Oh boy, as the kids these days say, this show is a straight up banger. Dr. Jim Moore joins me again in our second installment in the Apollo Case Study Series, where we go deep into all things functional assessment. 

Right out of the gate, I want to note that we do spend time reviewing both functional analysis and treatment data of clients that Jim has worked with in the past. We do the best we can to narrate the these data, but you're going to want to go to the show notes of the episode to see what we're talking about in order to get the most out of the discussion. 

OK, in this episode, we discuss the following:

• How much evidence does one need in order to move forward with a behavioral intervention.
• How to assess the confidence in your functional assessment interview, and get the most out of these interactions with caregivers.
• How to train staff to be great interviewers.
• Treatment decisions based on functional assessment outcomes.
• When to use Isolated vs. Synthesized contingencies.
• How the staff at Apollo are mentored and supported in these functional assessment and treatment strategies.

This list could actually go on and on (including a sidebar about values-based care - a topic I'd like to return to at some point), so I encourage you to listen to the episode all the way through. For example, in the last moments of the show, we discussed how to navigate some of the quasi-tribal verbal behavior that comes with the functional analysis territory. You definitely don't want to miss that. 

Here are some links to resources we discussed in this episode:

• The inaugural Apollo Case Study Series show where Jim discusses scientific problem-solving.
• Mueller, Sterling, and Moore (2005). Towards Developing a Classroom-Based Functional Analysis Condition to Assess Escape-to-Attention as a Variable Maintaining Problem Behavior.
• A podcast I did with longtime friend, Dr. Jim Murphy, on Motivational Interviewing. 
• Forehand and Long book, as well as a podcast I did on those parenting principles with Brandon Franklin.
• Apollo Behavior's website, as well as their Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
• House, MD.

In this conversation, we covered:

• How Jill and Bill discovered Behavior Analysis, especially at a time when it wasn't as ubiquitous as it is now.
• How they of course met each other (yes, there is a love story here).
• Why they wrote an earlier iteration of this book titled, Sign Here: A contracting book for children and their parents.
• The success Jill and Bill had in getting their works translated in various languages, and distributed to countries across the globe.
• The power of storytelling.
• The basics of behavioral contracting. 
• Special circumstances that make contracting challenging, and what to do about them.
• What to make of the "open economy" of today's screen-based reinforcers.
• Directions for future research in this area.
• Advice for the newly minted.
• Their hopes for the future of ABA. 

This bullet list of course could go on and on. There are so many storylines in this conversation, from the history of ABA, to dissemination across cultures and languages, to the power of storytelling, to parenting, and so much more. I think there is something in this episode for everyone (note: we get to the actual mechanics of behavioral contracting about 1/2 to 2/3 the way into the conversation). Bill and Jill more generally offer some great parenting strategies in their description of the contracting process.

We discussed some of the following resources in this episode:

• Their book of course, Let's Make a Contract.
• Michael (1993). Concepts and Principles of Behavior Analysis.
• Highlights for Children magazine.
• Risley (2005). Montrose Wolf memoriam in JABA.
• Today's ABA with Greg Hanley (Session 160; shameless plug: CEU for this podcast here).
• Gover et al (2021). On the generality of preference for contingent reinforcement. 
• Their soon-to-be developed companion website for the book. 
• Strain and Joseph (2004). A not so good job with "good job," A response to Cohn (2001).

Session 188 is brought to you with support from:

• 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.
• 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 University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.

Also:

• Check out the BOP Patreon Tiers if you want an ad-free feed that includes occasional bonus content!
• Need CEUs on the go? Check out the podcasts that are available for BACB Continuing Education.

In Session 187, Steve Ward joins me to discuss how to help individuals - in particular, individuals with severely limited communicated repertoires - who demonstrate challenging repertoires that are colloquially referred to as Anxiety. 

Given that tortured sentence, you can probably already imagine that in this episode, we discuss how Steve conceptualizes what exactly Anxiety is, especially in populations who cannot verbally report on their private verbal behavior. More importantly, we discuss how he developed what he calls the "calm counts" procedure, and review a case study of this intervention that he recently published. 

Here are the resources we discussed in this podcast:

• Using Differential Reinforcement in the Presence of Stressors to Teach Self-Calming (Ward, 2022).
• Calm Counts data sheet.
• Video of the technique being implemented.
• Whole Child Consulting (Steve's website that has tons of resources). 
• Whole Child Consulting FB Page.
• Good Learner Repertoires FB Group.
• Task As Reinforcer paper.
• Pink Floyd reference.
• Top Shelf Sports Bar and Grille.
• Steve's first appearance on BOP, Session 111.
• Friman, Hayes, and Wilson (1998). Why Behavior Analysts Should Study Emotion: The example of anxiety. 

This session is brought to you with support from:

• Behavior Development Solutions (aka “BDS”) is back to sponsor Behavioral Observations! I know BDS, because their modules were part of my own exam prep strategy when I took the BCBA exam back in 2002. Their modules are so thorough, you’ll feel confident at the Board Exam and, you’ll be well prepared for your career. It's the premier exam-prep and curriculum supplement for BCBA and BCaBA candidates with a 98.5% pass rate for first-time BCBA exam takers… plus a money-back guarantee! They also have solutions for RBT aspirants, plus CE courses and live webinars (most of which are free for anyone to attend). To learn more, head over to "bds.com forward-slash "B O P"  for a special offer! 
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• Pick up some CEUs while you listen to Behavioral Observations! Click here to see the various ACE events on topics like Functional Assessment, Trauma-Informed Behavior Analysis, ACT, and much more!