Fifty Years in Behavior Analysis: Session 229 with Jose Rios

This is a conversation I've really been looking forward to sharing with you. Jose Rios is a legend in our field, particularly if you're a behavior analyst in California, where he's based out of. 

In this conversation, Jose recounts his more than 50 year career in providing ABA services to individuals with developmental disabilities. We cover the following:

• How he got started in the field at the tender age of 17.
• What the field of ABA was like in the early 70s.
• What it takes to provide amazing experiences for group home residents and staff.
• The founding of the Latino Association for Behavior Analysis.
• The evolution of behavior support plans over the years.
• Jose's intense mentoring program.
• What makes for good presentations.

Jose is an avid reader, and we spent almost a half hour talking about our favorite fiction authors before hitting the record button. In the interview itself however, we do mention a few books and other resources that are more pertinent to the topic of Behavior Analysis, including:

• The various works of Dr. Gary LaVigna.
• The various works of Dr. John Lutzker.
• Teaching dating skills to individuals with disabilities (Cuvo et al., 1985).
• Vollmer et al. (1992). A content analysis of written behavior management programs. 
• Resonate, by Nancy Duarte.
• Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter) 3rd Edition, by Garr Reynolds.
• The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch.
• The Supervisor’s Guidebook: Evidence-Based Strategies for Promoting Work Quality and Enjoyment Among Human Service Staff, Reid & Parsons.

This conversation is like a lesson in the history of Applied Behavior Analysis, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

This podcast is brought to you by:

• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving, walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.