The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

In Session 309, I welcome  Dr. Lyndsy Coffield , Director of Client Success at  Apollo Behavior , to share her unique journey in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and her groundbreaking work training  law enforcement officers on autism awareness . Dr. Coffield's path into ABA began with an undergraduate degree in speech pathology, later becoming an RBT and eventually a BCBA. Today, she...

Episode Overview In this episode, sleep expert Emily Varon returns to the Behavioral Observations Podcast to share her deep expertise in sleep improvement—especially within the autism community. Drawing from 15 years of experience, Emily emphasizes personalized approaches, the role of wearable technology, and the importance of sensitivity when discussing sleep challenges with families. She also di...

In this episode of the Behavioral Observations Podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with  Dr. Brady Phelps , about a topic that has perplexed, and perhaps captivated both mainstream Psychology as well as pop culture:  Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) . Our wide-ranging conversation explored the intersection of  behavior analysis ,  mental health , and  trauma , with a special focus on how w...

Dr. John Guercio  returns to the Behavioral Observations Podcast for his third appearance, bringing his extensive experience and fresh insights into the world of adult services in behavior analysis. In this episode, John and Matt discuss the vital, yet often overlooked, field of supporting adults with autism and other developmental disabilities—particularly those with severe behavioral challenges....

En este episodio, conversamos con el Dr. José Alberto Monseco Gómez —analista de conducta, BCBA® e IBA®— sobre un proceso fascinante, aunque poco comprendido aún por muchos analistas de conducta, en la adquisición del lenguaje: el  naming bidireccional . A través de una charla accesible y llena de ejemplos, exploramos qué es el naming, cómo se relaciona con conceptos fundamentales del análisis de...

Welcome back to the  Inside JABA  series—this is Episode 23, and it's a must-listen for anyone interested in using Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) to improve safety in school settings. In this episode, Dr. Jeannie Donaldson and Gabriela Gomes join Dr. John Borrero and me to discuss the paper, " Effects of differential reinforcement and time-out on the unsafe playground behavior of young children "...

Michal Pollack  joined me to discuss how she uses her training in Behavior Analysis to help her with her personal health and fitness goals. Michal is a Clinical Director at  Apollo Behavior . In this episode, we talk about: How she got her start in Applied Behavior Analysis. How she found her way to Apollo, and what she enjoys about working there. How she realized that getting fit doesn't require...

Behavior Analysis Meets Artificial Intelligence In the second installment of  Behavioral Observations' Frontera Series on AI , I had the pleasure of speaking with  Sydney Holmes , a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and master's level psychologist. Sydney is also the Clinical Product Lead at  Frontera , where she's helping bridge the gap between behavior analysis and artificial intelligence in some...

When it comes to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), much of the focus is often placed on data collection, program goals, and measurable outcomes for the child. But what about the parents? Supporting caregivers is a critical, and sometimes overlooked, component of effective ABA services. In a recent podcast episode, I had the pleasure of sitting down with  Valencia Harper , a seasoned clinician from ...

Kristen McNeely joins me for an informative discussion about the challenging topic of School Refusal and Chronic Absenteeism. If you are in any way connected to a school community, you've probably heard about this difficult and growing problem. As we discuss in this episode, school refusal is an ever-growing concern, and it manifests itself in numerous ways. Kristen is both a BCBA and a Licensed M...

Dr. Bill Ahearn joins me in Session 299 of Behavioral Observation. I met Bill a few times at conferences and I'm so glad we finally had a chance to sit down and record a podcast together. Bill is the  Director of Research  at  The New England Center for Children . Long time listeners may recall that NECC sponsored a series of episodes, and in this podcast, we talked about some of the great researc...

El Estado del Análisis de la Conducta en Puerto Rico con la Dra. Yaniz Padilla Dalmau En este episodio, tuve el honor de conversar con la Dra. Yaniz Padilla Dalmau, una de las voces más comprometidas y visionarias en el desarrollo del análisis de la conducta en Puerto Rico. A través de una charla llena de realidades, aprendizajes y esperanza, exploramos el estado actual de la práctica de ABA en la...

Steve Ward returns to the podcast to talk about a paper he recently published with co-author Teresa Grimes, titled, " 50 Practical Ways to Alter the Relative Efficiencies of Behaviors ." In this conversation, we review the highlights of this paper, and discuss things like The Matching Law, making desired behavior more efficient in generating reinforcement, making problem behaviors less efficient,...

Brandon Franklin returns to the podcast after a very long hiatus. You'll have to go back to Session 36 to hear his first appearance as a matter of fact. It turns out that he's been doing a lot of innovative clinical work in that time. Currently, he is the Chief Behavior Analyst for the  Lee Specialty Clinic  and a Behavioral Consultant at  Kramer Behavioral Health . In these roles, Brandon has imp...

This is not a show about teaching eye contact. We'll get to that in a bit. First though, I should note that the 22nd installment of the Inside JABA Series is coming out comically late. I apologize for getting us off schedule. The good news is that we already have a great paper to discuss for the 23rd Inside JABA episode that I think you're going to love, so I hope to have that one out later on in...

Drs. Ilene Schwartz and Beth Kelly joined me to discuss the never ending conundrum of navigating ethical dilemmas. As Ilene points out in the podcast, most people know right from wrong, but the types of dilemmas BCBAs encounter are what she calls 'right vs. right' dilemmas... Therefore, ethical practice requires a continuous decision making process. And in my guests' view, this is not a matter of...

Many years ago, a wise principal once told me that good instruction is the best classroom management tool teachers have at their disposal. In Session 293, Dr. Todd Haydon joins me to discuss the practice of increasing the rate of students' opportunities to respond (OTR), which is an instructional practice that has been shown to improve classroom behavior. In doing so, Todd and I did a deep dive on...

En este episodio, regresamos al importante tema de la  Evaluación Práctica Funcional (PFA por sus siglas en inglés)  y el  Tratamiento Basado en Habilidades (SBT por sus siglas en inglés) , esta vez explorándolo a través de un estudio de caso. Ana María Méndez-Vides nos guía con claridad y detalle por cada etapa del proceso, desde la evaluación hasta la implementación del tratamiento y sus extensi...

I'm thrilled to announce a new special series for Behavioral Observations! I've partnered with Frontera  to bring you a series of podcasts on using AI to support and enhance ABA therapy. To be candid, I've been a bit behind the curve on learning about AI. Sure, I've played around with ChatGPT, but unless you've been living under a rock, you've likely seen many AI solutions that have been brought t...

Welcome to Session 290 of The Behavioral Observations Podcast. In this episode, I'm joined by  Armando Bernal  and  Andy Bondy . Andy is a known entity both in the field, and to the audience as well, and therefore needs little in the way of introduction. Armando is the founder of Autism International Consulting, which is the only Autistic-owned ABA provider in the Houston, TX area. He shares a tru...

This is a recording of the 2024 Verbal Behavior Conference Panel Discussion, which I had the honor of moderating along with VBC founder, Kelle Rich. The participants included Drs. Patrick McGreevey, Eb Blakely, Alice Shillingsburg, Mirela Cengher, Hank Schlinger, and the incomparable Lina Slim. As you'll hear, this was a lively conversation, and what I love about this event is that there was not o...

I'm not sure about you, but I did not get a lot of training in self-management when I was a graduate student (but cut me some slack... I was in an EAB program!). If you're in the same boat as I am, then you're in luck. In Session 288, I'm joined by Katie Croce and Jamie Salter, and in our conversation, they provided their unique strategies for fostering self-management using the  Self and Match  s...

As Juliet asks, " what's in a name? " in that Shakespeare play every 9th grader reads, I too ask the put the same question to today's guest, Dr. Caio Miguel. Welcome to Session 287 of the Behavioral Observations Podcast! Literary allusions aside, in this episode, Caio walks us through the concept of Bidirectional Naming, and its implications for research and practice. In this conversation, we use...

Do you ever struggle getting your message across to co-workers, parents, or teachers? I sure have. And when it comes down to implementing behavioral interventions of any kind, the consequences of not being understood can be quite high for the learners in our care. Think about it for a minute, if someone doesn't implement a behavior plan correctly, people can get hurt. If someone doesn't implement...

La Evaluación Práctica Funcional y el Tratamiento Basado en Habilidades Con Beatriz Urcuyo y Rafael Argueta La evaluación y el tratamiento de problemas severos de conducta han sido prácticas fundamentales dentro del análisis conductual aplicado, proporcionando un apoyo esencial para las personas con desafíos en el desarrollo y sus familias. Los análisis funcionales han marcado una gran diferencia...