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 Andy to write the post in the first place, and discuss teaching mand repertoires across a variety of contexts, many of them beyond requesting preferred items.

We also take some excellent questions that were generated by The Behavioral Observations Membership Group. Specifically, Andy gets asked about autoclitic frames, core versus fringe vocabulary, and why prompts - from Andy's perspective - are like knives (you'll have to listen to understand what this means).

Here are links to resources, etc... that we discussed:

• The Facebook post that spurred this conversation.
• The new extended edition of Verbal Behavior.
• The PECS USA homepage.
• Latest PECS research.
• Delaware Autism Program.
• Eve Skinner multi-part interview w/BF Skinner (YouTube).
• Andy's first appearance on BOP.
• An upcoming workshop from Andy on prompting, stimulus control, and error correction. (more workshops here).
• Schreibman and Stahmer (2014). Randomized control trial study comparing PECS and Pivotal Response Training.
• Charlop-Christy, et al., (2002). Using the picture exchange communication system (PECS) with children with autism: assessment of PECS acquisition, speech, social-communicative, and problem behavior.
• The BOP membership program.

This podcast is brought to you by:

• Gateway Learning Group, and their Autism Leadership Academy. Designed for new Regional Directors, the Autism Leadership Academy develops motivated BCBAs into successful leaders in the autism field. If you’re interested in running your own regional center and want to learn the skills to do so successfully, check out gatewaylg.com/BOP.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• The Whoop Strap! I've been wearing the Whoop Strap for just a few weeks and I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed getting quantitative information on all aspects of my health, including sleep analytics, heart rate, along with heart rate variability, calorie burn, exercise intensity, and Whoop's proprietary "strain" score. I could extol this neat device's virtues indefinitely to you, but instead, you can go check it out for yourself. To get your first month free, head over to behavioralobservations.com/whoop!

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 stepping out of our community and speak directly to a broader community. In short, it's an excellent model of dissemination, and should be applauded for this reason, along with all the other excellent attributes of the book.

I was honored to write a blurb for the promotion of the book, and if you'll indulge me, I'll share it here:

In 1984, B.F. Skinner wrote The Shame of American Education, in which he described how the American educational system failed to incorporate scientifically validated instructional practices. Sadly, this paper is just as relevant after almost four decades since its publication. In Blind Spots: Why Students Fail and the Science That Can Save Them, Dr. Kimberly Berens courageously picks up where Skinner left off by shining a light on the dysfunctional practices of the American educational establishment. In doing so, she debunks many popular myths that pervade current educational practices. More importantly, Dr. Berens offers concrete solutions for helping all students learn through the application of the natural science of behavior. This is a book that should be read by every parent, school board member, administrator, and teacher.

I could go on and on both about this book as well as the interview I'm about to play. But instead, I'll just ask you to give the show a listen, and if you're so moved, to pick up a copy of the book. Or even better, gift a copy of the book if you happen to know a teacher, school administrator, and so forth.

Here are the links for the references that came up in Session 136:

• Blind Spots: Why Students Fail and the Science That Can Save Them.*
• Kim's first and second appearance on the podcast.
• Kim's website, DrKimberlyBerens.com.
• Kim's interview on The Controversial Exchange.
• A Liberated Mind,* by Steve Hayes.
• Re-Booting Capitalism,* by Anthony Biglan.
• Dr. Biglan's Twitter handle.
• Neuroplasticity,* The MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series, by Moheb Costandi.
• FitLearning Atlanta Lab.
• Cambridge Center white paper on Project Follow Through.
• My interview with Michael Maloney (with discussion of Project Follow Through).
• IXL.com (K-12 website that uses fluency based strategies).

Today's episode was brought to you with support from:

• Market Your ABA Practice Like a Pro! A Digital Masterclass with Rich Brooks! Is your ABA practice located in a highly competitive area? Do you struggle with name-recognition and visibility among Autism service providers in your community? Do you wish more parents and stakeholders knew about the awesome services you provide? During this event, you'll discover marketing strategies that will allow you to get your ABA practice to get in front of ideal community stakeholders (parents, guardians, etc…) and referral sources (pediatricians, etc…), by using the digital tools that everyone is being forced to use these days. This can help to attract new clients, families, schools, and even employees! The price of the event is $149, but if you register by Halloween, you can attend the event for just $99. Click here to sign up!
• The Whoop Strap! I've been wearing the Whoop Strap for just a few weeks and I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed getting quantitative information on all aspects of my health, including sleep analytics, heart rate, along with heart rate variability, calorie burn, exercise intensity, and Whoop's proprietary "strain" score. I could extol this neat device's virtues indefinitely to you, but instead, you can go check it out for yourself. To get your first month free, head over to behavioralobservations.com/whoop!

*denotes Amazon Affiliate Link

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 of Applied Behavior Analysis, Rekers and Lovaas (1974) evaluated the Behavioral Treatment of Deviant Sex-role Behaviors in a Male Child. They investigated the use of reinforcement and punishment to target non-gender conforming behaviors of a 5-year-old male child. This study was considered by some to be controversial and concerning, even near the time of publication (Nordyke et al. 1977; Winkler, 1977). The concerns focused on the ethicality of selecting non-gender conforming behavior as a target response and the use of punishment for this type of response, particularly at the behest of parents when the young child was not seemingly distressed. The study has subsequently been used as empirical support for conversion therapy creating concerns about misinterpretation of the original article and harm to the LGBTQ+ community. This editorial reviews the concerns originally presented by Nordyke et al. and Winkler and issues an official Expression of Concern about the various harms that have been associated with this paper.

I first heard about this paper many years ago, but it was to my attention again at the 2019 NH ABA conference. At that event, Dr. Sarah Campeau did a great job reviewing this paper, along with cataloging the devastating effects the study had on the participant later on in his life.

So in this episode of the podcast, Drs. Linda Leblanc and Henry Roane discuss the rationale behind the statement of concern. In doing so, they talk about why the statement was written now versus earlier in the history of JABA, and what exactly a Statement of Concern is, and why issuing the statement was the specific action taken instead of other options, such as retracting the paper altogether.

We also get into the actual shortcomings of the study, particularly in light of the ethical and moral standards of modern times. Linda and Hank close the podcast by giving some advice for practitioners on how to respond to concerns of stakeholders if or when they bring up this or other studies that are not consistent with more modern ethics and values.

I should also note that our Zoom connection was spotty here and there, and I apologize if it interferes with the audio quality that you've come to expect from the show. That said, I don't think it poor connection detracted from the substance of the conversation.

Dr. Roane is a new voice in the Inside JABA Series, so by way of introduction, Hank is the Gregory S. Liptak MD Professor of Child Development in the Department of Pediatrics at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse NY. In this capacity, he serves as the Chief of the Division of Development, Behavior and Genetics where he directs medical and behavior analysis clinics that provide treatment services for children affected by autism and related disorders. Hank is also the Chair of the Behavior Analysis Studies program in the College of Health Professions at Upstate. As we mention during the conversation, Hank is also the Treasurer of SEAB.

In keeping with the previous Inside JABA Series podcasts, there are no ads or sponsors on this episode. However, this episode is eligible for BACB Continuing Education. We also felt that the conversation touched on many code elements in the Professional and Ethical Compliance Code, and as such, it can be counted as an Ethics CEU.

Lastly, 50% of the proceeds from sales of the Inside JABA Series CEUs are donated to SEAB. So for more information on the Inside JABA Series CEUs, or any other CEUs that are available through Behavioral Observations, click here.

I've also set up a Link Tree across all my social media platforms where you can access all the different podcast offerings, including episode shownotes. For example, if you follow the show on Instagram (@behavioralobservations), just go to the link in the bio, and you'll have many podcast-related links at your fingertips.

Here are the links to the resources that were discussed in this episode:

• Editor's Note: Societal changes and expression of concern about Rekers and Lovaas' (1974) Behavioral Treatment of Deviant Sex‐Role Behaviors in a Male Child.
• The Rekers and Lovaas (1974) study.
• Nordyke, Baer, Etzel, and LeBlanc (1977), response to Rekers and Lovaas.
• Winkler (1977), response to Rekers and Lovaas.
• Rekers' response to Nordyke et al. and Winkler (1977).
• The Anderson Cooper four-part expose on the long term effects on the participant in Rekers and Lovaas.
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) website.
• Retraction Watch.
• CEU opportunities from Behavioral Observations.
• BOP linktr.ee (clearinghouse of podcast-related links).

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 some strategies that may be more successful for individuals with ODD, as well as provide suggestions for further reading.

Here are the links to the resources that were discussed:

• Amelia's aforementioned book*.
• Amelia's website, AmeliaBehaviour.com.
• ADHD Does Not Exist: The Truth About Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder*, by Richard Saul.
• Patterson (1982). Coercive Family Process*.
• Russell Barkley website (ADHD resource).
• Emotion Coaching (Gottman Institute).
• Optimistic Parenting* by Mark Durand.
• Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity* by Steve Silberman.
• Ross Greene's appearance on The Controversial Exchange.
• Additude.com (ADHD resource site).
• Tiltparenting.com (another parenting website).
• Mona Delahooke (another blog/popular press resource, the book Amelia mentioned here*).
• Rundown of the Stillface Experiment (short video here).

Session 134 is brought to you by the following sponsors:

• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations.
• Gateway Learning Group, and their Autism Leadership Academy. Designed for new Regional Directors, the Autism Leadership Academy develops motivated BCBAs into successful leaders in the autism field. If you’re interested in running your own regional center and want to learn the skills to do so successfully, check out gatewaylg.com/BOP. 
• Market Your ABA Practice Like a Pro: A Digital Marketing Masterclass with Rich Brooks. That's right, our favorite marketing guru, Rich Brooks and I are teaming up for a fantastic learning opportunity. During this event, you'll discover marketing strategies that will allow you to get your ABA practice get in front of ideal stakeholders. Rich and I are still working out the details and I'll have a site to direct you to shortly. What I can tell you is that you're going to want to block off some time on November 9th.

*denotes Amazon Affiliate link

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 talked about how he and the rest of the folks at BDA responded to the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

I also had a chance to pick their brains on a topic that I'm fascinated with: Compensating employees in a Pay-for-Performance model, an idea pioneered by William Abernathy (you can find all the books he wrote on this topic here*).

All and all, this was a fun and wide ranging discussion, and I think listeners will be able to get some neat takeaways from it.

Here are some links to some of the things that came up in conversation:

• Brett's first appearance on the show.
• Pauli's first appearance on the show.
• Hoosier Association for Behavior Analysis.
• BDA's YouTube Channel, Behavioral Karma.
• The Behavioral Karma Podcast, hosted by Billy Brown and Paulie Gavoni.
• Fighting Words in ABA (Pauli's article on BSci21.org).
• Pauli's LinkedIn page.
• Brett's LinkedIn page.
• The Performance Diagnostic Checklist (Carr et al., 2013).
• Brett's interview of me at HABA 2018.

Today's episode is brought to you by the following:

• If you want to study ABA and Positive Behavior Supports at a top-notch setting in Europe, then look no further than the Tizard Center at the University of Kent. Since 1986, they've been training professionals to support individuals with disabilities. Their primary focus has always been promoting values-based and ethical approaches to supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. If you would like to learn more about ABA and PBS training on an international stage, check out www.tizard.org.
• 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.
• And while I'm promoting the stuff on my website, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the membership program. Think of it as a DIY Patreon… 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. For example, this interview has been available to members for two months. Members get the raw feed. That means no ads, and none of these introductory comments. You just get right to the interview. Another cool thing we do is hold Zoom Hangouts with former guests so where you can interact with them directly. For more information, check out behavioralobservations.com/membership.

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 are seeing.
• His advice on wearable tech and other methods for collecting fitness analytics.
• How to think about time allocation so busy people can still meet their fitness goals.
• How to incorporate health and fitness into a comprehensive ABA program.
• What steps Behavior Analysts can take to begin work in the health and fitness industry.

We also took questions submitted by members of The Behavioral Observations Membership Program. Here are the links to the stuff we talked about:

• The BehaviorFit homepage.
• Hell in a Bucket reference (tunes from a simpler time).
• Dr. John Lednicky from the U. of Florida (Covid-19 researcher Nick worked with).
• Nick's infographic on the 7 Functional Movements.
• Silver Sneakers (online fitness program for 65+ people).
• Onnit Academy (online instructional videos).
• The Daily Burn (another online instruction site).
• BehaviorFit on Instagram.
• Nick's earlier appearances on the BOP.
• The Whoop Strap (still not a sponsor, but I'm open to it ;-).
• Nick's podcast, BehaviorFit Radio.
• Used sporting goods store, Play it Again Sports.
• My favorite music education YouTube channel.
• Bannerman, et al (1990). Balancing the right to habilitation with the right to personal liberties: the rights of people with developmental disabilities to eat too many doughnuts and take a nap.

Session 132 is brought to you with the support of the following sponsors:

• 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.
• The ABA Marketing Minute with Rich Brooks. Digital marketing guru and two-time guest Rich Brooks and I have teamed up to provide listeners with 60-second micro-lessons in digital marketing. You'll hear the first installment later in this broadcast, so I won't spoil it here, but let's just say the message should parallel a lot of what we should strive for in our clinical practice. If you're interested in marketing your practice on social media or Google, or if you want to give your website a makeover, I highly recommend working with Rich and his awesome team over at Flyte New Media.
• And while I'm promoting the stuff on my website, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the membership program. Think of it as a DIY Patreon… 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. For example, this interview has been available to members for two months. Members get the raw feed. That means no ads, and none of these introductory comments. You just get right to the interview. Another cool thing we do is hold Zoom Hangouts with former guests so where you can interact with them directly. For more information, check out behavioralobservations.com/membership.

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 interested in hearing Camille expand on this topic, I highly suggest checking out the New Hampshire ABA 2020 Conference (disclosure: NHABA is sponsoring this episode).

Camille has been a leader in disseminating her work in this area. You can check out her website, cuspemergence.com and browse the dozens of blog posts she's written in the area of Trauma-Informed ABA. If you're like me, and you're interested in taking your knowledge in this area to the next level, she has a series of courses available, and you can find those at cuspemergenceuniversity.com.

During our chat, Camille fielded questions from the Behavioral Observations Membership group. The BOP Membership is my DIY Patreon. And lucky for us, Camille has agreed to join the membership for a Zoom hangout, either in late September or early October. Once we get a date nailed down, I'll be sure to share the details via the email list, social media, and so on.

Here are the links from Session 131:

• Cusp Emergence (Camille's main dissemination website).
• Cusp Emergence University (site for specific courses in T-ABA).
• Felitti et al, (1998). Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study.
• Camille's blog post, Contraindicated Behavioral Procedures After Trauma.
• Greer, et al. (2008). The emergence of praise as conditioned reinforcement as a function of observation in preschool and school age children.
• Research in Social Work Practice (journal recommended by Camille to check out).
• Extinction effects of Renewal, Resurgence, and Reinstatement (described here in Session 125).
• My interview with Chuck Merbitz.
• Camille's ABAC/Cambridge Center presentation.

This podcast is brought to you with the support of the following sponsors:

• The 2020 New Hampshire Association for Behavior Analysis Virtual Conference! NH ABA is only a handful of years old, but for a smallish state, our conference has punched above its weight. The 2020 event will be no exception. This year's speaker list includes Drs. Solanday Forte, Deb Grossett, Bridget Taylor, Alyssa Wilson, Camille Kolu, and Emily Sandoz. NH ABA also acknowledges that the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in financial burdens on many Behavior Analysts, so they've decided to use a values-based registration fee, which means that while there are suggested registration fees, you can participate in the event for a lot less if that's appropriate to your financial situation. For more information, check out nhaba.net, and I hope that you choose to join us virtually on September 26th!
• 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.

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 money CalABA lost from this "black swan" type of event was staggering.

In this podcast, Drs. Jennifer Harris and Greg Elsky take us behind the scenes of the events from the ill-fated CalABA 2020 conferecne. Specifically, we talk about what it was like leading up to the scheduled conference itself during the infancy of the Covid-19 pandemic, how they learned they had to cancel the event, what it was like to share this news with the attendees who were streaming into the venue, and we talk at length about the devastating financial consequences of cancelling the event.

We also talk about how CalABA can overcome such a difficult situation with their current fundraising campaign. To be candid, without an influx of cash, CalABA's ability to advocate on behalf of the field in the nation's most populous state will be seriously jeopardized.

Moreover, legislation that negatively affects the practice of Behavior Analysis in California has the potential to influence other states and provinces.

Based on these factors, I will be supporting CalABA in their fundraising efforts. The Covid crisis has hit many of us in the wallet (myself included), however if you have the means to do so, please consider donating to what I believe is a worth cause.

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+ years of experience using Direct Instruction and Precision Teaching. 

In this podcast, we discuss the history of Direct Instruction (DI; also, see Project Follow Through Outcome data below), including the simultaneously fascinating and tragic story of Project Follow Through, how Michael learned about DI and applied it not only to school settings but also in the context of remediating adult illiteracy, his initial forays into running his own educational centers, as well as the instructional software solutions he's developed. 

Michael was also kind enough to field some questions from the Behavioral Observations Members.

Michael has also been generous enough to give away free instructional materials, so if this is something you're interested in, check out the site, maloneymethod.com. 

Here are some of the resources we discussed:

• Some background on Project Follow Through.
• Roger Bacon Academy (charter school implementing Direct Instruction).
• Michael's website, MaloneyMethod.com.
• Free educational resources.
• Michael's DailyBA appearance.
• Michael's appearance on The Controversial Exchange.
• Michael's book, Teach Your Children Well. 
• Cyberslate (instructional software).
• The BOP Membership Program.

PROJECT FOLLOW THROUGH OUTCOME DATA

Huge thanks to the following sponsors for this episode!!!

• The 2020 New Hampshire Association for Behavior Analysis Virtual Conference! NH ABA is only a handful of years old, but for a smallish state, our conference has punched above its weight. The 2020 event will be no exception. This year's speaker list includes Drs. Solanday Forte, Deb Grossett, Bridget Taylor, Alyssa Wilson, Camille Kolu, and Emily Sandoz. NH ABA also acknowledges that the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in financial burdens on many Behavior Analysts, so they've decided to use a values-based registration fee, which means that while there are suggested registration fees, you can participate in the event for a lot less if that's appropriate to your financial situation. For more information, check out nhaba.net, and I hope that you choose to join us virtually on September 26th!
• My friends at Praxis CET have two great ACT and RFT classes coming up that seem really cool (Understanding and Using Relational Frame Theory for Behavior Analysts with Drs. Siri Ming and Tom Szabo and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Parents with Drs. Lisa Coyne and Evelyn Gould). These are live, online courses, where participants can ask questions, get feedback, etc... on the spot. For more information, go to www.praxiscet.com/bopod. If you check it out and decide to enroll, use the code OBSERVATIONS to save some $$$ at registration.
• Two-time guest and digital marketing guru Rich Brooks dropped another 60-second lesson for ABA Business Owners. In this installment of the ABA Marketing Minute, Rich Brooks talks about how to get your business to rank highly for local search results in Google. If you are interested in a free 30-minute webinar on building an effective website for your practice, check out takeflyte.com/abaminute!

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 director of programs in ABA and autism, and as director of the Ph.D. program in ABA. Dr. Weiss has worked in the field of ABA and Autism for over 30 years. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Rutgers University in 1990. She previously worked for 16 years at the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center at Rutgers University, where she served as Director of Research and Training and as Clinical Director. She serves on the Scientific Council of the Organization for Autism Research, is on the Board of Advisors for the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, and is a regular reviewer for a variety of professional journals. She is a frequent member of service committees for the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, including many years of service on Disciplinary Review Committees and serving as the inaugural chair of the Code Compliance Committee for the Professional and Ethical Compliance Code. Dr. Weiss authored the Ethics Corner column for APBA for over two years. She is a Past President of the Autism Special Interest Group of ABAI, a former member of the Board of the APBA, and a former Board Vice President for Autism New Jersey.

In this podcast, we discuss what ABA practice was like as she came up in her training and early career, and trace that arc up to what she's doing these days as the Executive Director of Programs in ABA and Autism at Endicott College.

We also discuss what Mary Jane would do to change the training of new BCBA's if she had that proverbial magic wand, why she really likes teaching online, what makes for good instructional design, how to improve the quality of ABA training, why it's important to have a broad philosophical and conceptual background in Behavior Analysis, how to work well with other professions, and her thoughts on the Autism-centric perception of our profession. And if you listen to any part of the podcast at all, be sure to listen to her closing advice for BCBA's of all experience levels. In short, if you're interested in where our field is going, this is the podcast for you.

During our conversation, we discussed the following resources:

• Let Me Hear Your Voice, by Catherine Maurice.
• Oliver, Pratt, and Normand (2015). A survey of functional behavior assessment methods used by behavior analysts in practice.
• LaFrance, et al., (2019). Multidisciplinary Teaming: Enhancing collaboration and increased understanding.
• ASHA position statement on Rapid Prompting Methods.
• ASHA position statement on Facilitated Communication.

I'd like to thank long-time listener Jim from Colorado, for helping me prepare for this interview, the BALC for making this opportunity happen, and the following sponsors:

• The 2020 New Hampshire Association for Behavior Analysis Virtual Conference! NH ABA is only a handful of years old, but for a smallish state, our conference has punched above its weight. The 2020 event will be no exception. This year's speaker list includes Drs. Solanday Forte, Deb Grossett, Bridget Taylor, Alyssa Wilson, Camille Kolu, and Emily Sandoz. NH ABA also acknowledges that the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in financial burdens on many Behavior Analysts, so they've decided to use a values-based registration fee, which means that while there are suggested registration fees, you can participate in the event for a lot less if that's appropriate to your financial situation. For more information, check out nhaba.net, and I hope that you choose to join us virtually on September 26th!
• My friends at Praxis CET have two great ACT and RFT classes coming up that seem really cool (Understanding and Using Relational Frame Theory for Behavior Analysts with Drs. Siri Ming and Tom Szabo and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Parents with Drs. Lisa Coyne and Evelyn Gould). These are live, online courses, where participants can ask questions, get feedback, etc... on the spot. For more information, go to www.praxiscet.com/bopod. If you check it out and decide to enroll, use the code OBSERVATIONS to save some $$$ at registration.
• 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.

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 health and well being of group home residents).

Whether you care about these topics or not, there are a lot of great lessons about applying ABA in non-ASD/DD areas, so I encourage you to listen to the episode in it's entirety, particularly as we go down some really interesting rabbit holes towards the end of the show.

Brandon received his BA in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Colorado and his Master's in Social Work and ABA from Saint Louis University. Right now, he's trying to finish up his dissertation in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, all while raising five kids, running his business, Elite ABA, as well as supporting other behavioral agencies and programs where he lives.

In our discussion, we talked about tons of articles, podcasts, and other resources. I've done my best to catalog them here:

• Brandon's company, Elite ABA, (they're also on FB).
• Washington University's Autism Clinical Center.
• Great Circle's Autism Program.
• Schenk and Miltenberger (2019). A Review of Behavioral Interventions to Enhance Sports Performance.
• Luiselli and Reed (2011). Behavioral Sports Psychology.
• Temple, et al. (2008). Overweight children find food more reinforcing and consume more energy than do non-overweight children.
• Carr and Epstein (2020). Choice is Relative: Reinforcing Value of Food and Activity in Obesity Treatment.
• May and Treadwell (2020). Increasing Exercise Intensity: Teaching High-Intensity Interval Training to Individuals with Developmental Disabilities Using a Lottery Reinforcement System.
• Dixon et al., (2019). The Effects of Brief Mindfulness Training on Momentary Impulsivity.
• The Whoop Strap.
• Session 70 with Neil Deochand.
• Session 64 with Jim Moore.
• Session 65 with Matt Normand.
• Session 47 and Session 105 with Nick Green.
• The Controversial Exchange episode 26 (guest: Brett Yarris).
• Thinking Basketball (podcast).

This podcast is sponsored by the following:

• The 2020 New Hampshire Association for Behavior Analysis Virtual Conference! NH ABA is only a handful of years old, but for a smallish state, our conference has punched above its weight. The 2020 event will be no exception. This year's speaker list includes Drs. Solanday Forte, Deb Grossett, Bridget Taylor, Alyssa Wilson, Camille Kolu, and Emily Sandoz. NH ABA also acknowledges that the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in financial burdens on many Behavior Analysts, so they've decided to use a values-based registration fee, which means that while there are suggested registration fees, you can participate in the event for a lot less if that's appropriate to your financial situation. For more information, check out nhaba.net, and I hope that you choose to join us virtually on September 26th!
• My friends at Praxis CET have two great ACT and RFT classes coming up that seem really cool (Understanding and Using Relational Frame Theory for Behavior Analysts with Drs. Siri Ming and Tom Szabo and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Parents with Drs. Lisa Coyne and Evelyn Gould). These are live, online courses, where participants can ask questions, get feedback, etc... on the spot. For more information, go to www.praxiscet.com/bopod. If you check it out and decide to enroll, use the code OBSERVATIONS to save some $$$ at registration.
• 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.

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 Analysts in the wake of the George Floyd killing.

Today's episode was actually recorded before Session 120, and Antonio and I discussed topics that were important but admittedly lighter by comparison. Specifically, we discussed his introduction to ABA, how growing up in adverse circumstances actually developed some helpful skills, why Bill Belichick is the best football coach in history, (perhaps I'm adding my input here ;-), and how he maintains a high level of productivity.

That said, I think the most important lesson is the part of our discussion where he talks about how he's made inroads in applying Behavior Analytic interventions in novel settings, such as coaching football. I think that anyone who is considering making a move to practice outside the area of ASD will benefit from this segment of the interview.

We covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time, and here are some links to some of the papers, podcasts, resources, etc... that were brought up:

• Antonio's current podcast, "Thank you. I love you. I'm sorry."
• Antonio's Twitter and Instagram feeds.
• Normand and Cohn (2013). Don't Wag the Dog: Extending the Reach of Applied Behavior Analysis.
• Harrison and Pyles (2013). The Effects of Verbal Instruction and Shaping to Improve Tackling by High School Football Players.
• Punished by Rewards, Alfie Kohn.

This podcast is sponsored by the following:

• The 2020 New Hampshire Association for Behavior Analysis Virtual Conference! NH ABA is only a handful of years old, but for a smallish state, our conference has punched above its weight. The 2020 event will be no exception. This year's speaker list includes Drs. Solanday Forte, Deb Grossett, Bridget Taylor, Alyssa Wilson, Camille Kolu, and Emily Sandoz. NH ABA also acknowledges that the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in financial burdens on many Behavior Analysts, so they've decided to use a values-based registration fee, which means that while there are suggested registration fees, you can participate in the event for a lot less if that's appropriate to your financial situation. For more information, check out nhaba.net, and I hope that you choose to join us virtually on September 26th!
• My friends at Praxis CET have two great ACT and RFT classes coming up that seem really cool (Understanding and Using Relational Frame Theory for Behavior Analysts with Drs. Siri Ming and Tom Szabo and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with Parents with Drs. Lisa Coyne and Evelyn Gould). These are live, online courses, where participants can ask questions, get feedback, etc... on the spot. For more information, go to www.praxiscet.com/bopod. If you check it out and decide to enroll, use the code OBSERVATIONS to save some $$$ at registration.
• Lastly, I want to mention the BOP membership program; 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. 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 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 be joined by Dr. John O'Neill to talk more about this issue. John is the Founder and Director of Research at the Contextual Behavioral Science Institute, where he and his colleagues have published behavior analytic research on many law enforcement-related topics, such as training practices at police academies and the unintentional discharge of firearms.

In this conversation, we get into a lot of the difficult topics surrounding policing in America. Specifically, we discuss things like racism, gun ownership, de-escalation training, and much more. While we certainly didn't solve "all the problems" in our society, I think the interview really highlights just how complex law enforcement is, and that there are unfortunately no easy answers to our current predicament.

Our conversation was aided by the contribution of questions from the Behavioral Observations Membership group. The membership is the podcast's DIY Patreon if you will, where for a small monthly fee, members can submit their questions to guests, get early, commercial-free video access to these interviews, and participate in occasional Zoom calls with guests. In fact, John has agree to join us in the next hangout so if this topic piques your interest and you'd like to speak with him directly, consider signing up!

One final thing I'd like to say about this episode and some of the recent shows that I've put out over the last few months. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I've been trying to cover subjects like this one, that seem to be more topical in nature. If you have a chance, let me if this is something you'd like to see more of.

This episode of the podcast is brought to you by the following:

• The ABA Marketing Minute with Rich Brooks. Digital marketing guru and two-time guest Rich Brooks and I have teamed up to provide listeners with 60-second micro-lessons in digital marketing. You'll hear the first installment later in this broadcast, so I won't spoil it here. If you're interested in marketing your practice on social media or Google, or if you want to give your website a makeover, I highly recommend working with Rich and his awesome team over at Flyte New Media.
• 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.
• The new book by Brett DiNovi and Dr. Paulie Gavoni, Behavioral Karma: 5 Scientific Laws of Life and Leadership. It's available for pre-purchase right now. I've gotten a sneak peek at some of the content and look forward to reading the book in its entirety.

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 Director of the UHCL Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities.

Additionally, she has published more than 80 research articles and chapters, served as Editor-in-Chief for The Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Behavior Analysis in Practice and has secured more than $2 million in grants and contracts to support her work.

In this episode, we discuss the motivation behind commissioning this special series, what exactly a special series is (and how it is different than a special issue and special section), the previous work in these two overlapping areas that has been published in past editions of JABA, the topics of some of the submitted papers for this special series, research questions for future work, and much more.

While I believe the entire episode has value, the second half of the conversation - the part where we talk about what we do and don't yet know about telehealth, probably has the most direct relevance to practitioners right now. That's not to take away the importance of applying Behavior Analytic principles towards things like obesity, proper infant positioning, and the like, but nearly all Behavior Analysts have had to transition to remote work in some shape or form. To that end, I hope you find that portion of the show particularly informative.

As always with these Inside JABA Series podcasts, there are no commercials other than to say that if you find this information helpful and want to earn CEU's for listening to the show, then head over to behavioralobservations.com/get-ceus, and follow the prompts from there. I should also note, 50% of the proceeds from all the Inside JABA Series Podcasts go towards supporting the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. If you're in a pinch and need more than a few CEU's there are volume discounts available for all the continuing ed offerings, of which we have over 20 and counting.

We mentioned quite a few studies during the conversation, and I tried my best to jot them all down while we were chatting and have the links below. As always, feel free to contact me if I've missed any.

• The Control of Eating; Ferster, Nurnberger, and Levitt (1962).
• A Three-Dimensional Program for the Treatment of Obesity; Stuart (1971).
• The Consecutive Controlled Case Series; Hagopian (2020).
• Conducting Functional Analyses of Problem Behavior via Telehealth; Wacker, et al. (2017).
• Less is More: Psychologists Can Learn More by Studying Fewer People; Normand (2016).
• Telemedicine and ABA, an Interview with Dr. Wendy Machalicek (2017/2020).
• Telehealth resources from the Council of Autism Service Providers.

There were quite a few more papers that were discussed that will be in the forthcoming issue of JABA, so if you're not already subscribed, please consider doing so.

"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 Leaf from the Autism Partnership Foundation. In it, he described his own research in this area, which casts doubt on the utility of these types of interventions.

To be up front with my own biases, I've often been skeptical of Social Story based interventions as well, and thought it would be interesting to discuss this further with Justin.

We recorded this podcast episode a while back at the height of the quarantine, so you'll likely hear various background noises from both of our households, though I don't think they detract from the overall sound quality.

Our conversation will no doubt generate some controversy, so please feel free to add your thoughts or commentary at Facebook.com/behavioralobservations or right in the comments section of the show notes.

Here are the links to the resources we discussed:

• Justin's appearance on ABA Inside Track.
• The Facebook post that started this conversation off.
• Leaf, et al. (2019). A Critical Review of Social Narratives.
• The Autism Partnership Foundation's free RBT course.
• Google Scholar results for the Teaching Interaction Procedure.
• Clinical Judgement, the book Justin co-authored with Ronald Leaf and John McEachin.

This session of Behavioral Observations is brought to you by:

• The ABA Marketing Minute with Rich Brooks. Digital marketing guru and two-time guest Rich Brooks and I have teamed up to provide listeners with 60-second micro-lessons in digital marketing. You'll hear the first installment later in this broadcast, so I won't spoil it here, but let's just say the message should parallel a lot of what we should strive for in our clinical practice. If you're interested in marketing your practice on social media or Google, or if you want to give your website a makeover, I highly recommend working with Rich and his awesome team over at Flyte New Media.
• The Behavioral Observation Podcast's own Continuing Education offerings. As of this writing, there are over 20 podcasts that are available for continuing education. With discounts available for multiple event purchases and the ability to learn while driving, walking the dog, and so on, there's never been a better time to get caught up with your continuing education.
• And while I'm promoting the stuff on my website, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the membership program. Think of it as a DIY Patreon… 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. For example, this interview has been available to members for two months. Members get the raw feed. That means no ads, and none of these introductory comments. You just get right to the interview. Another cool thing we do is hold Zoom Hangouts with former guests so where you can interact with them directly. For more information, check out behavioralobservations.com/membership.

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 in light of this contrast, but the more I thought about it, I believe that the suggestions and thoughts that Russ shared on this episode will be helpful nonetheless. Please check out behavioralobservations.com for this episode's shownotes!

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 police brutality) would not only ring hollow, but not be appropriate for the moment. In other words, I realized that I lacked personal perspective with this issue, and while I may have some thoughts on the matter, those thoughts are more or less academic in nature.

So after wracking my brain for a few days on what I could do to leverage the BOP platform for good, I came upon the idea for this show: For Session 120, I want to take myself out of the podcast altogether, and turn it over to a panel of African American men who are also our colleagues in Behavior Analysis. The goal of the show would be for both me and the BOP audience to simply listen rather than talk.

I reached out to Dr. Antonio Harrison to see if he would be interested in facilitating this discussion, and thankfully he agreed. We then recruited Shawn Capell, Pierre Louis, Larry West III, and Kirk Kirby to participate in the panel. From there, I stepped out of the rest of the production process. As of this writing, I haven't even listened to the final product yet because I want to experience this conversation as an audience member would.

As such, I'm ready to learn more about the experience of African American men in our country and I hope you are too. If you find value in this episode, please share it with as many friends and colleagues as possible. I'm hoping this episode is also disseminated beyond the field of Behavior Analysis as well. Lastly, if you have the means to do so, please consider donating to the group, Black Applied Behavior Analysts, (in case you're wondering, I have and will continue to put my money where my mouth is).

Thanks for listening!

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, including how to do so in the current digital-meeting age. We also talk about how to provide feedback to the "difficult" staff member, as well as how to incorporate the feedback process in staff on-boarding procedures.

If you find this topic interesting, I suggest heading over to BehaviorLeader.com and click on the Featured Products button, and order a copy for yourself. There's also a 5-Day "Fix Your Feedback" Challenge on their website as well, which sounds like a lot of fun!

If you find this episode helpful and would like to get a supervision CEU for it, click here to get more info. You'll also find CEU's on many more topics there, and bulk-purchase discounts are available if you're a procrastinator like me ;-)

Lastly, I’d like to mention that I've been running a membership program for the podcast for a few years now; think of it as a DIY Patreon…

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, often weeks or months before they are published. 

The best part is that members get the raw conversation itself. That means no ads, and none of the introductory comments, and sometimes, some bloopers, re-takes, and do-overs.

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. So if you'd like to learn more, head to BehavioralObservations.com/membership.

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 this area of research for over 15 years. His expertise in this area is so well regarded that he's been sought out by media outlets such as (takes deep breath):

The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Globe and Mail, Daily Mail, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Denver Post, Baltimore Sun, CNN, CBS News, NBC News, The Atlantic, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, Vogue, Whole Living, The Washingtonian, Scientific American, Nature, Vice, Insider, Inverse, Healthline, Psychology Today

(pause to inhale...)

60 Minutes, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Situation Room, Fox Business News’ Kennedy, the Dr. Oz Show, PBS’ Retro Report, Labyrint (television show in the Netherlands), Spectrum News NY1, the BBC World Service, NPR’s Morning Edition, NPR’s Kojo Nnamdi Show, New Zealand Radio, and Newstalk Radio Ireland... just to name a few.

Matt has also been featured in a special episode of The Tim Ferriss Show on this very topic. As such, I'm a little more than humbled to chat with him on Behavioral Observations!

In our chat, we did a quick overview of Delay Discounting, talked about decision making with condom usage, and the behavioral economics of cannabis. As an aside, we've done quite a few shows on Behavioral Economics. Here's a quick list of them if you want to get really up to speed:

• Session 17, A Behavioral Economics Primer, Derek Reed.
• Session 114, The Behavioral Economics of Toilet Paper, Derek Reed.
• The aforementioned David Cox episode.
• Session 11: Obesity, Food Insecurity, Behavioral Economics, and Mindful Eating, Erin Rasmussen.
• Session 2: Science and Pseudoscience, Steve Lawyer.

Back to this show, Matt and I spent a large part of our chat discussing his groundbreaking work in the area of psychedelics. We really get into the weeds, as it were, of how these studies are done, and discuss everything from recruiting participants, the timing of these trips, how participants are supported through their experiences, bad trips, transformative experiences, hypothesized mechanisms of action, what these treatments will look like in five years, and much, much more. 

And before I forget, here are some links to additional readings that we referenced:

• MacCorquodale and Meehl (1948). Article on Hypothetical Constructs.
• Rasmussen and Newland (2009). Quantification of the Anti-Punishment Effect in Humans Using the Generalized Matching Equation.
• Hopkinspsychedelic.org, a clearing house of all the cool research that's being done at JHU.

We close with a fun discussion of the concept of impulsivity. In Matt's view, as a psychological construct, the term isn't very useful, and we get into how he came to that conclusion. 

This episode is brought to you by:

• 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. Like Batman, she works alone, which means that when you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb and get 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.
• 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.
• 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. 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. 

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 thought it would be fun to share it with you here.

This was indeed an august group, and featured Drs. Barbara Esch, Anna Petursdottir, Caio Miguel, Pat McGreevy, David Palmer, and Mark Sundberg.

VBC 2020 VIRTUAL PANEL

During the panel, we made some references to the speakers' earlier presentations. But don't worry, there's enough context in the Q and A, so I don't think you'll have a problem understanding what we're talking about. The one exception to this is that in Dr. Barbara Esch's presentation, she talked extensively about the book, Enjoy Old Age: A Practical Guide, by Skinner and Vaughn, and I asked her some questions about it, so if you hear a reference to "the book," that's what we were talking about. 

I should also note that due to the video conferencing software, the audio - though listenable - is far from podcast quality. I apologize in advance for that, and encourage you to give the show a listen nonetheless, as there are a lot of fun exchanges, anecdotes, and lessons from all the panelists.

Lastly, I'd like to thank Kelle Rich and her team at the Central Texas Autism Center for asking me to be a part of this fun event!

This podcast is brought to you with support from The Essential for Living curriculum. If you are looking for a curricular alternative for children and adults with limited repertoires, especially those without an effective, efficient method of speaking, seriously consider Essential for Living. From now until May 31, you can use the coupon code ‘efl420’ to receive $20 off the regular price of the Essential for Living handbook.

Since we're on the subject of marketing, I also want to let you know about the Behavioral Observations Podcast Membership Program. Think of this as a DIY Patreon program where members get access to ad-free videos of podcast interviews, oftentimes weeks (months in some cases) before they're publicly released. We also hold occasional special events in which I will bring previous guests from the show into a Zoom hangout, and members can have some direct Q & A. For more information about this, click here.

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 challenges right now. So in light of recent events, Go Lotus has decided to open up its data trackers and scheduling systems for nearly 90% off to help everyone make it through these challenging times. Normally $40/seat, Go Lotus will offer these service for just $5/seat for all new customers until the crisis ends.  Trust me when I say that they are not looking at the pandemic opportunistically. GoLotus was founded by a mother of a child with Autism, and she wants to make sure providers have the tools necessary to serve their clients, even in the face of economic hardships. For more information, please check out GoLotus.com and request a demo today.

OK, today's episode is a re-play of a podcast session that was apparently ahead of its time. Back Session 26, I interviewed Dr. Wendy Machalicek about using telemedicine in the context of ABA service delivery. At the time, she was one of a few Behavior Analysts conducting research in this area. Once this current pandemic went into full swing, I gave the episode a re-listen and found that many of the lessons Wendy imparted are still quite relevant today, so rather than reinvent the wheel, I decided to re-publish the show.

I'm happy to produce more content in this area, so if this is something you're interested in, please leave a comment in the shownotes for this episode, or on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. At the same time, I know other ABA podcasters, CEU providers, and the like have created many offerings in the realm of telemedicine, so I'm just as happy to continue pursuing other topics of interest. Long story short, let me know your thoughts either way.

Lastly, I'd like to draw your attention to the recent issue of The Journal of Behavioral Education, which put out a special issue on telemedicine. Behavior Analysis and Practice has also published many articles related to service delivery in the midst of this pandemic.

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's contributions to the field are too lengthy to list here but to summarize, he is a Professor of Psychology at The University of Florida, and he has done great work in the area of translating concepts derived from the Experimental Analysis of Behavior for use in the applied realm.

I'll read you a bit from his bio:

"[Willie's] work is notable for its use of concepts derived from behavioral economics, behavioral momentum, and other conceptual models as they apply to behavior analytic interventions. In addition to his impressive research and scholarly contributions, Dr. DeLeon has served on the editorial boards of a number of behavior analysis journals, including as associate editor of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and editor of translational research for the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior."

So as you can see, Willie, along with my other Inside JABA co-hosts, are eminently qualified to talk about this subject.

In this episode we reference three different papers on distributed versus accumulated reinforcement. For the purposes of short-hand, I referred to them in the conversation as "Willie's paper," "Claire's paper," and so on. Allow me a minute to give full and proper recognition to all of the authors. The papers we discussed include the following:

• DeLeon, Chase, Frank-Crawford, Carreau-Webster, Triggs, Bullock, and Jennett (2014). Distributed and accumulated reinforcement arrangements: evaluations of efficacy and preference.
• Fulton, Tiger, Meitzen, and Effertz (2019). A comparison of accumulated and distributed reinforcement periods with children exhibiting escape-maintained problem behavior.
• Robinson and St-Peter (2019). Accumulated reinforcers increase academic responding and suppress problem behavior for students with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

During our chat, a number of other papers came up, and my colleagues on the podcast were nice enough to go back and track down those references as well.

• Hackenberg and Pietras (2000). Video access as a reinforcer in a self-control paradigm: A method and some data.
• Fienup, Ahlers, and Pace (2011). Preference for fluent versus disfluent work schedules.
• Frank-Crawford, Borrero, Newcomb, Chen, Schmidt (2018). Preference for and Efficacy of Accumulated and Distributed Response–Reinforcer Arrangements During Skill Acquisition.

We also promised to excerpt Figure 1 from DeLeon, et al., (2014):

As with previous Inside JABA Series podcasts, there are no ads during these shows, but the content is eligible for continuing education credit. Half of the proceeds from these sales go towards supporting the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. So to support what we're doing here, please go to behavioralobservations.com/get-ceus. Once there, you'll also be able to see other podcasts that are eligible for continuing ed, and discounts are available for bulk purchases.

If you're interested in getting CEU's for this event and want to learn more, here is the abstract, followed by the specific learning objectives:

The delivery of reinforcement in intervention programs is often delivered in small increments (e.g., 30 s) on a dense schedule (e.g., FR 1). An alternative to this distributed delivery of reinforcement is to arrange conditions in which reinforcement can accumulate following multiple target responses before then being consumed. This episode’s discussion highlights three studies that compared task engagement among individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (DeLeon et al., 2014) including those identified with escape-maintained problem behavior (Fulton et al.,  2020) and adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (Robinson & St. Peter, 2019) under accumulating and distributed reinforcement arrangements. Across each study, engagement was increased and problem behavior reduced during accumulated reinforcement conditions. Further, these studies each included preference assessments in which participants were provided with the opportunity to choose between accumulated and distributed reinforcement arrangements. There was some variability across participants, but many individuals preferred to engage in extended work periods for the opportunity to accumulate reinforcement prior to consumption.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the difference between distributed and accumulated reinforcement arrangements.
2. Describe why reinforcement efficacy may be increased through accumulation of reinforcers?
3. Describe why a preference for accumulated reinforcement may be counterintuitive.

OK, if that doesn't get you excited to learn, I'm not sure what will, so go head, and click here to pick up that CE!

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 sessions with your learner can really enhance not only skill acquisition, but retention too (which is, in my experience, an often overlooked outcome measure).

Long story short, the goal of this conversation is to provide parents practical tips based on what we know about learning, using readily available materials (ie, stuff that’s downloadable). We did our best to keep the jargon to a minimum, as I am hoping that this podcast will reach an audience beyond my usual listeners.

Amy tutors children individually, and is offering these services at a 50% discount during the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also recently launched a business that will train Behavior Analysts to bring Precision Teaching and Fluency-Based instruction to their practices, so to learn more, click here to get on her email list to learn more.

To that end, your help will be greatly appreciated. If you find this information helpful, please feel free to share it with friends and colleagues! If your acquaintances are not podcast listeners, I'd like to use this as an opportunity to let folks know that every podcast I've published gets posted to YouTube in case that's a more convenient medium.

The best part about this topic is that there are so many freely available or inexpensive materials out there for parents to use. Here are links to materials we discussed (and some we didn't; and a huge thanks to Amy for finding all of these resources!):

• A general web page with links to free resources that are available during school closures: Amazing Educational Resources.
• University of Oregon sites (per Amy: good place to go if you need to know where to start with your child’s skills:
  • easyCBM.
  • Resources (Big Ideas in Beginning Reading).
• The Maloney Method (Free Assessment + first 10 lessons).
• https://www.learninga-z.com/.
• One Minute Reader Fluency App and Audio-Supported Books
• Math Worksheets | Free and Printable (good downloadable materials with lots of practice opportunities).
• The Math Worksheet Site.com (great for timings - easy to configure, and tons of response opportunities).
• Khan Academy | Free Online Courses, Lessons & Practice
• DeltaMath
• EdReady™ Application Home

If you want to take a deeper dive into Precision Teaching, or if you're looking for other CE topics, Central Reach has opened up their online library to all BCBA's at no charge through April 30th. As with Amy's services noted above, this is not a sponsored plug; both CR and Amy are offering free or highly discounted services to support the field, and I'm happy to share these resources. For more info, go to centralreach.com/business-continuity.

In case you were worried, we still do have sponsors for this episode though. Session 114 is brought to you by the following:

• The ABA Marketing Minute with Rich Brooks. Digital marketing guru and two-time guest Rich Brooks and I have teamed up to provide listeners with 60-second micro-lessons in digital marketing. You'll hear the first installment later in this broadcast, so I won't spoil it here, but let's just say the message should parallel a lot of what we should strive for in our clinical practice.
• The Virtual Verbal Behavior Conference. Yes, when the going gets tough, the tough go online. Instead of cancelling this year's VBC, Session 112 guest Kelle Rich putting the entire program online. The Virtual VBC is scheduled for April 2nd and 3rd, but will likely be available afterwards in recorded form. Also, I just learned that Dr. Vince Carbone has been added to the speakers' list! For some reason I can't quite put my finger on, his time was suddenly freed up. I hope you're able to check it out.
• Last but certainly not least, I've been getting tons of great feedback on Steve Ward's appearance on the show. If you like his style, The Applied Behavior Analysis Center is hosting a webinar with Steve on June 16th, 2020. ABAC is offering a 20% discount on this event as well as other offerings to podcast listeners. If you're interested in checking this out, go to abacnj.com and use the code ABACBO20 at check out.

Dr. Derek Reed joins me today to discuss the behavioral economic principles that underpin so much of what we're seeing today as the world attempts to cope with the Coronavirus pandemic. From buying all the toilet paper in sight, to heeding (or more to the point, not heeding) government guidelines for social distancing, Derek relates these behavioral patterns to some very basic operant principles.

We start the show with a quick overview of three key behavioral economic terms: Delay Discounting, Probability Discounting, and Behavioral Economic Demand. We then talk about how these processes can be used to interpret some of the fascinating societal behavior that we're seeing all around us, including, of course, the panic-buying of toilet paper.

Derek then goes on to describe some of the research that he has done in this area, and suggests some lines of future research. We also discuss some the shortcomings of traditional ABA research designs in studying these phenomena, along with what we can do to overcome these barriers.

Derek brought up several references. Here are the links:

• Derek's first appearance on the BOP in Session 17.
• The "pop" behavioral economic concept of the Zero Risk Bias.
• Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968).
• Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1987).
• Critchfield and Reed (2017).
• Reed, et al. (2013). Behavioral Economics: A Tutorial for Behavior Analysts in Practice.
• The Max/Mel Brooks PSA on Social Distancing (YouTube vid).

Today's episode is sponsored by:

• 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.
• The Verbal Behavior Conference will be going down in Austin Texas. This event will feature speakers such as David Palmer, Barbara Esch, Pat McGreevy, Mark Sundberg, and more! They’ve even asked me to moderate a panel at the end of the first day, so if this sounds like fun to you, go to ctac1.com/podcast, where you can register at a discounted rate.