A 25 Year Look Across the Spectrum with Kelly Bermingham & Jen Lucero

Kelly & Jen are joined by mom and advocate Kelly Haysley, mom to three children, two diagnosed on the autism spectrum. We discuss Kubler-Ross cycle of grief, and how this cycle repeats and repeats, adding guilt and stress, and how embracing the joyful times are worth it, even if it means not "running the program and taking data". They have specific tips for BCBAs to know.   Five Stages Of...

Sleep problems are among the most urgent concerns for families grappling with autism. Nearly 80% of toddlers with ASD have disrupted sleep. Issues related to falling asleep, and more importantly staying asleep result in those living with ASD being in REM sleep 15% of the time, vs 23% of their neurotypical counterparts.  But what about the caregivers? How does this affect them, and what can we...

Kelly & Jen speak with Melissa Saunders, Ed. D, BCBA-D about her, and others recently published paper, A Call for a Discussion on Stereotypic Behavior. This topic has become a very decisive topic and the three break down the topic in a way BCBAs and caregivers can relate to.  Find the paper here: Full article: A call for discussion on stereotypic behavior (tandfonline.com) .  We are...

Taylor, Leblanc & Nosik wrote about the need for training for BCBAs and compassionate care. Their survey of caregivers found that many caregivers feel their BCBA is distracted and too focused on solving the problem. Kelly & Jen discuss what this looks like and talk about how the medical issues for those living with autism, like Dylan, can be so stressful and impactful on the family, compas...

Most BCBA training programs don't discuss caregiver perspectives, yet caregivers are the ones raising their children with autism. Caregivers often meet up to 10 different BCBA's in their journey. Listen to Kelly & Jen talk about the good and the not-so-good things a BCBA can do when meeting and working with families with children with autism. Kelly references her favorite article on this compa...

Season 3 of our podcast is starting! In this episode, Kelly, BCBA, and Jen, mom to Dylan & Ethan discuss a previous from season 2 titled, "Transition into Adulthood or Falling Off a Cliff. Dylan graduated from his transition program in December 2022, during the pandemic. Covid and staffing shortages have been a crisis for those seeking services for their children and adults on the autism spect...

Kelly & Jen speak with Jennifer's son, Ethan, age 20, who shares his perspective on what age to talk to children about their sibling's autism, how volunteering in the autism community while also having his own activities made him the man he is today, and how he began to choose the people he surrounds himself with others that acknowledge his brother as a person. He shared his childhood and advi...

Kelly & Jen chat with long-time friend Izzy Paskowitz about Surfer's Healing, an original surf camp for children and families living with autism, and how that one perfect day in the water surfing can be exactly what that child and family needed.  Founded in 1996, and a huge part of Jen, Dylan, and Ethan's life, the surf team is ready to get back to it this summer. You can find more about...

This last year saw major changes in the field of ABA and other fields supporting children and adults with autism. Employers struggled to support team members remotely. People had major events happen in their lives after a year+ of pandemic life and many walked out and quit. Left behind are the families. Kelly and Jen talk about how difficult this has been as an employer and as families living with...

April started as Autism Awareness Month. It has now become a decisive month with groups split and arguing about what the month and message should mean. We believe in awareness, acceptance and action. Kelly & Jen talk with the Vice President of National Council on Severe Autism and published author Amy Lutz, and her amazing daughter Erika Lutz who bring a refreshing take on the arguing. Erika,...

Kelly & Jen talk about the risks and change they have done to move their children forward in life. Kelly describes the steps she and her husband took to take the risk of having their daughter move out on her own. The same type of steps applied to Jen trying to buy a new bed and furniture for Dylan. These risks are hard. Change is hard. It is the path forward. 

Jen & I talk about the process, and Dylan's experience of graduating high school with a certificate, entering a high school transition program until he was 22, graduating to an adult day program, oh wait. No, he didn't.  Covid partly to blame, but the system failed him, and as of right now he is home, bored, sad and starting to regress. We won't take this- but this could happen to you! &n...

Kelly speaks with Kristine Rodriguez, Chief Clinical Officer at Autism Learning Partners, and Co-lead of the CASP Client Outcomes SIG, breaking down the concepts of evidenced-based treatment and the importance of individual analysis before applying strategies in intervention. Slocum, T. A., Detrich, R., Wilczynski, S. M., Spencer, T. D., Lewis, T., & Wolfe, K. (2014). The Evidence-Based Practi...

Behavior therapists are the backbone of ABA services for children and adults. While certifications such as the RBT certification help as a starting point for quality care, what are the "soft skills" that make a really good behavior therapist. Kelly gets Jen's perspective, as a parent, on what a parent is looking for in therapists coming into their home. 

Kelly & Jen talk through the real challenges and real solutions to support children with autism to brush their teeth and prepare and go to the dentist. Kelly shares information from the study she participated in on how to use analytic strategies to teach these specific skills.   Access to Dental Visits and Correlates of Preventive Dental Care in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder | Re...

Kelly & Jen are back with Heather O'Shea, BCBA-D and Bianca Ancona, mom and manager of team Jack to talk about collaboration: the process of two or more people working together to complete a task or goal. It neutralizes the power differential in the relationship. It's about the BCBA saying, "What can we do to help improve the quality of life for you and your family" and the two coming together...

Kelly & Jen talk to Heather O'Shea, CASP Caregiver Collaboration SIG Co-leader (Kelly leads with her) and Bianca Ancona, mom, and leader of "Team Jake" about what is in a name. Why the term Caregiver Collaboration or Team Member is much more meaningful to them as caregivers, and the notion of BCBA's giving caregivers pop-quizzes about ABA terms or expecting caregivers to learn all of the techn...

Kelly & Jen talk to Mom, author and blogger, Susan Senator (susansenator.com) and Lyndsey Radcliffe, CEO of Morningstarabatherapy.com and an individual diagnosed on the autism spectrum about the importance and challenge of talking with and including the child/adult with autism into the conversation. To quote Susan's Facebook post: "How the fuck do I get the people in my life to stop talking ab...

In this podcast, Kelly & Jen tackle the topic of the current high turnover rates in the ABA therapy world and what that impact had on the clients and the families.  Hear the best ways you can do this from a parent perspective, and hear how badly it can go when not done properly, including leading children to become aggressive toward themselves and others. Includes new Ethic Code points 3....

As we go into the holidays, are you going to use this time to completely relax, to maintain skills, try and learn a new skill you focus on or go to the September26th.org website and make sure you are prepared?  Listen to Kelly & Jen speak from experience on this topic and hear how Dylan has made many gains during his holiday breaks! As ABA providers we owe it to our families to review and...

With the rates of autism increasing every year, the number of high-profile incidents involving law enforcement and the autism population are on the rise. As ABA providers we often try to train first responders but are we really capturing their attention?  Kelly & Jen speak with Kate Movius, founder and owner of the Autism Interaction Solutions where she brings in trainers with autism and...

Kelly & Jen speak with Thomas, a 28 year old man with autism and hear about his experience being bullied, and how him mom helped train the schools and get a teacher advocate. Want to know what that is? Give us a listen. 

Kelly & Jen interview friend, fellow board member and founder if the Kind and Safe School Programs to promote Ability Awareness. Listen to the incredible statistics, (40-70% of kids with ASD reported being bullied) how to support the child living with autism toward bullying prevention and how this relates directly to our 2022 new ethics code. Do you know what to do for the child that is being...

Kelly, co-chair of the September 26th project speaks directly with Maysoon Salah and Lubna Lana Salah about the September 26th project that turns tragedy into a wonderful legacy to remind families of children affected with autism, as well as a call to ABA providers to focus on the importance of safety preparation and practice. Safety is at the core of all individuals. Go to the website, use the ch...

On this short episode, Kelly & Jen talk about how are current state with COVID feels so much more stressful for our kids and their families with the constant changes, and how angry and polarizing this has become for everyone. We all have to be better for our kids.