ABA Inside Track

Given the preponderance of evidence that early intervention leads to better outcomes for children with autism spectrum disorder, isn't it important to identify these children as early as possible? This week we review research in identifying early indicators of ASD in children, charting the course from preschool, to first-birthday parties, to TV-watching infants. It's the most adorable-sounding res...

Unless you love conducting job interviews, you're probably interested in keeping the employees you hire for as long as possible. But how much impact can your supervision have on minimizing staff heading for the hills? Dr. Byron Wine joins us to share his research and experience into staff turnover in the human services including whether employee rewards work, if rapport building can leads to bette...

In light of recent events in the US, we've decided to move up our conversation with Adrienne Bradley and Kat Jackson from Black Applied Behavior Analyst, Inc. on the subject of racial diversity and inclusion. We discuss the importance of cultural humility, barriers to meaningful diversity initiatives, and how racism goes beyond being a good person. Plus how to continue your own journey as a BCBA i...

So, you probably aren't planning on going on any exciting vacations this summer, for some reason. Why not take a trip to podcast-land, first stop, ABA Inside Track. We'll be here and so will many fabulous visiting guests (in vocal form) like Dr. Bryon Wine and like Cat Jackson and Adrienne Bradley from Black Applied Behavior Analysts . Why not throw on your swimsuit, grab a burger, slather on some...

LIVE from the TxABA conference—which, because of the pandemic, we recorded in the comfort of our homes—it's a fun-filled presentation from ABA Inside Track! Due to popular demand, we've switched up our original talk to discuss what research can tell us about promoting safety measures in our daily lives. Is there a way to improve hand washing in the general population? What does economic research t...

You may say "toe-may-toe", and I may say "toe-mah-toe", but we've all learned to accept that these differences are ok. However, not everyone can take such perspective taking skills for granted, including many individuals with autism. This week, we take a peek into the behavior analytic literature to see how we can use recent research to supercharge our teaching skill for this socially-important sk...

This week we go beyond freakonomics into the realm of behavioral economics. And who better to guide us through the economics of fake IDs, tornado safety measures, and legal marijuana pricing then Dr. Derek Reed. Plus, why can't ABA and behavioral economics research get along? Articles discussed this episode: Critchfield, T.S. & Reed, D.D. (2017). The fuzzy concept of applied behavior analysis rese...

Are you ready to talk about resurgence? Well, I certainly wasn't, but we still recorded an episode all about it. And, y'know what, we had a great time doing so! Rob even demanded we add a bonus article on the topic, so moved by learning about this oft misunderstood component of behavior change. We hope that you are similarly moved…at the very least you'll remember the difference between resurgence...

MAY we offer you some new podcast episodes about behavior analysis? This month we're talking about a whole dearth of issues. And, what with everyone staying at home, we even managed to squeeze in an additional full-length episode that we don't even mention in the preview. First, we tackle a listener topic with a discussion of resurgence. Then we welcome special guest Dr. Derek Reed to school us on...

Outta tha' way, professors (Diana and Jackie). It's time for the BCBA working-class to shine! Joking aside, this week we focus on research related to being the best darn behavior consultants to teachers and to schools. And, to do it up right, we invited our podcasting pal, Matt Cicoria of the Behavioral Observations podcast to join us and to share his expertise. And if you think all we do is share...

It's one thing to have a decent understanding of the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Protocol (VB-MAPP). It's another to discuss bringing this tool up to scale in practice. This week we invite local special educator/BCBA, Colleen Callahan, to share her work in implementing the VB-MAPP in the public school setting. We discuss materials management, research on verbal behavior tes...

Somewhere in space, this could all be happening right now. ABA Inside Track, the team that brought you Grab Bag 9, now bring you a podcast unlike anything on your planet: Grab Bag In Space! The story of social skills training, furniture reorganization, and green shopping bag purchases. It's a big, sprawling ABA saga of research…and romance. It's a discussion of articles light years ahead of their...

We are very excited to have Dr. Jim Carr, president of the BACB , joining us on this week's episode to discuss an area of research of which he is very passionate about: child welfare. Though many of us have a history of working with caregivers, few of us have done so in order to reunite children with their biological families. Dr. Carr shares some promising work of how behavior analysis can suppor...

As online communication becomes our new normal—at least for the time being—BCBAs are left scrambling to figure out how to adapt their services to their clients. Fortunately, telehealth systems have been in use in the medical field for some time. This week, we review a bevy of articles describing some of the ways training over telehealth can occur, some troubleshooting tips for your telehealth setu...

April showers bring…lots of guests? That's the case this extra-long month where we bring in non-stop guests to discuss topics across the board. First, we have president of the BACB , Dr. Jim Carr, join us to share research on work to improve the child welfare system. Then, we dip into our 10th grab bag before inviting our pals Colleen Callahan and Matt Cicoria from the Behavioral Observations podc...

While all of us are doing our best to respond to rapid changes during the current COVID-19 pandemic, many families are struggling with the loss of home ABA services. In response to these barriers, many smart clinicians are looking for novel solutions. On this special extra episode, we talk with one of these super smart folks, Dr. Francesca degli Espinosa, about how she and her staff have responded...

Are you like me and you've been wondering why massed trials seem to be the most popular format for discrete trial training? Ever think that there could be a better way? Lucky for you, this week we're using research to pit massed trials head-to-head against other DTT formats in a knock-down, drag-out cage match for the ages. Will interspersed trials cause a big upset? Can distributed trials make it...

Trapped in the house with nothing but a bag of chips and a 5 lb weight? Well, at least you could spend some time PLANNING how you'll create a healthier lifestyle. Tony Chambers and Clint Evans from The Behavior Chef podcast join us (virtually) to explain how choosing healthy foods is nothing but good old-fashioned behavior and how breaking bad health habits is a lot harder than you might think. Ar...

What a nice way to kick off our March episodes with author, Dr. Mary Barbera , stopping by to talk about verbal behavior. We take a look into the process of using transfer procedures to teach tacts as well as get the chance to chat with Dr. Barbera about her own professional and personal history and how it led to her current work on the Turn Autism Around podcast . And, if you enjoy this episode,...

Game on! We just can't stop having fun, so much so that Rob even invented a brand-new game to celebrate another month of research articles. Between trying to figure out arcane rules, we share the March topics which run the table from verbal behavior to healthy eating to which work-trial type is best for you (well, maybe). So, pull up a d20 and enjoy this month's preview! Articles for March 2020 Tr...

Though the topic has come up before, we decided it was high time that self-monitoring got its very own episode. Then, rather than just share a bunch of old research about how cool self-monitoring is, we figured we'd look for some of the more interesting ways self-monitoring has been used to improve behavior. From spelling tests to training classes. From swimming pools to electricity meters (though...

One of the joys of having done the podcast long is learning about the sheer number of applications of behavior analysis in the world. This week, Dr. John O'Neill brings us ABA in a way we never expected: Behavior assessment as a means of improving police training. Aside from the novel use of FBA methodology, we discuss the current state of police academy procedure in America and some of the ways b...

For some reason Jackie decided that we needed to learn more about visual inspection. So, we did! Now we're all refreshed on the steps involved in analyzing data graphically and making the best treatment decisions possible. If you listen to this week's episode, your graph of "understanding the steps of visual inspection" will be on a very clear increasing trend. Articles discussed this episode: Van...

If you're going to be in Massachusetts on February 26th at 7, come to Ground Effect Brewing in Hudson, MA for our first ABA Trivia Night! We'll have fun questions, prizes, and beer with your pals at ABA Inside Track. Come join a team of four like-minded BCBAs and make some new friends or bring your colleagues for some after-work bonding. And, best of all, this event will be entirely FREE! Check ou...

Heeeeey, it's Rob's birthday. And rather than watch the time-caper thriller "Happy Death Day 2U" like he wanted to, let's have a February preview. This month we kick things off with a trip to the gallery of line graphs to discuss improvements in visual inspection methodology. After that, we'll be joined by Dr. John O'Neill to learn about how behavior analysis can inform research into improving pol...