If you've completed a VB-MAPP at some point in your career, you're familiar with the EESA component of the assessment protocol. In today's podcast, I had the chance to talk with Dr. Barbara Esch, who created the Early Echoic Skills Assessment, which has evolved into the stand-alone product called the Early Echoic Skills Assessment and Program Planner. 

In this conversation, we talk about how Barb got into Behavior Analysis, she shared some humorous stories from being mentored by Drs. Jack Michael and Jim Carr, why she created the original EESA, who the EESAPP is for and who it's not for, and some fantastic advice for newly-minted BCBAs.

In addition to these topics, we spent a decent amount of time talking about some speech therapy concepts that were definitely new to me, especially the idea of co-articulation. We also talked about the order in which one should target specific skills. To me, this highlights the importance of collaboration, especially if you don't have a strong background in typical speech development. 

As a side note, I inadvertently used the acronyms, EESA and EESAPP, interchangeably throughout the conversation, and apologize if this confused anyone. 

Barb is giving not one, but two talks at this year's Verbal Behavior Conference. Are you coming? I sure hope so. If you can't make it to Austin on February 29th and March 1st, please consider joining us virtually through the magic of BehaviorLive.com. There's also an amazing conference workshop being taught by the incomparable Dr. Lina Slim on the 28th. 

There will be many other amazing speakers and talks at the VBC, so whether you join in person or virtually, I hope to see you there!

Here are some helpful resources from our conversation:

• barbaraesch.com.
• Where to buy the EESAPP.
• The VBC event schedule.
• Barb's other podcast appearances, research publications, and more.
• Other events where Barb is speaking.

This show is brought to you by:

• 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.
• 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.
• 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!

Session 252 is the recording from the 2023 Verbal Behavior Conference Panel discussion. The participants were Troy Fry, Drs. Lina Slim, Sam Bergmann, Sarah Frampton, Einar Ingvarsson, Pat McGreevy, and Andresa de Sousa; and the voice at the beginning and end of the panel is Kelle Rich, who founded and currently leads these great conferences. In this Q and A segment, the panel addressed the following topics:

• Considerations moving from vocal-verbal speech to AAC.
• Focusing one's clinical resources given limited therapy times. 
• The high abandonment rate of AAC devices.
• The role of clinical judgement.
• Adapting clinical strategies to varying cultural contexts.
• The nuances associated with encouraging caregivers to adopt research-based treatments.
• The role of singing versus speaking... that was a fascinating part of the panel that comes towards the end.

As you'll hear in this podcast, when you attend the Verbal Behavior Conference, you'll have numerous opportunities to ask the speakers questions. And not just in the panel itself. If you're there in person in Austin, Texas, you'll very likely have the opportunity to have direct interactions with the speakers between talks, while grabbing coffee, and so on. 

What strikes me as unique about these events is that they are purposely small and intimate so that one can have these types of experiences. 

What's in store for the 2024 VBC? First, the conference itself takes place on February 29th and March 1st, and it's preceded by a full day workshop from the incomparable Dr. Lina Slim on February 28th. 

This year's conference speakers include Drs. Barbara Esch, Eb Blakely, Mirela Cengher, fan-favorite Patrick McGreevy, Alice Shillingsburg, and Hank Schlinger, whom we heard from a few episodes ago. 

If you can't make it in person, don't worry. BehaviorLive has you covered. Nobody does virtual events like BehaviorLive, and they will broadcast the entire conference with best-in-class audio and video. 

Papers, resources, etc...

• The event list for the 2024 VBC.
• How to register for the VBC.
• Valentino et al. (2018). Using a Prerequisite Skills Assessment to Identify Optimal Modalities for Mand Training. 
• Thompson et al. (2013). Enhancing Early Communication Through Infant Sign Training. 
• Sigafoos et al. (2000). Identifying Potential Communicative Acts in Children with Developmental and Physical Disabilities.
• Essential for Living.
• "Big Mac" buttons.
• Allen and Warzak (2013). The problem of parental nonadherence in clinical behavior analysis: Effective treatment is not enough. 
• Grow et al. (2017). An Evaluation of Instructive Feedback to Teach Play Behavior to a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder. 

Before we get to this episode, I want to let you know that we’re brought to you today by the University of Cincinnati’s Masters in ABA program. This program is 100% online and asynchronous, so that means you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.

Also, if you want to earn BACB Approved Continuing Education Units while listening to your favorite Behavioral Observations episodes, go to behavioralobservations.com/get-ceus to see the shows that are available for continuing education. Whether its supervision, ethics, functional assessment, or other topics, there’s something there for just about everyone. 

In this 12th and final installment in the Apollo Case Study Series, Dr. Jim Moore joins me along with Lauren Elliott, Jeanne Ambrose, and Dr. Lyndsy Macri. 

In the first few minutes of the podcast, Lauren fields some follow up questions from our episode on DRO interventions. Huge thanks to Jenna Mazzillo for sending in these great questions (and by the way, be sure to follow her in Instagram at @abanaturally). 

We then moved into a more free flowing discussion of how to make good career decisions as a BCBA. Specifically, when looking for job opportunities, what things should candidates prioritize? From pay to caseloads to benefits and culture, there's no shortage of things to consider. 

Also, what about supporting career progression? Work/life balance? 

We talk about all of these things and more, and discuss how each of the panelists have navigated these topics in their careers at Apollo. 

If you are interested in learning more about Apollo or want to connect with the Founder & CEO, Kim Dean, or Chief Clinical Officer, Jim Moore, you can find them on LinkedIn here and here.  To follow Apollo on Instagram, click here, and to learn more about Apollo's locations and services, click here.