45: Wayne Fisher on Functional Analysis and Treatment

Dr. Wayne Fisher has spent decades researching the assessment and treatment of severe behavior problems. In Session 45 of The Behavioral Observations Podcast, he joins me to discuss current Functional Analysis and Function-Based Treatment strategies, his concerns for the field as it experiences rapid expansion, and advice for new practitioners. Here is his bio-sketch from the Munroe-Meyer Institute's website: Wayne Fisher is the H.B. Munroe professor of behavioral research in the Munroe-Meyer Institute and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He is also the director of the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at the Munroe-Meyer Institute, a board certified behavior analyst at the doctoral level (BCBA-D), and a licensed psychologist. He was previously a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and served as executive director of the Neurobehavioral Programs at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and the Marcus Behavior Center at the Marcus Institute, where he built clinical-research programs in autism and developmental disabilities with national reputations for excellence. Fisher's methodologically sophisticated research has focused on several intersecting lines, including preference, choice, and the assessment and treatment of autism and severe behavior disorders, that have been notable for the creative use of concurrent schedules of reinforcement, which have become more commonplace in clinical research primarily as a result of his influence. He has published over 175 peer-reviewed research studies in over 30 different behavioral and/or medical journals, including: the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis; Psychological Reports; American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities; Journal of Pediatrics; the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics; Pediatrics; and The Lancet. Fisher is a past editor of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, a past president of the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, a fellow in the Association for Behavior Analysis, and recipient of the Bush Leadership Award, the APA (Division 25) Award for Outstanding Contributions to Applied Behavioral Research, the UNMC Distinguished Scientist Award, and the University of Nebraska system-wide Award for Outstanding Research and Creativity Activity. Session 45 of The Behavioral Observations Podcast is sponsored by Chartlytics.com and Operantcoffee.com. Chartlytics has set up a special page on their site for listeners to this podcast. Specifically, they are offering the following: A free webinar that provides a 1-Credit Type 2 Continuing Education Unit A free eBook on Precision Teaching and Standard Celeration Charting A 10% discount on upcoming Chartlytics workshops To learn more about these discounts and freebies, go to Chartlytics.com/matt. If you want some awesome coffee that is sustainably produced that happens to be 10% off, go to operantcoffee.com/shop and use the discount code BEHAVIORCOFFEE.