas Szabo. Here are the details:

  • It’s being held at Green River Community College, Auburn, Washington on January 18th and 19th.
  • Attendees will learn the ProSocial model: evidence-based practices to promote employee engagement, cooperation, high-level performance, and complex organizational problem-solving.
  • The workshop provides 16 CEU’s, and there’s a remote follow-up option that can extend this to 22 CEU’s.
  • Space is limited for this event, and the prices go up as we get closer to the dates. The event organizers, Connections Behavior Planning and Intervention, have offered listeners a discount. So for more information, click here, and be sure to use the code podcast25.
Nov 26, 2019

Welcome to the first installment of The Inside JABA Series. A few months ago, Drs. Linda LeBlanc and Dorothea Lerman approached me about creating an ongoing podcast series that highlights and disseminates the work of The Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. The goal of this series is to give listeners a better idea as to what goes into the studies that end up being published in JABA, and to provide a behind-the-scenes look at how a research study goes from inspiration, to execution, to submission, revision, and eventually publication. So about once a quarter you can expect to see an Inside JABA Series edition of the podcast pop up in your feed. For this inaugural episode, we decided to do a deep-dive into the publishing process itself, which as a non-researcher, I personally found fascinating. You’ve probably already noticed that I’m using the plural pronoun “we” quite a bit here, and it is for a good reason. In this episode, I am joined by Drs. Claire St. Peter, Jeff Tiger, and the aforementioned Linda LeBlanc. In future Inside JABA episodes, I’ll be joined by some combination of these scientists, along with other researchers who have successfully published in JABA. I would also like to note that because of the valuable content that will be shared in this series, these Inside JABA episodes will be available for purchase as Type 2 Continuing Education Units. Better still, 50% of the sales of these CE’s will be donated to the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. For more information on this, check out behavioralobservations.com/get-ce’s. Here's the abstract to the CE Event associated with this episode, which provides 1.5 CE's: The field of behavior analysis places significant importance on the scientific underpinnings of our practice. This means that every certified practitioner is taught and tested on the basics of measurement and scientific method. The purpose of this presentation is to introduce a podcast series that focuses on the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, the peer-review process as a means of scientific quality control, and the steps in the publication process. The Editor and Associate Editors of JABA describe the rationale for peer review as well as the process of peer review. Topics such as positive publication bias, the criteria for scientific merit for a paper, and the bi-directional nature of the research to practice gap and bridge are discussed. This is a really fun project, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention what an honor it is to be partnering up with our flagship journal. So without any further adieu, please enjoy this fun and informative conversation with Drs. St. Peter, LeBlanc, and Tiger. Lastly, we encourage you to keep up to date with the happenings at JABA by following SEAB on Twitter (@SEABScience), and JABA on Facebook.

Nov 22, 2019

In Session 101, Dr. Missy Olive and I talk about a topic that's near and dear to my heart: consulting in public school settings. Long-time listeners will recall that I did an episode on this topic in January of 2019. Since then, I've received numerous listener requests to return to this important issue. My colleague Jen Farris saw Missy speak at a conference a few months ago, and insisted that I reach out to her to get her on the show, and I'm grateful for the recommendation, as this episode is chock full of great information for those of us who practice in this area. Missy is the Executive Director of Applied Behavioral Strategies, an organization who's mission is to assist individuals to achieve their potential to live independently and with dignity. We spend the first part of the podcast talking about Missy's background, and the unique way she found herself in our field, so I will not repeat it here. However, let's just say that Missy is clearly an "early adopter," of ABA. Whether you work in schools or not, I think you're really going to like this episode, as there are lessons for practitioners that are, in my opinion, broadly applicable. If you'd like to learn more about Special Education Law and/or conducting Functional Behavioral Assessments in school settings, she has a few webinars coming up: Special Education Law and Ethics for BCBA's on 12/5/19. Ethical Issues Related to Developing Behavioral Intervention Plans on 12/12/19. Missy has graciously offered a huge discount for podcast listeners. These are normally $80, but if you mention the podcast when you sign up, you can attend these events for $25! During the interview, we mentioned tons of other resources. I was furiously scribbling notes the whole time, and I have as many links as I could find. Here they are: Considerations of Baseline Classroom Conditions in Conducting Functional Behavioral Assessments in School Settings (Kestner, et al., 2019). Simon Sinek on Millennials in the workplace. Michael Giangreco (author and cartoonist). Avoiding Substantive Errors in IEP Development (Yell, et al., 2016). State Special Education Laws for FBAs and BIPs (Zirkel, 2011). ABS's free journal club. Practical Ethics for the Effective Treatment of ASD. Council on Exceptional Children Journals. Beyond Behavior. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities. Behavioral Disorders. Alberto and Troutman. Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers. This podcast is brought to you with support from the following: The University of Cincinnati Online. The UC Online program can be a rewarding way to advance in your career. Gain the cutting-edge knowledge and skills so you can help others while increasing your career options and earning potential. For more information, please visit behavioranalysisuc.online for more information. HRI Colorado.com, and whether you live in Colorado or Connecticut, or anywhere else in between, their mission is to find you your dream job. So for a confidential chat about opportunities in your neck of the woods, go to HRIColorado.com. The OBM 2.0 Pro-Social Teaming Model workshop, which will be taught by Drs. Darnell Lattal and Thomas Szabo. Here are the details: It’s being held at Green River Community College, Auburn, Washington on January 18th and 19th. Attendees will learn the ProSocial model: evidence-based practices to promote employee engagement, cooperation, high-level performance, and complex organizational problem-solving. The workshop provides 16 CEU’s, and there’s a remote follow-up option that can extend this to 22 CEU’s. Space is limited for this event, and the prices go up as we get closer to the dates. The event organizers, Connections Behavior Planning and Intervention, have offered listeners a discount. So for more information, click here, and be sure to use the code podcast25. The Innovation in Education: BCBA Consultation in Schools Annual Webinar. This year’s event features podcast favorites Drs. Linda Leblanc and Merrill Winston. Merrill will start the day off by talking about the ethical considerations of restraint usage in public school settings, and Linda will focus on mentoring and other supervision and management practices. Earn your Ethics and Supervision CE’s from two people who are at the top of their game their areas of expertise! For more information, go to www.SWWC.org/workshops. Don't forget to save 10% on your registration by using the promo code PODCAST.

Nov 8, 2019

Dr. David Cox joins me in Session 99 to discuss the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, Behavioral Pharmacology, the use of Psilocybin Mushrooms for the treatment of various behavioral health challenges, and much, much more! David does a fine job describing his backstory, but if you're impatient like me, here is his bio from Research Gate: David has been working clinically in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) since 2006. He has worked with children, adolescents, and adults with diagnoses ranging from autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities​​ to substance use disorders and obesity. David is currently a research fellow in the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His current areas of focus are choice behavior, preference, behavioral economics, and the application of these areas to clinical intervention, clinical decision making, and ethical behavior. We cover a wide range of topics, and David cites a ton of research and resources, so I'm going to get right to the links: Say hello to David on Twitter. He's the co-author of this nifty book. The University of Florida's Behavioral Health and Technology Research Clinic. Previous podcasts on Behavioral Economics/Stuff from my friends: Session 11, Erin Rasmussen. Session 17: Derek Reed. Session 2: Steve Lawyer. Dews, 1955 (note, the figure below is the one David describes during the show). FIGURE 4 (DEWS, 1955) Baum, 1974. Nevin, Mandell, and Atak, 1983. McDowell 2005. Rasmussen and Newland 2009 (the Anti-Punishment effect). Odum 2011 (I'm a k, you're a k). Branch 2006, (How Research in Behavioral Pharmacology Informs Behavioral Science). Heyman 2013 (Addiction and Choice, Theory and New Data). Critchfield 2011 (Translational Contributions of EAB). NPR story on Dr. Matthew Johnson's psilocybin research. Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research. Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. Tim Ferriss podcast episode (panel with researchers at Johns Hopkins). This podcast is brought to you with support from the following: The University of Cincinnati Online. The UC Online program can be a rewarding way to advance in your career. Gain the cutting-edge knowledge and skills so you can help others while increasing your career options and earning potential. For more information, please visit behavioranalysisuc.online for more information. Go Lotus is an intuitive, easy to use, and dare I say beautiful system. It handles every aspect of practice management from data tracking and automatic SOAP notes, to scheduling and billing. They even offer a white-glove in-house billing service if you want billing fully managed outside your clinic. It is so simple your entire team can be up and running in less than an hour. For more information, go to golotus.com/register for a free demo. If you do sign up, tell them I sent you or use the coupon code Matt2019 and you will get 25% off for the first 3 months. They are so confident that you will love the system they allow you to cancel at any time. There is no risk and no commitment required. If you want more info, head over to golotus.com/register. I'm also excited to promote this upcoming workshop: Have you ever been part of a team composed of capable, accomplished members that underachieved or failed to launch an initiative successfully? Do you work with teams where members burn out, conflict, misbehave, or act in ways that contradict the purpose of the group? Are you currently working with other people toward a common goal and aiming to ensure that every member is empowered for maximum contribution and long-term sustainable engagement? Then consider attending the OBM 2.0 – The PROSOCIAL Teaming Model which will be taught by Drs. Darnell Lattal and Thomas Szabo. This workshop is being put on by my friends at Connections Behavior Planning and Intervention. It’s being held at Green River Community College, Auburn, Washington on January 18th and 19th. Attendees will learn the ProSocial model: evidence-based practices to promote employee engagement, cooperation, high-level performance, and complex organizational problem-solving. The ProSocial approach incorporates findings from Nobel Prize winning research conducted by Elinor Ostrom, with corresponding findings from research in evolutionary science, behavior analysis, ACT, and Organizational Behavior Management. Participants will practice core skills and then implement them in a series of challenging role-plays that simulate real-life organizational behavior crises. This workshop will walk attendees through the entire process of creating sustainable team-based outcomes through expert instruction and experiential learning. The workshop itself will provide 16 CEU’s, and there’s a remote follow-up option that can extend this to 22 CEU’s. Space is limited for this event, and the prices go up as we get closer to the dates, so you’re going to want to register for OBM 2.0 straight away. And to help defray costs, the folks at Connections have offered listeners a discount. So for more information, click here, and be sure to use the code podcast25! Lastly, I’d like to mention something I don’t bring up all that frequently. I have a membership program for the podcast; think of it as a DIY Patreon… It’s been running for a few years now, and it costs the princely sum of $9/month. Members get access to a private FB group in which they are able to get nearly instantaneous access to the videos of these podcast interviews. This interview, for instance, has been available since October 22nd. The best part is that members get the raw feed. That means no ads, and none of the introductory comments. You just get right to the interview. Another cool thing we do is hold Zoom Hangouts with former guests. We do this about 6 times a year, and it works like this: we schedule a Zoom call, a former guest comes on and joins us, and the members have the opportunity to ask them questions directly. The last episode with Pat Friman is a good example of this. And coming up on November 13th, I’ll be hosting Dr. Luis Morales Knight, who joined us a few months ago to talk about parenting, working with adolescents in a mental health setting, and so forth. I hope you’re able to join us!

Oct 30, 2019

What does Private Equity investment, diversity in Applied Behavior Analysis, and Behavior Analysis as applied to sports all have in common? It just so happens that these are the topics I chatted about with Beverly and Kirk Kirby of Team ABA! At last year's ABAI, Rick Kubina introduced me to this dynamic duo, and boy do they have a great story to tell, and I'm frankly quite grateful that they're doing so on The Behavioral Observations Podcast. Along with Rick and Mark Dixon, Beverly was on a panel that I chaired that discussed the role of big money in ABA. Mark discussed the business side of PEAK and Rick talked about the founding and subsequent purchase of Chartlytics by Central Reach. And then Beverly shared the story of how the Kirby's started the Sparks Group, a company that was dedicated to serving the underserved in the DC Metro area. Sparks went on to be acquired by a private equity investor, and Beverly shared the lengthy and challenging process of selecting an investor that would continue to provide high quality ABA services in an ethical manner. Whether you're a business owner or not, this is a great story on its own! The Kirby's went on to found the aforementioned Team ABA (and as an aside, check out and follow their Facebook page here as they post lots of cool stuff!). The services Team ABA provides are quite varied, but a lot of their focus is on using ABA for improving sports performance, addressing wellness, and helping organizations run more effectively. And if you caught the last episode with Rick, he mentioned some of the cool stuff that they're doing in the realm of sports performance. We of course dig into this in more detail in this episode. The Kirby's are also passionate about improving the diversity in our field. They've done quite a bit of outreach to Historically Black Colleges to provide internships and other opportunities for students of color. This is an issue that does not get talked about a lot in our field, and to be candid, this is a long-overdue discussion on this podcast. I’m grateful they were able to share this with me, and by extension, the broader audience of Behavioral Observations. This episode is brought to you by: Behavior University. Behavior University provides university-quality continuing education for everyday practitioners. To learn more about their CE offerings, discounts for podcast listeners, etc... please visit behavioruniversity.com/observations. The University of Cincinnati Online. The UC Online program can be a rewarding way to advance in your career. Gain the cutting-edge knowledge and skills so you can help others while increasing your career options and earning potential. For more information, please visit behavioranalysisuc.online for more information.   I'm also excited to promote this upcoming workshop: Have you ever been part of a team composed of capable, accomplished members that underachieved or failed to launch an initiative successfully? Do you work with teams where members burn out, conflict, misbehave, or act in ways that contradict the purpose of the group? Are you currently working with other people toward a common goal and aiming to ensure that every member is empowered for maximum contribution and long-term sustainable engagement? Then consider attending the OBM 2.0 – The PROSOCIAL Teaming Model which will be taught by Drs. Darnell Lattal and Thomas Szabo. This workshop is being put on by my friends at Connections Behavior Planning and Intervention. It’s being held at Green River Community College, Auburn, Washington on January 18th and 19th. Attendees will learn the ProSocial model: evidence-based practices to promote employee engagement, cooperation, high-level performance, and complex organizational problem-solving. The ProSocial approach incorporates findings from Nobel Prize winning research conducted by Elinor Ostrom, with corresponding findings from research in evolutionary science, behavior analysis, ACT, and Organizational Behavior Management. Participants will practice core skills and then implement them in a series of challenging role-plays that simulate real-life organizational behavior crises. This workshop will walk attendees through the entire process of creating sustainable team-based outcomes through expert instruction and experiential learning. The workshop itself will provide 16 CEU’s, and there’s a remote follow-up option that can extend this to 22 CEU’s. Space is limited for this event, and the prices go up as we get closer to the dates, so you’re going to want to register for OBM 2.0 straight away. And to help defray costs, the folks at Connections have offered listeners a discount. So for more information, click here, and be sure to use the code podcast25! And this one too... The 5th Annual ABA Leadership Summit is taking place on November 8th, 2019 at the Hilton Orange County in Costa Mesa California. It will also be streamed online, so you can learn on your couch... in sweatpants. This event will provide 6 Supervision Type 2 CE’s, and will feature speakers such as Sarah Trautman, Paul Gavoni, Nic Weatherly, Brett DiNovi, and Issac Bermudez. It's right around the corner so you'll want to register right away if this is something you're interested in. Click here for more information! Lastly, I am deeply grateful for the folks at Tate Behavioral for inviting me, Megan Miller, Ryan O’Donnell, and Kim Berens to be a part of the first annual Tate Behavioral Conference last week in Springfield MA. They were amazing hosts, and it was an honor to be a part of their inaugural event.

Oct 16, 2019

Dr. Becca Tagg, PsyD, MSCP, NCSP, BCBA-D, joins me in Session 97 to discuss the pros and cons to starting your own ABA practice. Becca owns and operates The Del Mar Center for Behavioral Health in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and produces and hosts The Business of Behavior Podcast. Becca also founded The ABA Business Builders Facebook Group, which, as of this writing, has almost 8,800 members. So it is with her vast experience in mind that I wanted to have her on the show to talk about her experiences, trials, and tribulations with regard to running a successful ABA practice. This conversation was inspired by a post in the ABA Business Builders group a few months ago that asked the following question: "If you knew in advance the challenges of owning and operating an ABA practice, would you do it again?" As we discussed in this episode, the answers were mostly, "no." I wasn't really sure what I should have expected, but I was kind of surprised at how so many business owners would take a pass if they had to do it all over again. So Becca and I spend quite a bit of time discussing some common challenges to running ABA business, and she shares how she addresses them in her own work. Along the way, we field a handful of listener questions, mainly from BCBA's who are contemplating making the leap towards self-employment. Becca, as always, provided many thoughtful answers, and in our conversation, we referenced the following resources: The E-Myth Revisited. The (New) One Minute Manager. The Mindful and Effective Employee. The Aubrey Daniels Amazon Author Page. ADP (payroll, HR stuff, etc...). The Business of Behavior Store (a treasure trove of forms, policies, etc...). BoB Podcast episode, "Balance is Bull$hit." BoB Podcast episode, "Outsourcing." BoB Podcast episode, "Virtual Assistants." BoB Podcast episode, interview with random person. Constellations Behavioral Services. This episode of The Behavioral Observations Podcast is sponsored by the following: The University of Cincinnati Online. The UC Online program can be a rewarding way to advance in your career. Gain the cutting-edge knowledge and skills so you can help others while increasing your career options and earning potential. For more information, please visit behavioranalysisuc.online for more information. HRI Colorado.com, and whether you live in Colorado or Connecticut, or anywhere else in between, their mission is to find you your dream job. So for a confidential chat about opportunities in your neck of the woods, go to HRIColorado.com. The upcoming 4-day ACT BootCamp® for Behavior Analysts workshop that’s going down on November 7-10th in sunny Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It will feature ACT experts like Steven C. Hayes, Ruth Anne Rehfeldt, Tom Szabo, Jonathan Tarbox and more. This workshop will cover: Parent training Staff management and development Organizational work Work with developmentally delayed populations and the chronically mentally ill Educational settings with special needs students This workshop is intensive. Over the course of 4 days, you’ll earn 32 Type 2 CE’s, including 4 hours of ethics, and 3 hours of supervision CE’s. So if you’re ready to take the next step, head over to praxiscet.com/bopodcast, and use the code BOP50 to save at check out as well! Go Lotus is an intuitive, easy to use, and dare I say beautiful system. It handles every aspect of practice management from data tracking and automatic SOAP notes, to scheduling and billing. They even offer a white-glove in-house billing service if you want billing fully managed outside your clinic. It is so simple your entire team can be up and running in less than an hour. For more information, go to golotus.com/register for a free demo. If you do sign up, tell them I sent you or use the coupon code Matt2019 and you will get 25% off for the first 3 months. They are so confident that you will love the system they allow you to cancel at any time. There is no risk and no commitment required. If you want more info, head over to golotus.com/register.

Oct 16, 2019

Dr. Becca Tagg, PsyD, MSCP, NCSP, BCBA-D, joins me in Session 97 to discuss the pros and cons to starting your own ABA practice. Becca owns and operates The Del Mar Center for Behavioral Health in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and produces and hosts The Business of Behavior Podcast. Becca also founded The ABA Business Builders Facebook Group, which, as of this writing, has almost 8,800 members. So it is with her vast experience in mind that I wanted to have her on the show to talk about her experiences, trials, and tribulations with regard to running a successful ABA practice. This conversation was inspired by a post in the ABA Business Builders group a few months ago that asked the following question: "If you knew in advance the challenges of owning and operating an ABA practice, would you do it again?" As we discussed in this episode, the answers were mostly, "no." I wasn't really sure what I should have expected, but I was kind of surprised at how so many business owners would take a pass if they had to do it all over again. So Becca and I spend quite a bit of time discussing some common challenges to running ABA business, and she shares how she addresses them in her own work. Along the way, we field a handful of listener questions, mainly from BCBA's who are contemplating making the leap towards self-employment. Becca, as always, provided many thoughtful answers, and in our conversation, we referenced the following resources: The E-Myth Revisited. The (New) One Minute Manager. The Mindful and Effective Employee. The Aubrey Daniels Amazon Author Page. ADP (payroll, HR stuff, etc...). The Business of Behavior Store (a treasure trove of forms, policies, etc...). BoB Podcast episode, "Balance is Bull$hit." BoB Podcast episode, "Outsourcing." BoB Podcast episode, "Virtual Assistants." BoB Podcast episode, interview with random person. Constellations Behavioral Services. This episode of The Behavioral Observations Podcast is sponsored by the following: The University of Cincinnati Online. The UC Online program can be a rewarding way to advance in your career. Gain the cutting-edge knowledge and skills so you can help others while increasing your career options and earning potential. For more information, please visit behavioranalysisuc.online for more information. HRI Colorado.com, and whether you live in Colorado or Connecticut, or anywhere else in between, their mission is to find you your dream job. So for a confidential chat about opportunities in your neck of the woods, go to HRIColorado.com. The upcoming 4-day ACT BootCamp® for Behavior Analysts workshop that’s going down on November 7-10th in sunny Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It will feature ACT experts like Steven C. Hayes, Ruth Anne Rehfeldt, Tom Szabo, Jonathan Tarbox and more. This workshop will cover: Parent training Staff management and development Organizational work Work with developmentally delayed populations and the chronically mentally ill Educational settings with special needs students This workshop is intensive. Over the course of 4 days, you’ll earn 32 Type 2 CE’s, including 4 hours of ethics, and 3 hours of supervision CE’s. So if you’re ready to take the next step, head over to praxiscet.com/bopodcast, and use the code BOP50 to save at check out as well! Go Lotus is an intuitive, easy to use, and dare I say beautiful system. It handles every aspect of practice management from data tracking and automatic SOAP notes, to scheduling and billing. They even offer a white-glove in-house billing service if you want billing fully managed outside your clinic. It is so simple your entire team can be up and running in less than an hour. For more information, go to golotus.com/register for a free demo. If you do sign up, tell them I sent you or use the coupon code Matt2019 and you will get 25% off for the first 3 months. They are so confident that you will love the system they allow you to cancel at any time. There is no risk and no commitment required. If you want more info, head over to golotus.com/register.

Oct 1, 2019

Dr. Joe Parks, the Medical Director of the National Council for Behavioral Health, joins me in Session 96 to discuss mass shootings - a topic that was first talked about on this podcast back in Session 79, with Dr. Merrill Winston. It turns out that the National Council's Medical Directors Institute was wrapping up a lengthy report, titled Mass Violence in America, around the same time that Merrill's episode aired. As such, the council graciously offered to have Dr. Parks joins me to discuss the report's findings.First, here's a little background on Dr. Parks: In addition to serving as the Medical Director of the National Council, Dr. Parks is a Distinguished Research Professor of Science at the University of Missouri-St.Louis, as well as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Missouri-Colombia. He also practices outpatient psychiatry at the Family Health Center, a federally funded community mental health center established to expand services to uninsured, and under-insured populations. In this episode, Dr. Parks and I discuss the following: How he first became involved in this research project. How the MDI researchers defined mass violence for the purposes of their report. What motivates mass shooters. Prevention strategies that are and aren't helpful. The role of "threat assessment." The role of "problem solving," courts. And most importantly, what individuals can do if they suspect someone is behaving in a manner consistent with mass shooter profiles. If you're interested in reading the MDI report, click here to access it. And for more information about the National Council for Behavioral Health, click here. This podcast was supported by the Mental Health Risk Retention Group and Negley Associates. For 30 years, the Mental Health Risk Retention Group and Negley Associates have proudly served the unique insurance needs of mental health centers, community mental health facilities, shelters, halfway houses, counseling centers, and substance abuse and addiction treatment centers, to name just a few. They specialize in meeting the needs of behavioral health care organizations to ensure they get the comprehensive liability insurance programs they need. The Mental Health Risk Retention Group & Negley Associates bring together “best in class” insurance experts to provide a broad array of customized coverages. Their team of distinguished attorneys and actuaries, reinsurance companies, and underwriting and claim managers have decades of insurance experience in the behavioral health care industry. With Mental Health Risk Retention Group & Negley behind you, you have the peace-of-mind to focus on running your organization and serving your client, knowing that they have you protected. For more information, check out mhrrg.com. Or better yet, call them today at 862-286-3517 to schedule a meeting and find out how they can work with you to create a specialized package that meets your organizational needs.

Sep 28, 2019

Dr. Lauren Kryzak and Celia Heyman are on the podcast to discuss the ever-important topic of Supervision! Last spring, this dynamic duo presented a fantastic workshop on supervision at the New Jersey ABA conference, and they are here today to share some of the highlights of their approach to mentoring would-be BCBA’s.If this sounds like something you want to learn more about, they’ll be reprising this workshop at the upcoming Autism NJ conference, which is taking place on October 17th and 18th. I’ll have details for this event in today’s show notes, along with the other references and resources we discussed. During the show, we mentioned a variety of resources, and I've attempted to list links to all of them below: The details for their upcoming Autism NJ event (see p. 29). The 2016 Behavior Analysis and Practice Supervision Issue. Leaf et al. (2016). ABA is a Science, and Therefore, Progressive. The ABA Study Group. And hey, while we're on the topic of supervision... This episode was brought to you with support from the following: The University of Cincinnati Online. The UC Online program can be a rewarding way to advance in your career. Gain the cutting-edge knowledge and skills so you can help others while increasing your career options and earning potential. For more information, please visit behavioranalysisuc.online for more information. HRI Colorado.com, and whether you live in Colorado or Connecticut, or anywhere else in between, their mission is to find you your dream job. So for a confidential chat about opportunities in your neck of the woods, go to HRIColorado.com. The upcoming 4-day ACT BootCamp® for Behavior Analysts workshop that’s going down on November 7-10th in sunny Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It will feature ACT experts like Steven C. Hayes, Ruth Anne Rehfeldt, Tom Szabo, Jonathan Tarbox and more. This workshop is designed to provide behavior analysts a foundational understanding of ACT, and it will cover: Parent training Staff management and development Organizational work Work with developmentally delayed populations and the chronically mentally ill Educational settings with special needs students This workshop is intensive. Over the course of 4 days, you’ll earn 32 Type 2 CE’s, including 4 hours of ethics, and 3 hours of supervision CE’s. So if you’re ready to take the next step, head over to praxiscet.com/bopodcast, and use the code BOP50 to save at check out as well! Lastly, did you know that Springfield, Massachusetts is just a hop, skip, and a jump from just about anywhere in the Northeast (look it up, it's true!). So find out how close it is to you, so you can be ready to attend the first annual Tate Behavioral Conference! Come hear from podcast favorites like Megan Miller, Kim Berens, and Ryan O'Donnell. I will also be doing a talk on the lessons I've learned from almost four years of podcasting, and we'll close the event with a live taping of a BOP interview, where I'll pick Dr. Kim's brain on all things Precision Teaching, fluency, measurement, and so on.

Sep 16, 2019

Greg Hanley - the most popular Behavioral Observations guest by quite a bit - returns to the show for a fourth time, and this may be my favorite conversation with him yet! In this episode, we talk about the following: Why he started his new consultancy, FTF Behavioral Consulting, How he arrived at the decision to leave his academic post at Western New England University, Why he chose to "re-brand" the IISCA approach - which he now refers to as Practical Functional Assessment, How the PFA model has evolved over time, What should students and practitioners make regarding the divergent views between the Standard Functional Analysis and the Practical Functional Assessment models, How the PFA model can be construed as Trauma-Informed treatment, The BALANCE parent training protocol, What it's like to have PFA referenced in the 3rd edition of Cooper, Heron, and Heward, How Greg prepares for a conference presentation (in which we reference Pat Friman's contributions), What it's like to be an "ABA Rock Star," Lastly, we take several questions from The Behavioral Observations Membership Group. In answering these questions, Greg provides valuable insight into the nuances of this assessment and treatment approach for problem behavior. Greg cites a number of studies, and instead of listing them out here, I'd rather direct you to the website he's built to disseminate this work. There, you'll find a list of publications on this topic. Here's a list of a few other resources and trainings: The Facebook group for BCBAs Using the IISCA, The training event he and his colleagues are hosting on October 5th, in Worcester, MA, A two-part workshop on the BALANCE protocol at this year's NJ Autism Society's annual conference (see events B22 and B33), OK, I couldn't help myself, here is a paper that Greg mentioned not found on his site: Van Haaren (2015). Session 93 is brought to you by: Behavior University. Behavior University provides university-quality continuing education for everyday practitioners. To learn more about their CE offerings, discounts for podcast listeners, etc... please visit behavioruniversity.com/observations. The First Annual Tate Behavioral Conference taking place on October 25th in Springfield, Massachusetts, featuring presentations by Megan Miller, Ryan O'Donnell, Yours Truly, and Kim Berens. It will also include a live recording of the Behavioral Observations Podcast with my interview with Kim Berens. Here are a few other important details: 6 BACB CE credits (including 1.5 Ethics CEs) Oh, and save 15% off of your registration by using the promo code, "Matt" Did I mention that there's a free lunch? GoLotus. Go Lotus is an intuitive and easy to use, practice management system. It handles every aspect of practice management from data collection, to scheduling and billing, and more. It is so simple your entire team can be up and running in less than an hour. Listeners who use the promo code MATT, the first 100 people will receive 90 days of our data trackers completely free. And by signing up, you’ll then receive an additional discount of 25% off the first 12 months. For more info, head over to golotus.com/register.

Sep 6, 2019

I’m thrilled to bring back Dr. Rick Kubina of Central Reach and the University of Pennsylvania. It’s been quite a while since he was first on the podcast, so we spend the initial segment of the program catching up on some exciting things that he’s been involved with. Specifically, we discuss his triumphant return to podcasting with his brand new show, ABA on Call, and we also discuss the acquisition of Chartlytics, the company he co-founded with Dave Stevens, by Central Reach. Rick and I spend the most amount of time, however, discussing some really cool research projects that he's been involved with using Precision Teaching and Measurement in very non-traditional settings. What types of settings do you ask? Well, you’ll have to tune in and find out. But long story short, it’s some really cool stuff. We also talk about CR Unite, which is a Central Reach Users Conference, that’s coming up in October. If you’re a CR user, you may want to consider checking this event out so you can get the most out of this platform. If you listen to this episode and are wondering how to learn more about Precision Teaching, well you’re in luck, because Rick and I round out the podcast by discussing how to learn more about PT. Here are links to the resources we mentioned: CR Unite, the Central Reach Users' Conference. Rick's new book, The Precision Teaching Implementation Manual. Heward (1978). Operant Conditioning of a .300 Hitter? Links to Martin Levy's work on teaching surgical residents using clicker training: NPR Article. Hidden Brain Article. Scientific American Article. The Central Reach Institute. The Standard Celeration Society. The SCS Facebook Group. This episode is brought to you by HowToABA.com. HowToABA.com is your go-to source an online ABA community. Members get access to ABA resources and materials, monthly CEU events, and an online forum where they can collaborate with like-minded practitioners from around the world. For more information, and to access over 40 free data sheets, visual supports, program descriptions, and more, go to HowtoABA.com, and click the “free ABA materials and resources” tab. Lastly, did you know that Springfield, Massachusetts is just a hop, skip, and a jump from just about anywhere in the Northeast (look it up, it's true!). So find out how close it is to you, so you can be ready to attend the first annual Tate Behavioral Conference! Come hear from podcast favorites like Megan Miller, Kim Berens, and Ryan O'Donnell. I will also be doing a talk on the lessons I've learned from almost four years of podcasting, and we'll close the event with a live taping of a BOP interview, where I'll pick Dr. Kim's brain on all things Precision Teaching, fluency, measurement, and so on.

Aug 21, 2019

Steve Hayes returns to discuss all things ACT, RFT, and his new book, A Liberated Mind: How to Pivot to What Really Matters. We begin the show with a quick tutorial of sorts on Relational Frame Theory, as well as it’s relationship with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. We then spend quite a bit of time discussing the use of ACT in the context of preventing and responding to staff burnout. We also discuss managing “difficult people,” optimizing staff performance, and other aspects of management and supervision. Along the way, we frequently reference A Liberated Mind. To be candid, to say that this book is a big deal is a bit of an understatement. As Steve explains, A Liberated Mind is being published by one of the largest publishing houses in the world, which means that our science will have an opportunity to be disseminated in a way that we haven’t seen before. In addition to the book, we discussed a few other resources, including: The Prosocial.world website. The Maslach Burnout Inventory. Bond & Bunce (2000). Bond & Hayes (2002). Steve's website, where you can get his free ACT Mini-Course. Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life. This episode is brought to you by the following: Behavior University. Behavior University provides university-quality continuing education for everyday practitioners. To learn more about their CE offerings, please visit behavioruniversity.com/observations. The First Annual Tate Behavioral Conference taking place on October 25th in Springfield, Massachusetts, featuring presentations by Megan Miller, Ryan O'Donnell, Yours Truly, and Kim Berens. It will also include a live recording of the Behavioral Observations Podcast with my interview with Kim Berens. Here are a few other important details: 6 BACB CE credits (including 1.5 Ethics CEs) Doors open for registration and coffee at 8:00 am Speakers begin at 9 am and end at 5 pm Lunch included Oh, and save 15% off of your registration by using the promo code, "Matt" GoLotus. Go Lotus is an intuitive and easy to use, practice management system. It handles every aspect of practice management from data collection, to scheduling and billing, and more. It is so simple your entire team can be up and running in less than an hour. Listeners who use the promo code MATT, the first 100 people will receive 90 days of our data trackers completely free. And by signing up, you’ll then receive an additional discount of 25% off the first 12 months. For more info, head over to golotus.com/register.

Aug 15, 2019

When I first interviewed Chuck Merbitz, he informed me that he had cancer, and that his case was terminal. You wouldn’t know that by listing to the conversation though. One of the things that struck me about that episode was just how positive Chuck was. The day after he passed away, I re-listened to the interview, and found so many nuggets of wise advice that had forgotten about. I suppose the main takeaway to this episode was the importance of working well with people outside of our field. So with that in mind, I urge you to give this episode another listen. Even if you’re not interested in precision teaching or starting a behavior analysis program at a university, there are lessons a-plenty to be found, particularly towards the end of the conversation. At some point, we may do an episode discussing his contributions to the field, but for now, let’s take a moment to hear his story again. Lastly, I have been in contact with his family, and they have provided me a list of causes that were important to Chuck. These include: Union of Concerned Scientists (very active on climate change) American Civil Liberties Union (fighting for human rights in the courts) Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) Move to Amend (to end corruption and secrecy in campaign financing) If you’d like to make a contribution in his honor, I have links to these organizations in this episode’s show notes. So without any further delay, please enjoy this conversation with Chuck Merbitz, and keep his loved ones in your thoughts. He will be missed indeed.

Aug 8, 2019

If you're looking to improve your supervision practices, this is the podcast for you! In Session 90, I'm joined by Dr. Zahra Hajiaghamohseni, who recently wrapped up her dissertation on this topic. Here's a short excerpt from her dissertation's abstract: The purpose of my study was to examine the supervision practices of BCBA/BCBA-D who supervise precertification candidates and to determine if there were any statistically significant differences between supervisor demographics and supervision practices. An additional correlation test ... was conducted to evaluate for any associations between self-reported frequency of supervisor behaviors and precertification candidates BACB exam pass rate. (Hajiaghamohseni, 2019) I will not spoil the podcast by sharing the results here, but Zahra has generously provided access to her dissertation in the list of links below: Supervision Behaviors of Board Certified Behavior Analysts with Precertification Candidates (Zahra's dissertation... Hajiaghamohseni, 2019). The Behavior Analysis in Practice Special Edition on Supervision. Reed, et al. 2016, Toward quantifying the abuse liability of ultraviolet tanning: A behavioral economic approach to tanning addiction. BACB Resources, such as, The Professional Ethical Compliance Code. The white paper on ethics violations and code enforcement. ASD Practice Guidelines. 2018 BACB Annual Data Report. BACB Certificant Data through July 2019. BACB Supervisor Training Curriculum Outline. And if you're still looking for more supervision resources, check out these resources: Fieldwork Supervision for Behavior Analysts: A Handbook (Kazemi, et al., 2019). Remote Fieldwork Supervision for BCBA Trainees (Britton and Some Other Person, 2019). This episode is sponsored by: The First Annual Tate Behavioral Conference taking place on October 25th in Springfield, Massachusetts, featuring presentations by Megan Miller, Ryan O'Donnell, Yours Truly, and Kim Berens. It will also include a live recording of the Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria, interviewing Kim Berens. Here are a few other important details: 6 BACB CE credits (including 1.5 Ethics CEs) Doors open for registration and coffee at 8:00 am Speakers begin at 9 am and end at 5 pm Lunch included Oh, and save 15% off of your registration by using the promo code, "Matt" Behavior University. Behavior University's goal is to provide university-quality instruction for practitioners seeking continuing education! They've put together a special deal for BOP listeners, so head over to behavioruniversity.com/observations, where you’ll save 10% on all courses and webinars. HRIC Recruiting. Let Barb Voss’ 30 years of experience help you find your dream job, or if you’re an agency, your dream candidate. For a confidential conversation about your career, reach out to Barb at https://www.hricolorado.com/contact.

Jul 23, 2019

My guest for Session 89 was actually the first non-behavior analyst on the Behavioral Observations Podcast. It's true! Way back in Session 15, Rich Brooks joined me to provide what was essentially a Digital Marketing 101 class. He’s back today – over 2 years later, to give us an update on digital marketing trends for 2019. In this episode we cover: Why you should pay attention to Google Analytics (and perhaps begin looking at Google Data Studio) Considerations for advertising on Google and Facebook How to blog more effectively (and why that helps attract people to your services) The basics of getting started with email marketing Even if you’re not an agency owner, there’s lots of great information in this show. I urge you to listen through to the end, because we close the show with a discussion of mastermind groups. This is not something I hear a lot about in our line of work, and I think mastermind groups have implications beyond marketing. Meaning, I think this is a practice that we, as clinicians, can replicate to better serve our clients. In case you missed Rich’s first appearance on the show, he is President of Flyte New Media, and hosts The Agents of Change Podcast. Rich is also the founder of the similarly-titled Agents of Change Digital Marketing Conference, which is held each September in Portland, Maine (one of my favorite cities, and home to some of the best restaurants and breweries in the world!). RICH WARMING UP THE CROWD AT THE LAST AGENTS OF CHANGE If you're interested in this event but can’t make it to Portland, don't worry; a virtual pass is available, so you can watch the proceedings from the comfort of your own home. Rich has generously provided a coupon code for podcast listeners, so if you buy a ticket to the event, enter “matt” at checkout, and save $25. If you want to tap into Rich's vast marketing experience at a lower barrier of entry, check out his book, The Lead Machine: The Small Business Guide to Digital Marketing. Alternatively, hit him up on social media (he is @therichbrooks on all social media platforms). Lastly, this episode of The Behavioral Observations Podcast is brought to you by GoLotus. Go Lotus’ mission is to break down the barriers of how we gather, process, and share information for clients. From practice management to data collection, they do it all. It is so simple your entire team can be up and running in less than an hour. If you want to get their data tracking system free for 90 days, go to golotus.com/register. And use the promo code MATT. There are some other discounts available too, so again, head over to golotus.com/register for more info.

Jul 2, 2019

What does Supervision, Fire Safety, and Robots have to do with one another? And what does "Skinner as the Bad Boy," mean? Well, fortunately, Dr. Ellie Kazemi, Professor of Psychology at Cal State Northridge, joins me in Session 88 to sort this all out. I met Ellie at the 2018 Hoosier ABA conference, where she instantly became one of my favorite people in the field. In Session 88, Ellie describes how she happened upon Behavior Analysis well after pursuing Psychology as a chosen field, how she's found several novel applications of our science, and how she's developed relationships with scientists and practitioners in other fields (like the folks at NASA!). We take a few listener questions along the way, but one of my favorite parts of this interview is Ellie's unique advice for newly-minted BCBA's. And, to add my own two cents, her advice is applicable to practitioners at all levels of experience! We also spend a little time talking about the book that she wrote along with along with Brian Rice and Peter Adzhyan. It's called Fieldwork and Supervision for Behavior Analysts: A Handbook. If you're looking for more information about Ellie and her research, check out her lab's web page, which also has links to her CV, as well as the articles that she has published. Session 88 is brought to you by: Go Lotus’ mission is to break down the barriers of how we gather, process, and share information for clients. From practice management to data collection, they do it all. It is so simple your entire team can be up and running in less than an hour. If you want to get their data tracking system free for 90 days, go to golotus.com/register. And use the promo code MATT. There are some other discounts available too, so again, head over to golotus.com/register for more info. HRI Colorado. Even though they have the word Colorado in their name, HRI will find you your dream job just about anywhere. And if you’re an agency, they’ll help you find your dream candidate. For more information, go to HRIColorado.com/contact and let their 30 years of recruiting experience work for you.

Jun 12, 2019

In Session 87 Dr. Merrill Winston joins me to talk about the use of restraints and seclusion in the context of supporting individuals who exhibit unsafe behaviors. Merrill is the Vice President and Director of Program Development of the Professional Crisis Management Association. If you're not familiar with him, I've included his bio right here: In addition to being a PCMA trainer, Merrill specializes in the analysis and treatment of severe behavior disorders with special populations. His range of treatment experience includes feeding disorders, self-injury, severe aggression, language acquisition, and skill acquisition problems. Merrill is a popular speaker at conferences and conducts presentations on a wide variety of topics in behavior analysis including psychotropic medication usage, mental illness, autism, exceptional student education, assessment and treatment of behavior problems, IEP goal selection and measurement, and a variety of conceptual issues as they relate to conducting behavior analysis in applied settings. Merrill has worked in a variety of settings including private homes, group homes, large institutions, secured facilities, schools and day-treatment programs. He is an experienced expert witness and frequently consults with attorneys, parents and advocates of persons with disabilities. He currently spends at least one day a week as the Behavior Analysis Consultant for Palm Beach County Schools. One thing I’d like to point out is that both Merrill and I have many years’ experience working with individuals with significant and sometimes dangerous behavioral challenges. As such, it is possible that to some listeners, we might come off as overly clinical, or even glib in our discussion of restraint and seclusion practices. If that’s the case with you, I’d like to take a moment to assure you that we take these issues very seriously, and we hope that our discussion provides a level of nuance, and possibly sophistication, that is oftentimes missing when people discuss the physical management of unsafe behavior. Session 87 is brought to you by: ABAdesk. ABAdesk is a BCBA-made data collection system that supports Frequency, Duration, Interval Recording, Task Analysis, & Trials programs. Visit www.abadesk.com and use the promo code MCPODCAST to get ½ off your first 3 months of data collection and graphing services. Behavior University. Behavior University's goal is to provide university-quality instruction for practitioners seeking continuing education! If you’re like me and re-certify at the end of June, and you still have a few CE’s to knock out, head over to behavioruniversity.com/observations, where you’ll save 10% on all courses and webinars. Lastly, Remote Fieldwork Supervision for BCBA Trainees, the book I co-wrote with Dr. Lisa Britton, who is an expert in providing high quality distance based supervision, is now out... it makes a great gift for family and friends alike!

Jun 6, 2019

The demands of being a Behavior Analyst can seem never-ending. Throw in parenting, relationships, finances, personal health/wellness, etc..., and things get overwhelming in a real hurry. Hashing it out at the ABAI bar In Session 86, I chat with Kristen Lancaster and Jonathan Tarbox about this whole work/life balance thing. They share some personal stories about how they've managed to not only survive, but thrive in the face of the challenges of the modern world. This conversation was recorded in-person at the 2019 Association for Behavior Analysis International conference that was held in Chicago. And despite being in such a heady academic environment, we didn't go heavy on the literature. As such, there are only a few links. As always, let me know if you hear something in the interview that I missed. The parable of the fisherman Confessions of a Behavior Analyst FB Group ACT at Work, Bond & Hayes (2002) The impact of acceptance and commitment training and multicultural training on the stigmatizing attitudes and professional burnout of substance abuse counselors, Hayes, et al. (2004) Session 50, Jonathan's first appearance on Behavioral Observations Session 16, Pat Friman's second appearance on Behavioral Observations Today’s episode is brought to you by: Go Lotus. Go Lotus’ mission is to break down the barriers of how we gather, process, and share information for children with Autism and related needs. From practice management to data collection, they do it all. It is so simple your entire team can be up and running in less than an hour. For more information, go to golotus.com/register. And by using the promo code MATT, the first 100 people will receive 90 days of our data trackers completely free. And by signing up, you’ll then receive an additional discount of 25% off the first 12 months. So again, for more info, head over to golotus.com/register. Your's Truly... right now, I have a great deal on bulk CE purchases. Get 12 Type 2 CE's for less than $100! Great for those who have procrastinated and need to re-certify by June 30th!

May 20, 2019

My guest today is Dr. Kerri Milyko, who is the owner of The Precision Teaching Learning Center in Tampa, FL as well as The Learning Consultants in Reno, Nevada. As you'll figure out right away, Kerri is Capital-P passionate about all things Precision Teaching. In this episode, she shares how she first got "the bug" at the University of Florida, and then continues on about how she's using PT today to help children with learning and behavioral challenges. In to providing services to children, Kerri also provides business to business consultation on system-wide assessment and implementation to transform agencies who want to adopt precision teaching. To further this mission, she and her colleagues have created an online self-paced curriculum on Precision Teaching. If this is something you’re interested in learning more about, click here for the various professional development offerings that are available. Even better, Kerri has provided Behavioral Observations Podcast listeners a 25% discount on course purchases (disclosure: I generate no affiliate revenue on these course purchases). During this two-hour plus interview, Kerri mentions many resources, and I've attempted to capture them here: Keller (1968). Goodbye Teacher Twyman et al (2004). A Non-Linear Approach to Curriculum Design Milyko et al (2012). An Investigation of Rapid Automatic Naming as a Generalized Operant Binder (1996). Behavioral Fluency: An Evolution of a New Paradigm Fabrizio and Moors (2003). Evaluating Mastery: Measuring Instructional Outcomes for Children with Autism Spillman & Milyko (2015). I can do this math, yo! This will most likely be my last show before heading off to ABAI. I have a few events scheduled, and if you’re interested in checking them out, click here. Either way, I love meeting listeners in person, so if you’re going to Chicago, please say hello. Today’s episode is brought to you by Go Lotus. Go Lotus’ mission is to break down the barriers of how we gather, process, and share information for children with Autism and related needs. From practice management to data collection, they do it all. It is so simple your entire team can be up and running in less than an hour. For more information, go to golotus.com/register. And by using the promo code MATT, the first 100 people will receive 90 days of our data trackers completely free. And by signing up, you’ll then receive an additional discount of 25% off the first 12 months. So again, for more info, head over to golotus.com/register. We are also brought to you by HRIC Recruiting. Let Barb Voss’ 30 years of experience help you find your dream job, or if you’re an agency, your dream candidate. For a confidential conversation about your career, reach out to Barb at https://www.hricolorado.com/contact. Lastly, you can still get free shipping for all your Essential for Living purchases through June 1st. At checkout, use code EFLBOP0501.

May 6, 2019

In session 84, Dr. Luis Morales Knight joins me to talk about his work as a Clinical Psychologist, which, as you may have guessed from the title of this episode, involves a lot of parent training and coaching. Although Luis jokes that he's not a "real Behavior Analyst," trust me, he's one of us. He is the co-founder of the Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Center in Ocean County, California. In addition to completing a clinical psych graduate program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, he also trained with podcast favorite, Pat Friman, at Boys Town. We didn't even scratch the surface of all the topics we wanted to cover, so I'm already thinking about a follow up interview. But first, I need to re-listen to this one and apply some of the things Luis discussed to my own parenting. Here are the links to the resources we mentioned: Pat Friman in Session 10 of this podcast Quasi obscure 80's show, Quantum Leap Parent-Child Interaction Therapy PRIDE Skills Act, don't Yak Job Card Grounding Sleeping Through the Night The Thriving Adolescent Stuff that Sucks The Self-Driven Child McGinnis Behavioral Session 84 is brought to you by: Behavior University. BU's mission is to provide university-quality continuing education to Behavior Analysis practitioners in a convenient and affordable format. Save 10% on all Continuing Education and training products with the code PODCAST. Click here for more details. The Essential for Living assessment and curriculum. Get free shipping on all purchases until June 1st by using the discount code EFLBOP0501 Lastly, Remote Fieldwork Supervision for BCBA Trainees, the book I co-wrote with Dr. Lisa Britton, who is an expert in providing high quality distance based supervision, is now out. Lastly, are you going to ABAI? I have a few events, and I'd love to see you there.

Apr 26, 2019

Session 83 is a roundtable discussion with Andy Chavez from BehaviorMe, Jane Logvinova from ABA Desk, and Adam Dreyfus from AnswersNow. We dive into emerging trends in the application of technology in the practice of Applied Behavior Analysis, particularly in the areas of staff training, data collection, and parental support. Specifically, we discuss the market signals that led these entrepreneurs to create their products, how their ideas have been shaped over time, how they have (or haven't) secured external funding, and how they are marketing their offerings. Throughout our discussion, my guests mentioned several resources and websites, and I have done my best to capture them here: Lighthouse Labs Techstars Headsprout Joe Layng's Machine Learning Blog post To schedule a demo, or if you just want to learn more about these amazing businesses, check out the following: BehaviorMe click here to schedule a demo Instagram ABA Desk Learn more Schedule demo Instagram Facebook (and to get 50% off your first 3 months, use promo code MCPODCAST) AnswersNow To learn more Facebook Instagram And now, for some shameless self-promotion: I am running a wicked awesome deal on Type 2 CEU's Dr. Evelyn Gould will join The Behavioral Observations Membership group for an "Ask Me Anything" (within reason), on May 1st, 2019, at 8 PM EST ABAI 2019 events that I'm participating in: Science, Communication, and Behavior Analysis: Correcting Missed Opportunities. An invited panel with Ryan O'Donnell and Dr. Matt Normand, chaired by Dr. Jonathan Pinkston Should We Be Selling Out and Commercializing Our Science?: The Stories of PECs, PEAK, and Chartlytics. I will chair this panel that will feature Drs. Andy Bondy, Mark Dixon, and Rick Kubina If you haven't done so already, check out the book that Dr. Lisa Britton and I just published, Remote Fieldwork Supervision for BCBA Trainees

Apr 17, 2019

In Session 82, I chat with Beth McKee, wearer of innumerable hats! According to her LinkedIn profile, she holds the following positions:Director of Rehabilitation Services at Guangxiu International Children's CenterCEO of ABA Consulting InternationalBrand Ambassador for BehaviorMeIn this episode, we discuss how Beth got her start in ABA, how she began working in China, and how she is currently scaling services in the Hunan Province region in a sustainable and ethical manner.As we discussed in the show, there are not a lot of BCBA's in China. If you don't believe me, check out this map Beth put together:We also discuss what she does when she's not practicing in China, highlighting in particular, her work with BehaviorMe. Beth often posts lots of pictures of her ABA adventures, so if you'd like to follow along, check out her Instagram (@bethmmckee).This podcast is supported by: HRIC... Your new career path starts here. Let Barb Voss find you your dream job, or, if you're an agency, let her find you your dream candidate! Let her 30 years of recruiting experience work for you. If you're interested in learning more, email her for a confidential chat.Essential for Living: A Communication, Behavior, and Life Skills Curriculum, Assessment, and Practitioner's Handbook. From now through 6/1/2019, get free shipping on all purchases using offer code EFLBOP0501.Lastly, Remote Fieldwork Supervision for BCBA Trainees, the book I co-wrote with Dr. Lisa Britton, who is an expert in providing high quality distance based supervision, is now out.

Apr 5, 2019

I am really excited to present this follow up conversation with one of our most popular guests, Dr. Pat McGreevy. In this episode, we start out by talking about teaching more than one student at a time, and then we move on to some of his tips and tricks for teaching waiting skills, how to avoid ratio strain, how to fade prompts, the benefits of cold probes, and more. We close the episode by taking a wide range of listener questions (e.g., "who are some unsung heroes in our field?"), and you definitely do not want to miss those. Pat has been in this business for a long time, and the wisdom he shares in this episode is priceless for sure! Session 81 of this podcast was brought to you by the following: The Essential for Living assessment and curriculum. Get free shipping on all purchases until June 1st by using the discount code EFLBOP0501 The Central Reach, Charting a New Course workshop, that's taking place on April 18th and 19th, in Needham, MA. If you're interested in saving 10% off your registration, use the promo code: PODCAST. Behavior University. BU's mission is to provide university-quality continuing education to Behavior Analysis practitioners in a convenient and affordable format. Save 10% on all Continuing Education and training products with the code PODCAST. Click here for more details. Lastly, Remote Fieldwork Supervision for BCBA Trainees, the book I co-wrote with Dr. Lisa Britton, who is an expert in providing high quality distance based supervision, is now out.

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