The ABA and PT Podcast

Today's episode features Sasha Long, BCBA and Founder of The Autism Helper. There are areas for improvement in the relationship between ABA and OT, so Sasha shares her experiences and tips to help make the work more collaborative and effective.    The differences in approach between the fields of ABA and OT present an opportunity to enhance both practices. By honestly touching on the pain points o...

Spitting is a complex ADL that can be a real challenge to teach to kids in the spectrum. Especially when kids are nonverbal or have conditions like pica, ABAs and OTs have to use prompts as imitation and language are simply ineffective.   They discuss the case of Andre and how strategies like TAG teaching and tools like straws were effective in teaching mouth manipulation. They also discuss the ma...

Habitual behaviors can be interruptive on a student's development. In this episode, Mandy and Adito discuss the case of Matt's detrimental nail biting and skin picking and the effective strategies they use to reverse it.   Mandy shares her own struggles with nail-biting and her own personal strategies to extinguish this behavior. Mandy and Aditi also dive into the deeper reasons behind these autom...

Telehealth consultations have unique problems that are magnified when addressing challenging behaviors in kids. From distraction to motivation to parent training, we discuss the most common problems and tangible tips to improve student engagement. It is critical to first teach parents the basics of reinforcement for them to follow through with the necessary changes that make virtual consultations...

One of the most effective ways to teach kids with limited skills is with activity schedules. These can be checklists or simple visual stimuli that allow kids to match activities to tasks that need completing. Recent studies reinforce its effectiveness and Mandy and Aditi's own personal experiences provide you with actionable tips that you can apply to your own clients. Activity schedules are flexi...

Shoe tying is particularly tricky to teach to kids who are on the spectrum. This episode shares strategies to overcome obstacles in teaching this ADL, as well as adaptations you can use with students.    Mandy and Aditi share the various component skills needed for shoe tying and the effectiveness of using precision teaching, tag teaching for instructing without distracting, and video modeling.   ...

Teaching basic activities of daily living (ADL) to children with autism requires a more involved and understanding approach. This was the case with Sam whose progress in fluency was positively impacted by applying the Big 6 + 6.  In the beginning, Sam exhibited many errors in component skills but instruction with the Big 6 quickly improved his ability to play and manipulate objects. Teaching these...

Mandy and Aditi continue to examine Sam, a 9-year old client with autism with aggressive behavior. As OT's and ABA's have different assessment tools for fine motor development, this episode explores the goals and methodologies they use to improve Sam's fine motor skills.   ABA tests range from handwriting and the grip and pinch strength test while OT assessments use examples like the Silly Bug, th...

Aggressive behavior in children can be a real challenge for therapists and family members. This episode examines the case of Sam, an extremely aggressive child, and the OT and ABA behavior strategies that worked and didn't work for him. Mandy explains how she began her collaboration with an OT to work out a behavior plan for Sam and the steps they took to produce improvements. Mandy and Aditi expl...

Evidence-based practice can be a touchy subject for ABAs and OTs alike. Dr. Josh Pritchard of the Lodestone Academy shares his insights on collaboration and the strengths and weaknesses of single-case design versus group-case design. Dr. Pritchard discusses the groundbreaking study that put standards in place for sensory integrations for children with ASD. He further provides ways that ABAs and OT...

Bedtime resistance and frequent night wakings are a source of frustration for many parents. This episode talks about the biggest mistakes parents make in establishing sleep patterns, as well as the Bedtime Pass, an effective intervention designed to address bedtime resistance. They also discuss the case of Liv and her mum and how they used the Bedtime Pass to modify sleep behaviors. This case was...

Sleeping challenges in infants and toddlers, especially those with ASD, can prove debilitating to parents. Mandy and Aditi discuss sleep patterns and disorders and give two perspectives on this complex yet essential aspect of life. They share their personal experiences with sleep issues and define what sleep is according to sensory and behavior perspectives. Mandy and Aditi also explore how both f...

ABAs and OTs look at early learning from two very different lenses. Mandy and Aditi define terms according to their sciences and give their insights on the case of Stella, a premature baby. They take a closer look at the sensory and behavioral aspects of early motor development and the roles of classical and operant conditioning. Mandy and Aditi also explore tactile defensiveness, habituation, and...

What is the impact of sensory and behavior on early survival skills? Mandy and Aditi begin with a case study on Aditi's son Tristan who was diagnosed with failure to thrive.  Mandy and Aditi also refer to a behavioral feeding program where differential reinforcement was used alongside other interventions to build adaptive eating repertoires. They also talk how a collaborative sensory and behavior...

Mandy and Aditi discuss why professionals from the two fields find it difficult to be friends. The hosts debunk the biggest myths of their practices and explain the reasons behind this stereotyping.    They also perform a role-play and introduce the ABA and OT Ice Breaker that members from either profession can use to open a conversation that fosters collaboration and leads to positive results.  ...

In this debut episode of The ABA & OT Podcast, Mandy and Aditi discuss the goals of the podcast which center on inter-professional collaboration, education on challenging behavior, and having conversations on the wealth of intersections between the two fields.   Mandy tells the story of her daughter's autism which sparked her interest in applied behavioral analysis (ABA). Similarly, Aditi also sha...