ABA Inside Track

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...

Because your ABA Inside Track hosts are such chronic truth-tellers, we decided it was time to look into this "lying" we've heard so much about. For instance, we're not sure why anyone would ever lie. Or whether it's an important skill to learn how to lie, especially when your best friend tries on a questionable outfit. Or if learning about George Washington can really improve honesty. We promise,...

If you've listened to more than one of our episodes, you must enjoy listening to behavior analytic terminology. If so, that makes you unlike most of America who ::GASP:: really dislikes ABA jargon. Should we be offended? Drop our monocles in shock? Perhaps instead we should use research to figure out a better way to improve how we disseminate the science of behavior in plain English. Articles disc...

While we've certainly mentioned and even discussed the IISCA in previous episodes, for some reason we've yet to do a full-length episode on this relatively new tool in the behavior assessment arsenal. That all changes this week as we do a deep dive into the interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis with our special guest, Dr. Adithyan Rajaraman. What is the IISCA? Why use the IISCA? And...

It may be a question you remember from graduate school: What's the deal with sensory extinction? Is it a form of extinction? Of punishment? Or, is it something else? This week, we revisit that old chestnut by discussion four articles that hope to solve the mystery of sensory extinction. And we review one of the most complementary replication articles of all time! Articles discussed this episode: I...

Happy New Year! We brush off our New Year's Resolutions by promising even more fun and exciting topics. You can trust us: We've read all the research on lying! Plus, Jackie promises more fun by announcing our inaugural ABA Inside Track Trivia Night. And the proper unveiling of our updated theme song by a musician you'll recognize. Welcome to 2020, BCBAs! Articles for January 2019 Sensory Extinctio...

As 2019 comes to a close, we're joined by our podcasting buddy, Matt Cicoria, of the Behavioral Observations podcast to wax philosophical about all the going's-on in behavior analysis in the past 12 months. From memorials to trends in research and practice we'd like to see continue to our hopes for the next year of our science. Wishing all of you Happy Holidays!

Well, how nice of you to stop by the ol' campfire. Pull up a log, why dontcha? We're just swappin' stories, stories about our favorite research topics. Care for a marshmallow with chocolate and graham crackers? You can make one of those, whaddya call 'em. S'mores? Do you have a favorite research article to spin a yarn about? Something to keep the dark and cold away? Here, why don't I start…   Arti...

We got tired of executive functioning feeling like some ephemeral concept so we decided to reach out to someone who wrote a book on the subject, Dr. Adel Najdowski to demystify the term. Besides getting a great behavioral definition of executive functioning, we also get a whole boatload of tips on how to teach these very important skills. We're pretty sure this episode is so fun, you won't have to...

With so much holiday shopping to do, we're keeping our topics fun and light this month. First up we'll be talking with Dr. Adel Najdowski all about executive functioning. Seriously, all about it. Then we'll dive into the old grab bag for three topics totally unrelated to each other. And, on December 25th, everybody gets a special bonus episode Christmas present! Articles for December 2019 Executiv...

This year the Berkshire Association of Behavior Analysis and Therapy (BABAT) , our regional conference, celebrated it's 40th anniversary. As a special treat, the BABAT board asked us at ABA Inside Track to interview guest speakers and attendees to celebrate this momentous occasion. It took Rob a while to edit together THREE HOURS of awesome conversations about BABAT, but now, here it is in all it'...

I hope that you're listening closely, paying attention, because that's all we'll be talking about on this week's episode. Whether you think of attending as looking at the teaching, looking at your work, or looking at yourself, attending plays a big part in learning. So, let's get focused! Articles discussed this episode: Broden, M., Bruce, C., Mitchell, M.A., Carter, V., & Hall, R.V. (1970). Effec...

Speedy Delivery ain't got nothing on us this episode as we sign, seal, and deliver all of our pressing ethical concerns to special guest, Dr. Darren Sush. Much like a BCBA Dear Abby, Dr. Sush discusses an array of ethical quandries pulled straight from his new book "A Workbook of Ethical Case Scenarios in Applied Behavior Analysis". It's almost two whole hours of ethical discussion! Sincerely, you...

If you thought behavior assessment was hard, how much harder does it get when you add in the challenges of working with individuals from a different cultural background? We pose the question to special guest Dr. Liz Hughes-Fong and find out just how much more we have to learn about improving our cultural competence. Articles discussed this episode: Mandell, D.S. & Novak, M. (2005). The role of cul...

When we weren't attending amazing talks or giving our own—and when we weren't enjoying all the snacks in between activities—we were able to meet up with a number of students presenting at the Thompson Center for Autism Conference poster session. We thought you'd like to hear about some of the work coming out of the University of Missouri and beyond. Thanks to everyone who took the time to talk wit...

Pay attention, because we're only telling you once. This November, we're thankful for all of our awesome guests! First, Dr. Liz Hughes-Fong joins us to share all of her knowledge on developing cultural competence in the area of assessment. Then, Dr. Darren Sush calls in to judge our ethical answers to his ethical scenarios for almost 2 HOURS!! Finally, we take it easy with a review of research all...