ABA Inside Track

LIVE from the Thompson Center ! It's ABA Inside Track! We're back again with a talk we gave last month at the 14th Annual Thompson Center for Autism Conference all about parent stress. But, a funny thing happened on the way to the podium: We realized that decreasing parent stress isn't as easy as just doing good training. Listen in for some tips on how to improve your parent-BCBA collaboration ski...

So once we get past some acronym confusion, we dig deep into the mystery of PBIS. We discuss the levels of support, the controversy, the research, and the journal article with the longest title ever! At the end, do we cast our votes for PBIS as an effective treatment? Or do we send PBIS to the principal's office? Articles discussed this episode: Anderson, C.M. & Kincaid, D. (2005). Applying behavi...

We all love instructions. We all love fading. But, when the two go together, do we create a treatment better than the sum of its parts? Let's take a trip through the literature and discuss the ins and outs of instructional fading together, shall we? Articles discussed this episode: Pace, G.M., Iwata, B.A., Cowder, G.E., Andree, P.J., & McIntyre, T. (1993). Stimulus (instructional) fading during ex...

It's finally here! Our 100th episode! And what better way to celebrate than to take the time to remember the events that came before us, namely, the origins of applied behavior analysis. And if you thought we were just going to say "Skinner" a bunch of times, how wrong you are. Special guest, Dr. Gina Green from APBA , leads our trip down memory lane with an amazing account of how the field has ch...

This October, we're celebrating our 100th episode! While we spend time patting ourselves on the back, we almost forget to share our topics for the month including our longest episode yet with Dr. Gina Green taking a deep dive into the history of ABA. And, another fun live show from the Thompson Center for Autism Conference. Get ready for more episodes than you can shake a pumpkin at! Articles for...

As behavior analysts, we all know how much fun work can be. But, somehow, people in other fields don't always think of doing their jobs as fun. Suspend disbelief and learn all about what can be done to be sure that the staff at your organization are effectively reinforced. From lotteries to the paradox of the fun boss, our final Supervision September episode is the definition of a good time. Artic...

Working with people is hard, so is it any wonder that the burnout rate for employees in human services can reach 40% or more? And paying more money doesn't seem to be the answer. In this week's Supervision September episode, we discuss some of the common patterns of staff burnout, whether there's anything to be done to mitigate the problem, and how you can be a part of the solution. Articles discu...

Get excited, everyone, because Supervision September is finally here! Up first, we have special guest, Dr. Amy Henley joining us to discuss her research on staff management and the proper delivery of feedback. Then we all take a break from podcasting to order the feedback sandwich. Was it as delicious as thought it would be? And did Rob's extra pickles actually improve feedback? Articles discussed...

Back by popular demand, it's SUPERVISION SEPTEMBER! The one month of the year where you're guaranteed three straight weeks of podcasting all about the fascinating topic of staff supervision. This year we're back with a full slate of research articles and discussion all about that most critical of supervision topics: Our staff. We talk about how, when, and why to give feedback, what we can do as su...

In a world where research is the only resource that matters, only one crack team of podcasters have the brains, the brawn, and the bandwith, to fight back. This summer, only in your listening device of choice, the ABA Inside Track team returns and, this time, the fate of the world rests in their hands. Behavior analysis is about to E-X-P-L-O-D-E when preceded by…the Dark Stimulus. Articles discuss...

After hours and hours of sun and fun at the beach, Rob brings you his favorite books on behavior from the past three months. Plus, the origin of Uncle Scrooge. Rob's Summer Reading List Najdowski, A.D. (2017). Flexible and focused. London, United Kingdom: Acacdemic Press. Brodhead, M.T., Cox, D.J., & Quigley, S.P. (2018). Practical ethics for effective treatment of autism spectrum disorder. London...

Boldly going beyond the original research, it's Preschool Life Skills: The Next Generation! We engage in this updated review of the PLS research with our discussion captain, Dr. Einar Ingvarsson, and lock phasers on new topics such as whether PLS can be used as a proactive learning curriculum, how behavior analysts could adopt a tiered model of teaching, and why Romulan Ale and warp drive don't mi...

To get ready for this week's all-new episode all about Preschool Life Skills (PLS), here's our original review of the PLS research in podcast form. Reacquaint yourself with the basics or learn about them for the first time. Then join us and special guest, Dr. Einar Ingvarsson, on Wednesday to discuss PLS: The Next Generation! Love learning about classroom management strategies but wonder what's av...

As a bunch of cisgender podcasters, we figured we could use some help in discussing issues related to gender diversity in behavior analysis. That's why we invited our friends, Erin Donovan and Kristen Lancaster, from Confessions of a Behavior Analyst to share their knowledge and experience on how behavior analysts can improve their competence working with nonbinary or transgender colleagues and cl...

Taking into account its renewed popularity, Rob busts out the dice for this Dungeons and Dragons-themed preview episode. Possible topics this month: gender diversity, preschool life skills, or goblins. Then, in errata, one of the nicest emails we've ever received. Articles discussed this episode: Gender Diversity in Behavior Analysis w/ Erin Dononvan and Kristen Lancaster Priola, V., Lasio, D., De...

This week we're putting the virtual in our virtual studio with two amazing guests, Dr. Sveinbjornsdottir and Dr. Clay, discussing how they're pulling behavior analysis training into the future with virtual reality training technology. If you ever wanted to imagine what behavior skills training might look like as the world's coolest video game, this is definitely the episode for you. Articles discu...

How hot is our book club discussion of chapters 11-19 in Murray Sidman's Coercion and Its Fallout? So hot Rob had to edit out about 15 minutes of our takes! What's left goes into detailed descriptions of how many of the societal systems we take for granted are, in fact, coercive. And, of course, that there's got to be a better way (hint: positive reinforcement). Plus, Rob and Diana describe old Di...

It's time for the 3rd Annual ABA Inside Track book club. This year we'll be discussing the late, great Murray Sidman's important social work Coercion and Its Fallout. Rob, Diana, and Jackie go on a deep dive through chapters 1-10 of the book including a discussion of rat behavior, societal shocks, and a laundry list of the crummy ways in which society treats itself. Book discussed this episode: Si...

We behavior analysts work hard, right? We effect behavior change for our clients and feel pretty darn good about our efforts. But what happens if our clients don't actually like anything we've done? This week we're talking all about social validity, how to make sure we're paying attention to it, and why some BCBAs might be a bit wary about it. Articles discussed this episode: Wolf, M.M. (1978). So...

Summer may be heating up, but ABA Inside Track is staying cool with a remote guest from Iceland and our third annual book club (which we'll pretend was recorded on a beach). This month, we discuss social validity, virtual reality training with special guest Dr. Berglind Sveinbjornsdottir, and how coercive practices may be synonymous with nuclear war. All that and listener emails and our typical pr...

From the archives: If one were to enter the virtual world, could we really expect that person to come out the other side with great fire safety skills and a fearlessness about spiders?  Well, this week we discuss two articles that say, "Yes."  Featuring our very first call-in co-host, anecdotes galore about Rob's favorite video games, and more terrifying spider scenarios than you could shake a sti...

Everybody loves the idea of teaching complex behaviors. Everybody loves teaching new skills efficiently. Is it always possible to do both? Dr. Stacie Bancroft joins us to explain how these two great goals can go great together. This ain't your parents' chaining procedure. Articles discussed this episode: Bancroft, S.L., Weiss, J.S., Libby, M.E., & Ahearn, W.H. (2011). A comparison of procedural va...

We all live in an interconnected, WiFi world. So shouldn't our work as behavior analysts be the same? Telehealth provides an exciting means to share our science at a distance; however, if we're not careful, who knows what ethical dilemmas using this technology might lead us into. Have no fear! Your pals at ABA Inside Track hit the books—well, research articles—to figure out some tactics for the et...

Starting summer off right with journal articles! This month we get back into a discussion of ethical dilemmas with the use of telehealth and telemedicine before inviting Dr. Stacie Bancroft to share some advance chaining variations. Finally, while we all enjoy some time off, a look back into the archives with our classic episode on research related to virtual reality. Bonus: Rob's award-winning wr...

We wind down "It's Gonna Be MAY" with a final topic that none of us have actually conducted research in but we think the field needs to know more about. Remember how we talked about behavioral momentum last week? Remember how "your BCBA friend" referred to the high-p/low-p sequence as an example of behavioral momentum. Well, THEY'RE USING THAT TERM WRONG!!! Find out why and how to avoid ever makin...