The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

The latest issue of JABA starts off with an editorial by the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior's (SEAB) board in which it issued a statement of concern for the controversial paper titled, Behavioral treatment of deviant sex-role behaviors in a male child . This paper described a case study conducted by George Rekers and Ivar Lovaas, and was published in the pages of JABA in 1974. T...

Amelia Bowler, author of  The Parent's Guide to Oppositional Defiant Disorder: Your Questions Answered , joins me in Session 134 to talk about her work and personal experiences in supporting individuals with ODD. In this podcast, Amelia demystifies the term ODD and distinguishes it from other emotional/behavioral disorders. She also discusses the importance of developing relationships with individ...

Behavioral Karma: The 5 Scientific Laws of Life and Leadership * is the book that was just recently published by Brett DiNovi and Dr. Pauli Gavoni. In this episode, we talked about what these five laws are, and how one can apply them to just about anything in life, and see positive outcomes as a result. Because both of these gentlemen are previous guests on the show, we started off by catching up...

Dr. Nick Green joins me in Session 132 for his third appearance on the show. In this episode, we discuss: How he responded to being furloughed for a few months. His contributions to Covid-19 research at the University of Florida. Nick's general principles on how he helps clients develop and accomplish fitness goals. How to overcome barriers to fitness, especially when gyms are closed. What are som...

Dr. Camille Kolu joins me in Session 131 to provide a primer on all things Trauma, and how this broad area applies to the practice of Behavior Analysis In this interview, Camille talked about how she began working in the area of trauma, what is trauma actually, how she screens for trauma histories, what ABA practices are contra-indicated for individuals with traumatic backgrounds, and so much more...

I've never attended  CalABA . In fact, I've never even set foot in the state. And while I live all the way across the country, I recognize the importance of Behavior Analysts banding together to advocate for our clients, our communities, and of course, our profession. When  CalABA  had to cancel their conference in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the timing was such that they were not able to r...

It's back to school time for children, and in this day and age, school is looking a bit different than it has historically. In my neck of the woods, school districts are reopening with a few different models ranging from fully online/remote, hybrid in-person/remote, and full in-person instruction.  It's hard to tell what impact this might have on our children's ability to learn the basics, and it...

Dr. Mary Jane Weiss  joins me in Session 128 to talk about the evolution of the practice of Applied Behavior Analysis. This is the second interview that was recorded live during the virtual  Behavior Analyst Leadership Council  Conference that was held in April 2020. Mary Jane's accomplishments in the field are too great to list here in their entirety, but this bio-sketch should give you a bit of...

As we discussed in the  recent Inside JABA Series podcast , Applied Behavior Analysis has a long history of helping people improve their fitness, nutrition, and overall well-being. In Session 127, Brandon May joins me to delve into this history a little further, while at the same time highlighting some of the amazing research he's conducted in this area (two quick examples of this include teaching...

I had the honor of conducting two interviews at the  Behavior Analyst Leadership Council 's 2020 virtual conference back in April. In Session 126, I'm sharing the first one of those conversations, and it is with a name that should be familiar listeners, and that's Dr. Antonio Harrison ( @onecoachdoc ). Antonio, as many listeners will remember, was instrumental in pulling together and facilitating ...

In Session 125, I had the opportunity to speak with Drs. Corina Jimenez-Gomez and Chris Podlesnik . While we spent a good deal of time discussing translational works in Behavior Analysis and covered important topics like resurgence, renewal, relapse, and generalization. We also discussed things like the ABAI Science Blog - which I highly recommend checking out, and what it's like to find a job as...

The killing of George Floyd and others by police officers seems to have caused considerable reflection on how policing occurs in the United States. We first covered this topic in  Session 73  in my interview with Dr. Amy Smith Wiech, and if you're interested in this topic, I would suggest going back and checking that one out. That episode aside, I think many of us in America are trying to come to...

In the fourth edition of the Inside JABA Series, I am joined by Drs. Dorothea Lerman, Linda LeBlanc, and Matt Normand to discuss the forthcoming  JABA Special Series on Telehealth and Public Health . Linda  and  Matt  are no strangers to this podcast, but this is  Dorothy Lerman's  first time on the show, so by way of introduction, she is currently a Professor of Behavior Analysis at the Universit...

"Does anyone have a social story for [insert challenging situation here]?" Chances are if you're like me, you've seen this question on the various ABA Facebook groups. Very often, the responses to questions like these generate some controversy, or at the very least, arguing over the empirical support for the use of Social Stories and other story-based narrative interventions. One of these types of...

Russ Harris and I recorded this episode about three or four weeks ago, when the world's troubles centered around the challenges with Covid-19 related stay-at-home measures. It's amazing how fast things have changed since then! In light of the social upheaval as people in the United States and beyond come to grips with tragic examples of racism and injustice, getting irritated by one's family membe...

Since the killing of George Floyd, I've had colleagues approach me with suggestions on how to address the issue of police brutality and racism on Behavioral Observations. To be honest, none of the suggestions were entirely satisfying. As a white guy living in one of the whitest states in America - someone who has not had any mistreatment based on his skin color - other than condemn the actions of...

Providing feedback to staff members is essential for delivering quality services, but doing it effectively is easier said than done. That's why I'm excited to share this conversation I had with Dr. Natalie Parks from BehaviorLeader.com . Natalie, along with co-authors Adam Ventura, Erica Crowley, and Dennis Uriarte, just published " Feedback F!@# Ups and How to Avoid Them ," and in Session 119, we...

You may recall that a few months back, I interviewed Dr. David Cox ( @davidjcox_ ). In our discussion, we spent a fair amount of time talking about the literature on the use of psychedelics for the treatment of a variety of behavioral and mental health challenges. I recently got the opportunity to extend this conversation with Dr. Matthew Johnson ( @Drug_Researcher ). Matt Johnson is a Professor o...

You may recall that in Session 112 I chatted with  Kelle Rich  about, among other things, the upcoming  Verbal Behavior Conference . In these pre-pandemic times, the event was supposed to be held in Austin, Texas. However, in anticipation of the stay-at-home orders, quarantines, and so forth, Kelle wisely shifted this event to the online space. So VBC 2020 became a virtual conference, and was exec...

This episode of the Behavioral Observations Podcast is brought to you by Behavior University and GoLotus . Behavior University's mission is to provide you with university quality continuing education. If you're in quarantine like I am, take this time to brush up on your skills, or push yourself to learn something new. For great deals for podcast listeners, head over to behavioruniversity.com/obser...

You've more than likely heard the saying, " A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush ." In the third installment of the Inside JABA Series, Dr. Iser DeLeon, along with Inside JABA regulars Drs. Tiger and St. Peter we do a deep-dive into the topic of accumulated versus distributed reinforcement arrangements to see if this adage is true in the context of skill acquisition and problem behavior. I'...

In these unprecedented times of social isolation, public education has made a rapid shift towards a distance learning model. It's probably not a surprise that outcomes will vary for students based on myriad factors. If you'd like to become more involved in your child's educational progress to ensure your child's success, then this is the podcast for you! Amy Evans, who is an expert in Instructiona...

Dr. Derek Reed joins me today to discuss the behavioral economic principles that underpin so much of what we're seeing today as the world attempts to cope with the Coronavirus pandemic. From buying all the toilet paper in sight, to heeding (or more to the point, not heeding) government guidelines for social distancing, Derek relates these behavioral patterns to some very basic operant principles....

A few weeks ago, I sat down with Kelle Rich, founder of the Central Texas Autism Center , to discuss a handful of topics, one if which being the upcoming Verbal Behavior Conference . If you've tuned into the last few episodes, you've likely heard me talk about this event. At the time of our conversation, the Coronavirus was just coming onto the nation's radar screen, but the "plan" was to go ahead...

Almost from the outset of the podcast, people have been asking me to get Steve Ward on the show. If you're not familiar with Steve, he is the co-founder of  Whole Child Consulting , and co-author of The Inventory of Good Learner Repertoires (amongst many other books). In this episode, Steve and I talk about his paper that discusses the role of humor in behavioral interventions. We also talk about...