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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: January, 2025
Jan 31, 2025

I'm not sure about you, but I did not get a lot of training in self-management when I was a graduate student (but cut me some slack... I was in an EAB program!).

If you're in the same boat as I am, then you're in luck. In Session 288, I'm joined by Katie Croce and Jamie Salter, and in our conversation, they provided their unique strategies for fostering self-management using the Self and Match system.

We get in to how they developed their unique approach to self-management, how they've refined it over time, the relationship between self-monitoring and accountability, research supporting these practices, and lots more.

If you want to learn more about this approach to supporting individuals to become more independent, sign up for their mailing list, or consider picking up a copy of the Self and Match manual.

Jan 21, 2025

As Juliet asks, "what's in a name?" in that Shakespeare play every 9th grader reads, I too ask the put the same question to today's guest, Dr. Caio Miguel.

Welcome to Session 287 of the Behavioral Observations Podcast! Literary allusions aside, in this episode, Caio walks us through the concept of Bidirectional Naming, and its implications for research and practice.

In this conversation, we use his 2016 paper, Common and Intraverbal Bidirectional Naming, from the Analysis of Verbal Behavior, as a springboard for this discussion.

One of the things that I took away from this conversation is to be more careful using terms like tacting, naming, and labeling interchangeably. In this podcast, you'll learn why these distinctions are important.

We also talk about why terms like receptive and expressive labeling aren't conceptually systematic, and should be avoided in the Behavior Analytic literature. If that sounds like a hot take to you, please tune in to hear the rationale.

Caio is also presenting at this year's Verbal Behavior Conference, which is taking place March 27-28, 2025, both in Austin, TX, as well as virtually through BehaviorLive. If you like to nerd out on all things verbal behavior, this is your event. And during our conversation, Caio provides a preview of what he plans to talk about at the VBC.

Here are some links to resources that came up during this episode:

This podcast is brought to you with the support of:

  • HRIC Recruting. Cut out the middleman and speak directly with Barbara Voss, who's been placing BCBAs in great jobs all across the US for 15 years. 
  • CEUs from Behavioral Observations. Learn from your favorite podcast guests while you're commuting, walking the dog, or whatever else you do while listening to podcasts. New events are being added all the time, so check them out here
  • The Behavioral Toolbox. Check out our courses for school-based and other behavioral professionals, including our newest one, Motivational Interviewing: Getting Educator Buy-In.
  • The Verbal Behavior Conference. Whether you attend in-person in Austin, TX, or online via BehaviorLive, you're going to love this year's Verbal Behavior Conference! Click here to get all the details!
  • If you'd like to get BOP episodes a little earlier than everyone else, with no ads... just the interview itself, consider supporting the show with a Patreon subscription.
Jan 7, 2025

Do you ever struggle getting your message across to co-workers, parents, or teachers? I sure have.

And when it comes down to implementing behavioral interventions of any kind, the consequences of not being understood can be quite high for the learners in our care.

Think about it for a minute, if someone doesn't implement a behavior plan correctly, people can get hurt. If someone doesn't implement learning programs correctly, individuals will fail to acquire critical skills that could allow them more independence and freedom later on.

At the same time, we know that just telling staff what we want them to do is not very effective. And that's why I've invited Dr. Paulie Gavoni and Anika Costa to join me again on the podcast. In this episode, we discuss Motivational Interviewing. MI involves facilitating conversations with stakeholders in such a way that they are more likely to overcome barriers to implementing what you'd like them to do. That's the extreme short-version, so you're going to want to listen to the show to learn the in and outs of MI in more detail.

Motivational Interviewing may be a familair term to podcast listeners. A few years ago, I hosted Dr. Callie Plattner in Session 236 to discuss this topic in depth. Long time listeners might recall my conversation with Dr. Jim Murphy way back in Session 158, where we discussed the application of Motivational Interviewing to help individuals with Substance Use Disorders.

In this episode, we discuss MI in the context of school consultation. Now if you don't work in schools, don't worry, you'll still get a lot out of this episode. Here's a fun example of how this might be: As you might know, the three of us have been working on a new educational platform called The Behavioral Toolbox, and we recently published our third course on the site called: Motivational Interviewing: Getting Educator Buy-In.

I learned that one of the first customers for this course is someone who is a professional dog trainer. I reached out to her to ask why she bought the course, and she noted that in her line of work, it's not about working directly with the dogs, it's about getting owners to change their behavior, and she saw MI as one tool she could use to help owners follow through with the things she was teaching them. I think that's pretty cool.

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Jan 3, 2025

La Evaluación Práctica Funcional y el Tratamiento Basado en Habilidades
Con Beatriz Urcuyo y Rafael Argueta

La evaluación y el tratamiento de problemas severos de conducta han sido prácticas fundamentales dentro del análisis conductual aplicado, proporcionando un apoyo esencial para las personas con desafíos en el desarrollo y sus familias. Los análisis funcionales han marcado una gran diferencia al informar y enfocar nuestros tratamientos. Entre las variaciones y refinamientos de estas evaluaciones, se encuentra la evaluación práctica funcional, que ha sido muy bien recibida por numerosos profesionales debido a su efectividad, sistematicidad, y por los valores y prioridades que promueve.

Este enfoque también ofrece una continuidad hacia una secuencia de enseñanza muy detallada de habilidades imprescindibles, que son esenciales para empoderar a estos aprendices y permitirles continuar su desarrollo sin enfrentarse a desafíos conductuales. Beatriz, Rafael y su equipo en Nicaragua han sido de los primeros profesionales en Centroamérica en recibir capacitación y asesoramiento directamente de los responsables de la conceptualización, investigación y desarrollo de estos procedimientos.

Esta conversación les ofrecerá una introducción a la evaluación práctica funcional y al tratamiento basado en habilidades, además de dar a conocer las experiencias de estos líderes del análisis conductual en Nicaragua.

Practical Functional Assessment and Skill-based Treatment Funcional 
with Beatriz Urcuyo y Rafael Argueta

The assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior have been fundamental practices within applied behavior analysis, providing essential support for individuals with developmental challenges and their families. Functional analyses have made a great difference in informing and focusing our treatments. Among the variations and refinements of these assessments is the practical functional assessment, which has been very well received by numerous professionals due to its effectiveness, systematicity, and the values and priorities it promotes.

This approach also offers continuity towards a very detailed teaching sequence of skills, which are essential to empower these learners and allow them to continue their development without facing behavioral challenges. Beatriz, Rafael and their team in Nicaragua have been among the first professionals in Central America to receive training and advice directly from those responsible for the conceptualization, research and development of these procedures.

This conversation will provide an introduction to the practical functional assessment and skill-based treatment, as well as share the experiences of these leaders in behavioral analysis in Nicaragua.

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