The Autism Helper Podcast

Assessments can easily seem overwhelming and daunting. Many formal assessments may not provide sufficient information for planning goals and instruction. In this episode, BCBAs Shira Karpel and Shayna Gaunt from How to ABA break assessments and share actionable tips for your classroom. Shira and Shayna review why assessment is important, how often assessments should be conducted, and how to use in...

Episode 219: Tips for Utilizing the VB-MAPP with Nicole Morris The VB-MAPP is the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program. BCBA, Nicole Morris, breaks down why this tool is useful and how to streamline implementation within the classroom. Nicole gives an overview of what the VB-MAPP is and how it can help plan your instruction. Giving this assessment can be overwhelming, but Ni...

The Executive Functions Masterclass is reopening for enrollment on 3/1! This course has been taken by hundreds of teachers, clinicians, and parents with consistently great reviews. This course will prepare you to support struggling learners by building executive functioning skills. You will learn how to assess skills, create a thorough plan, and develop proactive supports. In this episode, we revi...

Executive functions expert and coach, Seth Perler, shares what executive functions are and why these skills are critically important for success. Seth and I cover a lot of topics from strategies to family involvement to the role of mental health and more. Seth shares great examples and actionable strategies you can incorporate into your class or home right away. https://sethperler.com/ https://exe...

Marydee Sklar is a learning coach and executive functioning skills expert. Marydee is the founder of the Seeing My Time® Program, a scaffolded curriculum that builds metacognitive awareness. In this episode, Marydee explores why time management in particular is such an essential skill and the impact a struggle in this area can have on an individual. She also gives an overview of why metacognition...

Life skills to me are more than vocational skills and what we teach in high school and transition. Life Skills are things that we want to really start early on because these are the important behaviors that we need to be independent and to be successful later in life. Our team is hard at work creating the latest subject of our  Leveled Daily Curriculum  -   Life Skills ! It will be focused on teac...

Heather Cacioppo is a former special education teacher and currently a Special Education Curriculum and Assessment Facilitator. In this episode, Heather breaks down how to overcome the common obstacles that teachers face to collect consistent data within the classroom. She shares tips on scheduling, goal prioritization, and staff collaboration. Heather also explores digital data collection with go...

The Autism Helper Professional Development Membership provides ongoing training, resources, and consultation. In this episode, learn the 5 positive impacts that joining this membership can have on your classroom. Enrollment is only open from 1/24 - 1/31. This is the last time this membership will open this school year. When you join the membership, you will get access to the new, upcoming Data Cou...

School-based BCBA, Christina Herrera discusses what it means to be a “basic BCBA.” In this episode, we explore why outdated practices persist and how clinicians and educators can better meet the needs of the whole child. Christina reviews the role of a school-based BCBA and how it has helped make her a better practitioner. Follow Christina @inclusive_aba_ -------------- The Autism Helper Professio...

There are no magic wands when it comes to behavior change but there are quick wins. Quick wins are actionable strategies that can help move your behavior strategies in the right direction. These are tools to add to your toolbox. Not every tool works for every students, but having more resources has you better equipped to meet the needs of your learners. In this episode, I introduce my 10 Quick Win...

Problem-solving is an essential skill that may sometimes require more focused direct instruction. Dr. Victoria Castillo shares her recent study on using problem-solving strategies for social problems. She explains why this skill is so important and what strategies can be used to build these skills. Dr. Castillo is a senior care manager at Humana and an adjunct professor for the Masters in ABA prog...

Jenny Friedman MS, RD is a dietitian who helps families overcome picky eating and extreme pediatric feeding challenges. In this episode, Jenny shares tips and strategies for how to handle food anxiety, sensory disorders, and repeated refusal. She covers why eating and mealtimes can be stressful and what caregivers and educators can do to make the process less aversive. Jenny is the author of Stori...

Mallory Anderson-Macy, BCBA, is passionate about sharing the positive impacts of Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT). She currently works on helping parents and clients by focusing on Clinician Training around ACT and Life Balance. Mallory believes intervention starts with people who are at their best. When clinicians are supported they will better support parents and the staff they supervise- lea...

Saundra Bishop, MS, BCBA is the founder, CEO, and Clinical Director of the DC based BASICS ABA Therapy. She has over 18 years of experience working in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and with people with Autism/Autistic people and has been a BCBA for over 11 years and is licensed in Virginia and Maryland. She is especially passionate about Trauma-Informed Behavior Management and on using teaching...

Janna and Morgan share actionable tips and strategies for moving beyond requesting with your learners that use AAC. Janna Bedoyan is an early childhood special education teacher and AAC specialist. Morgan van Diepens is a BCBA. We discuss the biggest challenges of incorporating AAC into the home or classroom, why kids often get “stuck” at requesting, and what are some functional strategies to enco...

On this podcast episode, Sasha gives the rundown on the 2nd annual Autism Connection Conference that's coming up on December 3rd, 2022!  The Autism Connection is a live, full-day virtual event sharing best practices for teachers and clinicians supporting learners with autism. This live Continuing Education Units (CEU) event is designed to provide actionable steps for special education teachers...

Hellen Adedipe is a BCBA specializing in early intervention. In this episode, Hellen discusses the new CDC Milestones that were released earlier this year and the implication these changes have. She gives strategies and suggestions for what to do if your child isn’t meeting developmental milestones. She also shares what educators can do to promote early intervention. Hellen is a Board-Certified Be...

Creating an optimal environment for learning is essential in both the school and home setting. In this episode, parent coach Bea Moise shares tips and best practices for setting up a successful setting for homeschooling, homework time, or any at-home learning. These actionable strategies will be helpful with all types of learners. Bea shares valuable insights from her experience home-schooling her...

Curriculum Access is a subscription platform created for school districts that provides a comprehensive and differentiated curriculum for special education teachers. In this episode, I share the background of how The Autism Helper Curriculum was created and why we created Curriculum Access. I also share actionable tips on how you can get Curriculum Access in your classroom. More info or request a...

In this episode, BCBA Dr. Ariana Boutain shares what Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions are and why these are extremely beneficial for learners. Ariana is the Vice President of Clinical Services with KGH Autism and has supported implementation of NDBI at KGH Clinics. NDBI represents the merge of applied behavior analysis (ABA) and developmental science. This empirically supported...

To celebrate our 200th episode, The Autism Helper’s Director of Digital Marketing, Fran Homan, is interviewing Sasha! Sasha shares behind the scenes of starting the podcast, what some unanticipated challenges were, and some of her most memorable interviews. Sasha also goes in-depth into how The Autism Helper started and what are our plans for the future. To all of our listeners: THANK YOU for help...

Communication skill-building should be embedded into all parts of your day. 3 stations that lend itself to building communication skills in a fun and hands-on way are art, cooking, and games. In this episode, I share why these stations are great for increasing communication skills and how to set these up in your classroom. Resources: Visual Recipes: https://shop.theautismhelper.com/search?type=pro...

Organization is key in a multi-grade classroom with students at various skill levels. When we have students at so many skill levels, there are so many different resources that we need. In order to teach each learner at the level they are at, we need to stay organized. In this episode, I share simple strategies for setting up and maintaining your organization systems. -------------- Sign up for the...

The Autism Helper Professional Development Membership provides ongoing training, resources, and support to help create the best educational outcomes for learners with autism. The membership gives you a plan. The membership gives you a community. -------------------- Sign up for the Autism Connection Conference now! Early bird pricing ends 11/19/22: https://events.zoom.us/e/view/EZ_y1AGdRayth6lIHOS...

The 3 Bin work task system is commonly used in special education classrooms. This structured teaching approach comes from the TEAACH method. This work task system provides significant structure for independent work tasks. For some students, this structure is necessary to build those independent skills. However, there are some big challenges for teachers to maintain the 3 bin work task system throu...