ABA Inside Track

FCR is amazing and all, but what can be done about the that dense schedule of reinforcement? This week we explore what the research has to say about thinning that schedule using good old discrimination cues and a boatload of gumption. Well, mostly the first part. Plus, a fabulous recent summary of everything you wanted to know about the topic courtesy of Kranak and Brown . Think of us as the audio...

This week we welcome Dr. Mallory Quinn back to the show to provide us her expertise in the health, sports, and fitness field. And when we realize we won't get cast in "West Side Story" with only an hour of work, we decide to spend our time talking with her about supervision instead. We review what behavior analysts interested in HSF should know whether they're starting their journey into this spec...

Now that lousy March weather is over, it's time for cool April and another bunch of podcast episodes on topics that smell as sweet as Spring flowers. First we welcome back Dr. Mallory Quinn to share strategies for meaningful supervision in the realm of health, sports, and fitness. Then we run the gamut on old and "hot-off-the-press" topics with a review of schedule thinning and how to get involved...

While behavior analysis has more recently begun digging into what meaningful social justice practices can and should be, the concept certainly isn't new to other fields, and our special guest, Dr. Malika Pritchett, has the data to prove it. This week, Dr. Pritchett gives us a whirlwind tour of the development of social justice practices in research through the years to highlight science's highly p...

If measuring social validity is just about getting clients and stakeholders to fill out a 7-point Likert scale, we'd have a pretty short episode this week. Fortunately, it's a heck of a lot more important and effortful than that. This week we delve into the realm of using social validity measures to improve our practices and to better support our clients. So buckle-up for some thematic reviews of...

UNLOCKED from our Patreon page , it's the "Between Now and Dreams" Book Club! Interested in more Book Clubs? Want to vote on what we read next? Feeling FOMO at getting this a full year late? Wish your 2 CEs for listening to the episode were FREE??? Join us on Patreon to get all of our episodes a week early, access to these bonus episodes, plus other goodies. We're curling up with a good book this...

This month is all about caring: caring for clients, for parents, for children, and for other people's opinions. Because while we all love behavior analysis, that doesn't mean everybody does. So listen in and up your anti-colonial, family-supportive, socially valid practices with our unlocked Book Club on supporting parents of autistic children with "Between Now and Dreams" , our interview with Dr....

UPDATED: Following the release of the episode, we were all saddened to hear of the passing of Dr. Elizabeth HughesFong, a pioneer in researching, publishing, and speaking on cultural humility in the field of behavior analysis. To celebrate and to honor her accomplishments, Dr. Noor Syed asked to record a special dedication for Dr. Hughes Fong to add to this episode. I can't think of a better way t...

In what we're planning as an ongoing series of episodes over the next year (and beyond), ABA Inside Track will be talking about neurodiversity: What it is, what it means for behavior analysts, and why understanding and discussing it with open ears, the courage to be uncomfortable, and the importance of listening is key to the future of our field. For now, here's an episode to get our conversation...

As voted on by our Patrons, we're talking about ways to prevent that pernicious problem for professionals: Burnout. Hopefully that's not just because a high percentage of BCBAs are feeling unappreciated, constantly in unresolved conflict with clients and co-workers, and highly dissatisfied with their current lot in life. Even if you are, this episode will cover some ways that you can reflect on th...

Man, January went so long that we barely had time to stop to record our February preview. But whether in a car or on a boat, we've got behavior analytic discussions to fill 29 days. This month we're joined by guest, Dr. Noor Syed , to review her work on creating sustainable equitable practices in research and higher education. We also begin with the first part in what we hope will be an ongoing di...

Making mistakes isn't all bad. Unless those mistakes result in faulty stimulus control during skill acquisition. But, fret not, this week we dive into some of the options available as you craft your programs to respond to errors in a way to maximize learnining efficiency while taking the preferences of your client into account. Basically, how to teach the fastest while being the least annoying. An...

This week we return to one of of favorite (and most important topics): training others to work with adults with significant disabilities. And, in our excitement to talk to Dr. John Guercio on everything this entails, we almost forgot to talk about the specific articles! Whether looking at the primary means of supporting staff skill growth or utilizing effective, evidence-based treatment plans and...

Enjoy a short preview of our latest full-length Book Club episode.  Want to hear the whole thing and get 2 CEs for free? Subscribe to our Patreon today at the premium $10+ levels for that plus other bonuses! While we've covered acceptance and commitment therapy a few times before, we'd never really dug too deeply into exactly HOW ACT is behavior analytic. As in the exact mechanisms by which the fa...

Far over standard celeration graphs cold To research labs deep and operant chambers old We must respond, ere break of a targeted duration To mand our pale enchanted reinforcers   This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU. Articles discussed this episode: Heward, W.L. Kimball, J.W., Heckaman, K.A., & Dunne, J.D. (2021). In his own words: Siegfried "Zig" Englemann talks about what's wrong with...

Just because something is popular doesn't make it right. And this week we talk about the most unethical example of this in reviewing the costs and dangers of fad treatments. While we spend a good deal of time discussing sensory integration, the hypothesis behind it as a treatment, and its effectivness (or lack thereof) in behavioral treatment, we also review some of the other fad treatments we've...

Happy 2024, y'all! And boy are we coming in hot with the latest fads in treament and your ethical responsibility to respond skeptically to them. After that we chat with Dr. John Guercio about what's new with effective programming curricula for adults with disabilities and take a dive into the latest in error correction research. Then it all goes off a cliff with our most dramatic Grab Bag episode...

It's our annual year-end wrap up show with our podcasting pal, Matt Cicoria from Behavioral Observations ! And boy, is there a lot to review from 2023. First, a somber start with a remembrance of some of the amazing behavior analysts the field lost this past year. Then a discussion of some of the biggest issues facing our profession: Supervision! Ed reform! Public Policy reform! Plus, nonsense end...

While we've talked about organizational behavior management for business and leadership and and collaboration in the behavior analytic world, what if we put it all that research together and applied it to the school setting? I bet you'd get something like this week's episode. Add in special guest Dr. Bruce Tinor leading the conversation with additional experience as a school principal and behavior...

Let's get down to some nuts and bolts treatment updates this week with one of the most common maintaining variables for problem behavior: escape! We'll start off with a podcast favorite in the form of a treatment-choice flowchart then add in our combined near-60 years of experience with some illustrative case examples to model how to judge which treatment is right for your client. It's like a day...

Between sharing our Christmas Movie watching habits and preparing for the coldest months with a warm book club, we haven't a moment to lose in sharing out this month's episodes. But we're opening a gift early because we've finally been able to catch up with special guest, Dr. Bruce Tinor, to share about leadership in the schools before having a little debate about the best escape-maintained behavi...

When you think of dog training, do you usually think of movie stunt dogs like Lassie and the dog from Frasier ? Well, dogs do a lot more than cinematic tricks and the science of behavior has a lot to add to the science of assessing and treating dog behaviors. This week Ran Courant-Morgan and Dr. Stephanie Keesey-Phelan from the Dog Behavior Institute take a walk over to the podcast to share what b...

Working with other professionals is hard. And sometimes it may be because your organization doesn't really know how to support meaningful collaboration outside of the traditional practice of reminding you to stay in your BCBA lane. This week special guest and SLP, Rose Griffin , joins us to kick our ideas for collaboration into the next level. Like, did you know that multidisciplinary and interdis...

Since we all spend about 6-8 hours doing it every day, most of us take the ability to fall and stay asleep for granted. But for many families, getting everyone to sleep is a constant source of stress. This week, Emily Varon of Ready, Set, Sleep stops by to share where research on sleep treatment has brought the field and what the practice of supporting sleep habits can add to working with autistic...

Because you demanded it, and because Rob begged for it, we're FINALLY talking all about Direct Instruction. For our Fall Listener Choice episode we dig into the key features that make Direct Instruction earn those capital letters including what makes DI so effective, tips for running killer DI lessons, and some ways that any BCBA can start to dip their toes into this fabulous teaching technology....