Steve Ward returns to the podcast to talk about a paper he recently published with co-author Teresa Grimes, titled, "50 Practical Ways to Alter the Relative Efficiencies of Behaviors."

In this conversation, we review the highlights of this paper, and discuss things like The Matching Law, making desired behavior more efficient in generating reinforcement, making problem behaviors less efficient, and how altering reinforcement parameters like delay, magnitude, and schedules can enhance learner progress.

We also talk about the work that Steve does with his company, Whole Child Consulting, as well as a Q & A he will be doing on this topic that's coming up on April 23rd, 2025.

Steve is the author of Teaching Good Learner Repertoires, What You Need To Know About Motivation And Teaching Games: An In-Depth Analysis, and other popular texts relevant to Behavior Analysts working in a variety of settings.

If you'd like to work with Steve or find supplementary materials on the things he likes to talk about, check out his website, Whole Child Consulting.

Resources discussed in this podcast:

• Ward and Grimes (2025). 50 Practical Ways to Alter the Relative Efficiencies of Behaviors.
• Ward, Parker, and Perdikaris (2016). Task as Reinforcer: a Reactive Alternative to Traditional Forms of Escape Extinction.
• Perone (2003). The Negative Effects of Positive Reinforcement.
• Steve's earlier appearances on the BOP in Session 111 and Session 187.
• Anxiety? ABA has something for that! (Steve's Behavior University webinar, use promo code PODCAST at checkout to save $$$).

Please note that we had some internet disruptions during our recording but I don't think they detracted from the overall intelligibility of the conversation.

This podcast is brought to you by:

• Frontera. Consider taking a demo of Frontera's Assessment Builder and see how the ethical application of AI technologies can help you serve clients and save you time! Your first assessment report is free. And if you use code BOP25 you’ll get an additional five assessments for just $100. So head to fronterahealth.com to check it out!
• CEUs from Behavioral Observations. Learn from your favorite podcast guests while you're commuting, walking the dog, or whatever else you do while listening to podcasts. New events are being added all the time, so check them out here. 
• The Behavioral Toolbox. Check out our courses for school-based and other behavioral professionals, including our newest one, Motivational Interviewing: Getting Educator Buy-In.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations. Don't forget to use the coupon code, PODCAST to save at checkout!

Brandon Franklin returns to the podcast after a very long hiatus. You'll have to go back to Session 36 to hear his first appearance as a matter of fact.

It turns out that he's been doing a lot of innovative clinical work in that time. Currently, he is the Chief Behavior Analyst for the Lee Specialty Clinic and a Behavioral Consultant at Kramer Behavioral Health. In these roles, Brandon has implemented various interventions to help individuals with intellectual disabilities access routine medical and dental care.

If you're not familiar with this topic, it might sound pretty mundane, but as you'll hear, these populations really struggle to attend and participate in routine medical appointments, which, not surprisingly, has downstream negative health consequences. As such, interventions that improve on the current statistics can truly be considered life-saving.

In this podcast, we get into the following:

• Common phobias associated with medical treatments.
• Brandon's personal experience with aerophobia (the fear of flying), and what he did to improve it.
• The basics of desensitization strategies.
• How he and his team members use these strategies to improve the rate of successful medical appointment visits.
• And finally, the research on this topic that he is doing for his dissertation.

Brandon has generously compiled a list of references, which you can find here. He's passionate about this topic and is willing to talk with anyone about it, so feel free to hit him up on LinkedIn.

• Here's all of Brandon's contact info.
• Here's all the desensitization resources you could ask for.

This podcast is brought to you by:

• Frontera. Consider taking a demo of Frontera's Assessment Builder and see how the ethical application of AI technologies can help you serve clients and save you time! Your first assessment report is free. And if you use code BOP25 you’ll get an additional five assessments for just $100. So head to fronterahealth.com to check it out!
• The Profound Autism Summit. The Profound Autism Summit is a two-day conference taking place on April 10th and 11th in Boston, MA. Following on the massive success of the 2024 Summit, the 2025 event brings together leaders from the areas of research, medicine, treatment, advocacy, and education to discuss the needs and support of those with Profound Autism across disciplines and throughout the lifespan.
• HRIC Recruting. Cut out the middleman and speak directly with Barbara Voss, who's been placing BCBAs in great jobs all across the US for 15 years. 
• CEUs from Behavioral Observations. Learn from your favorite podcast guests while you're commuting, walking the dog, or whatever else you do while listening to podcasts. New events are being added all the time, so check them out here. 
• The Behavioral Toolbox. Check out our courses for school-based and other behavioral professionals, including our newest one, Motivational Interviewing: Getting Educator Buy-In.