Function Junction:Behavior Matters

Chad Palladino is new to Texas, but not to the field of autism.  Susan and Cissy get a chance to have a talk with him about how he started working with people with autism and how he got to Texas.  This episode is the first half of the conversation.  Chad has a great deal of training and study that he uses to support students and staff.  Cissy and Susan hope you enjoy learning from Chad.  Stay for...

As the podcast was recorded, the CDC had just published the latest prevalence of autism.  Susan and Cissy talk briefly about that and then move into some observations Susan made while on Spring Break.  The conversation was a reminder that we should all learn from one another. Some people are great teachers.  Some people are great behavior analysts.  It is important that everyone who is trying to h...

Cathy Bowen is a long time educator and behavior specialist.  She and Susan had a conversation about the concept of "worry".  This made Susan suggest that Cathy be a guest on the podcast to examine this topic.  Susan, Cissy, and Cathy have a great time talking about worry.  They share ideas about why we do it, what the functions may be, and what we can do about it.  They share many of th...

Susan and Cissy continue their conversation with Susan Parker.  Susan's work as a teacher and then a Specialist for Region 4 Education Service Center give her a rich knowledge of important things happening in and for schools.  Please enjoy her very grounded talk about how things have developed in Texas schools - and where things are going.  Stay for the question.  Thank you for listening!

Susan Parker has recently retired from Region 4 Education Service Center.  Texas has 20 Education Service Centers that provide training and support to their areas. Susan has given decades of service to special education students and staff in Texas with the bulk of that support at Region 4.  She shares a bit about her history of getting to the service center in this first half.  What you may not ge...

Susan and Cissy talk about how much they have learned and how their behaviors have changed over the last two years of the podcast.  They reminisce about many of the fun people who have contributed to the growth of this project that they started conceiving  during the pandemic.  Thank you all for listening and letting them have the joy of talking about behavior change.

Enjoy the second part of Susan's and Cissy's conversation with the authors of "Superhero Secrets For Teachers - Behavior Analysis In The Classroom".  Bev and Natalie talk more about their book and some of the information within it.  They also share fun stories from the book and their careers. Gather some secrets from the conversation and grab the book.  Stay for the question.

Susan and Cissy enjoy the opportunity to talk with the authors of the book "Superhero Secrets for Teachers: Behavior Analysis in the Classroom".  Beverly Smith and Natalie Perkel have taken complicated topics and created a text that clearly explains ABA concepts in fun ways. They give insight into how they met and started thinking about their book.  Please enjoy the first half of this gr...

Susan and Cissy continue their conversation with George Simos.  He talks about a student that influenced his desire to pursue ABA as a career.  He also shares how sometimes small progress can be very important to an individual.  He talks about finding people to help be an example to develop oneself and how he is preparing for the BCBA exam.  Thank you for listening and give the question a try.

Susan and Cissy have a great conversation with George Simos.  George is a Functional Behavior Evaluator for a school district.  He talks about how much he enjoys the process of evaluating students' behavior to help find the function and come up with a plan to help make a positive impact on their learning.  Have a listen to this really sharp guy.  He will get you thinking.  Stay for the questi...

During this episode, Cissy talks about having to bail on the marathon in Disney World.  She reflects on her thought process of not finishing a very important goal for her.  Anytime we fail, we have the opportunity to consider the behaviors that contribute to missing the goal and then those behaviors that will help us try again to reach the goal.  This also led to thinking about individuals with sp...

Have a listen to the second half of Susan's and Cissy's conversation with Chelsea and Rachel.  They give us some insight into how ABA is a part of raising animals and their own children.  Sometimes the things we learn explain our behavioral history and sometimes it changes how we help our own family members learn.  Please enjoy and stay for the question at the end.

Susan and Cissy have a talk with Rachel and Chelsea about ABA concepts in their lives.  Both ladies are studying to become Board Certified Behavior Analysts and have interesting lives in which the concepts fit.  They work together in a school district in the Houston area helping teachers and students with special needs.  The first part of our conversation with them is, for the most part, about how...

Susan and Cissy talk about the history behind New Year's resolutions as well as the science related to why they are successful or not.  They share ideas for helping make resolutions work for you. Susan and Cissy hope that the new year brings joy to you. Stay for the question and the coming year.

Susan and Cissy have a great conversation with Troy Payne.  Troy does the editing for the podcast and could also be called the production engineer.  He has certainly been a gift to the hosts and the podcast.  He talks about several things.  One of the most fascinating is how his admiration for Mickey Gilley's music became a true friendship with the artist.  We hope that you enjoy listening to...

In the start of this final part with Debarshi, he talks about wanting to be a teacher.  He wants to change things for other people with autism.  Who better to do that than someone who has autism?  He also talks about a misconception about people with autism being narcissistic.  He talks about how some people think people with autism do not care, but he disagrees because he knows that he cares a lo...

In this second part of our conversation with Debarshi, we learn about his late diagnosis and how he was punished for social issues.  He talks about getting help and taking responsibility for his actions.  We also talk about skill vs performance.  Enjoy and stay for the question.

Susan and Cissy have a conversation with Debarshi Kundu.  Susan has known Debarshi since he was in high school.  He was diagnosed with autism at that time and talks about the challenges he has faced along the way.  He has gone on to graduate from the University of Texas at Austin and listeners will hear that he can self-reflect better than many.  This is the first of a three part conversation with...

Susan talks about the history of Black Friday and great deal she recently managed at the grocery store.  They also give some of the behavioral science behind why Black Friday works so well.  Happy Shopping - hope you enjoy.  Stay for the question.

Susan and Cissy share about being thankful and have a discussion about how "thank you" fits into verbal behavior.  November is a great time to reflect on things for which we are thankful and, of course, behavior analysts have to take apart the behavioral aspect of things people do.  Have a listen and see if you agree.  Feel free to share your disagreement (or agreement) with the answer t...

Join Susan and Cissy for the second half of their conversation with Kathy Hearsey.  Kathy is the Director of Training for TEACCH at UNC.  She is bound to make you think about the whole child, the whole person, and what is important in the long run. Her years of training and experience come through in the ease with which she talks about serving others.  Stay for the question at the end.

Have a listen to Susan's and Cissy's conversation with Kathy Hearsey.  Kathy is the Director of Training at UNC's TEACCH and one of the author's of the Task Galore book series.  Teachers all over the world have benefited from her training and most probably have each of the books.  She has many years of experience working in the field of autism and her love for people comes thro...

Cissy talks with Susan about how she and her husband were semi-lost on a trail in Ohio.  They managed to find their way back to their car and laughed along the way.  Have a listen about how behavioral principles come into play even when we are having fun on vacation.  Stay for the question.

Here is the rest of this most recent conversation with Chris and Lucinda.  It is wonderful to hear how they have learned from and helped one another.  We should all see that our path to success is ever changing and always under construction.  Susan and Cissy hope you enjoy these two as much as they did.  There is a question at the end as usual.

Susan and Cissy have another conversation with Lucinda and Chris Thelan and this is the first half of that conversation.  Chris talks about a recent keynote speech he gave.  He does a beautiful job talking about how success can look different for each person.   You will be convinced that he is certainly successful. You can find Chris's keynote speech at  https://cdd.tamu.edu/service-outreach/...