Supporting Parents in ABA Services with Valencia Harper from Apollo Behavior: Session 301

Supporting Parents in ABA Services with Valencia Harper from Apollo Behavior: Session 301

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 Apollo Behavior, to talk about her thoughtful approach to working with families.

Long-time listeners may remember Valencia from our Apollo Case Study Series, where she and her colleagues discussed mentoring new practitioners. This time around, we shifted gears to focus on her insights into caregiver collaboration—and the conversation did not disappoint.

From Smoothies to Strategy: Valencia's Journey

Valencia opened up about her own career beginnings, including a memorable (and messy) first day involving a smoothie spill. That moment, though humbling, marked the start of a journey that led her to become the confident and effective BCBA she is today.

Through years of experience, she has developed a deep appreciation for the unique challenges parents face—and a toolkit for meeting them with empathy, clarity, and respect.

What Parents Really Need from ABA Providers

Throughout the episode, Valencia shared key insights into how BCBAs can better support the families they serve. Here are a few highlights from our discussion:

1. Listening Builds Rapport

Rather than jumping into solutions, Valencia emphasizes the power of active listening. Parents often come to the table with a wealth of experience and emotion. Taking time to truly hear them builds trust and sets the tone for collaboration.

2. BCBAs Don't Have to Know Everything

It can be tempting to feel like we have to have all the answers. But Valencia reminds us that being transparent about what we don't know—while showing a commitment to learning—can strengthen relationships rather than weaken them.

3. Prioritize Parental Concerns

Instead of sticking strictly to what the data says, Valencia encourages clinicians to take parent priorities seriously. If bedtime battles or sibling conflicts are top of mind for the family, addressing those concerns can lead to more engagement and faster progress.

4. Clarify ABA Jargon

Parents may struggle with technical terms or misunderstand the purpose of certain procedures. Valencia discusses how breaking things down into digestible language helps reduce frustration and builds empowerment.

5. Combat Learned Helplessness

Some caregivers come into services feeling defeated or disconnected. Valencia talks about how to gently challenge that mindset and offer small, achievable strategies that rebuild parental confidence.

6. Teach How to Set Limits

Supporting families doesn't stop with behavior plans. Valencia shares tips for coaching parents on how to set clear, developmentally appropriate limits without escalating the situation.

7. Responding to "We've Already Tried That"

This common phrase can be frustrating for clinicians, but Valencia reframes it as an opportunity to validate parents' experiences and reintroduce strategies with better context or support.

Inside Apollo's Approach to Caregiver Training

Valencia also gave us a behind-the-scenes look at how Apollo Behavior structures its caregiver support. From structured training sessions to informal check-ins, their model integrates parent collaboration as a core component of service delivery—not an afterthought.

Resources Mentioned in the Episode

If you're looking to dive deeper into the themes we discussed, here are a few recommended reads and links from the show:

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Verbal Behavior and Relational Frame Theory: Session 80 with David Palmer and Josh Pritchard

Verbal Behavior and Relational Frame Theory: Session 80 with David Palmer and Josh Pritchard

My original plan was to chat with Drs. David Palmer and Josh Pritchard about the distinctions between the Verbal Behavior, or traditional Skinnerian approach to language and cognition, and Relational Frame Theory. Well, what happened was we had a technical glitch that prevented Josh from joining Dave and me, so for the first 15-20 minutes, it's just the two of us… Fortunately, we figured out the problem, and then Josh was able to join the conversation. So think of this podcast as being presented in two acts. What was great about this conversation was how amiably my guests were able to talk about these differing points of view. What was disappointing about this conversation… was how amiably my guests were able to talk about these differing points of view. I'm kidding of course. And this is a topic I would like to return to from time to time. I would love to hear what you think about it, so please go to the show notes for this episode, or comment on your social media channel of choice. We mentioned a handful of articles, and I've tried my best to provide links below. I may have missed one here and there, so let me know if you catch a reference that didn't make it into the session notes. And while you're at behavioralobservations.com, sign up for the newsletter, and you'll get the show notes for subsequent episodes delivered directly to your email inbox. Data in Search of a Principle (Palmer, 2004) A Behavioral Interpretation of Memory (Palmer, 1991) Stimulus Equivalence and Arbitrary Applicable Relational Responding (Steele and Hayes, 1991) Relational Frame Theory: An Overview of the Controversy (Gross and Fox, 2009) Caio Miguel's Google Scholar page Some Logical Functions of Joint Control (Lowenkron, 1998) Some Thoughts on the Relation Between Derived Relation Responding and Verbal Behavior (Moore, 2015) Session 80 of this podcast was brought to you by the following: The Essential for Living assessment and curriculum. Get free shipping on all purchases until June 1st by using the discount code EFLBOP0501 NH ABA is hosting Dr. Solandy Forte on April 19th from 9-12 in Bedford NH for a CEU event. The title of the event is Navigating through Cultural Barriers in Applied Behavior Analysis, and is good for 3 Ethics CE's. Again, for links to this event, simply go to the show notes for this episode, or visit NHABA.net Lastly, Remote Fieldwork Supervision for BCBA Trainees, the book I co-wrote with Dr. Lisa Britton, who is an expert in providing high quality distance based supervision, is now out.

29 Mars 20191h 30min

A Behavioral Analysis of Mass Shootings: Session 79 with Merrill Winston

A Behavioral Analysis of Mass Shootings: Session 79 with Merrill Winston

In Session 79, I speak with Dr. Merrill Winston about the topic of mass shootings. During our chat, Merrill mentioned that mass shooting events will continue to happen. Sadly, his words were prescient, because a few days after we recorded our conversation, the horrific events in New Zealand took place. I suppose the tenor of the discussion would've been more somber if the timing was reversed, and speaking for myself, I apologize if the conversation comes off as tone deaf or unserious. Nevertheless, I have reached out to other behavior analysts who have looked at this topic, and if this is something you'd like to hear more about, please let me know and I'll schedule some additional interviews. In any case, despite the sad nature of the subject matter, I hope you find Merrill's analysis of these events as interesting and thought provoking as I did. Here are some links that we either discussed and/or may be of interest: Merrill's slide show on mass shootings The book, What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat, by Louise Richardson The Professional Crisis Management Association website The PCMA YouTube channel, where Merrill has posted videos on several different topics of interest A video teaser for Merrill's upcoming appearance on The Controversial Exchange podcast This podcast is supported by: Essential for Living: A Communication, Behavior, and Life Skills Curriculum, Assessment, and Practitioner's Handbook. From now through 6/1/2019, get free shipping on all purchases using offer code EFLBOP0501 HRIC... Your new career path starts here. Let Barb Voss find you your dream job, or, if you're an agency, let her find you your dream candidate! Let her 30 years of recruiting experience work for you. If you're interested in learning more, email her for a confidential chat

22 Mars 20191h 53min

PBIS, School Mental Health, and Supporting Students with Trauma: Session 78 with Barry McCurdy

PBIS, School Mental Health, and Supporting Students with Trauma: Session 78 with Barry McCurdy

Dr. Barry McCurdy is the Director of the Devereux's Center for Effective Schools. In this episode, we talk about his work in supporting students with significant behavioral challenges in urban public school settings. Barry's primary research interest in the treatment of disruptive behavior disorders has led to several prevention/early intervention initiatives in urban schools including the development of models for school-wide positive behavior support, school-based parent training, and classroom-based behavior management. During this interview, we referred to a variety of people, resources, studies, and so on. I have attempted to capture links to all of them here: The Center for Effective Schools site The Center for Management of ADHD Project Follow Through report from the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies The Student Risk Screening Scale (SRSS) Deliberate Coaching (Gavoni & Weatherby, 2019) Edna Foa's Amazon author's page (many PTSD resources!) Judith Cohen's Amazon author's page (many Trauma Focused CBT resources) An overview of Team Initiated Problem Solving (TIPS) This session of The Behavioral Observations Podcast was supported by Behavior University. If you're looking for some great online continuing ed, BU has some great deals right now: In the spirit of March Madness, they are offering a discount on all seats for live webinars sold in March. Only $20 will get you up close and personal with leaders in the field like Matt Brodhead, Jonathan Tarbox, Joe Lucyshyn and others. The sale ends March 31, 2019 so grab those seats before they're gone. For more information, go to behavioruniversity.com/observations! Also, if you're interested in providing remote supervision, or supervision in general, check out the forthcoming book that Dr. Lisa Britton and I wrote. It's call Remote Fieldwork Supervision for BCBA Trainees, and you can find more information about it by clicking here.

7 Mars 20191h 23min

Q and A with Pat Friman! Session 77

Q and A with Pat Friman! Session 77

Pat Friman was gracious enough to spend a large chunk of a Saturday chatting with The Behavioral Observations Membership Group.If you're not familiar with the group, it is a membership program (think a DIY Patreon) in which about every two months, I bring a former podcast guest on to a Zoom call, and the members get ask their questions directly. We've been doing it for about two years or so and it's a lot of fun.So on this call, we got to ask Pat all sorts of questions, like why he gets up at three am, how to deal with bedtime behavior problems, dealing with ABA "haters," the now infamous "Pink sweater lady," and more.If you're not familiar with the Pink Lady story, check it out here on The Daily BA YouTube channel:This podcast was supported by the 4-day ACT BootCamp for Behavior Analysts workshop in Reno, Nevada, with Steven C. Hayes, Evelyn Gould, Mark Dixon, and David Sloan Wilson.This will take place March 7-10, 2019, and will provide 32 Type 2 CE's! This BootCamp is designed to provide behavior analysts a foundational understanding of acceptance and commitment training (ACT).ACT's conceptual and empirical basis has strengthened considerably over the last three decades, and it is now fully entering into the armamentarium of BCBAs in areas like parent training, staff management & development, organizational work, work with developmentally delayed populations or the chronically mentally ill, educational settings with special needs students, and beyond.For more details, click here, and if you do decide to go, use code BEHAVEOBS19 at checkout to save $50!

25 Feb 20191h 21min

Adolescent Mental Health, Parent Training, ACT, and More! Session 76 with Evelyn Gould

Adolescent Mental Health, Parent Training, ACT, and More! Session 76 with Evelyn Gould

Dr. Evelyn Gould joins me in Session 76 to chat about a variety of things, including her work in parent training and supporting adolescents with mental health challenges as a Clinical Behavior Analyst. We also talk about her early training in Behavior Analysis, both here in the United States, as well as in Northern Ireland. I think you'll enjoy hearing how these early experiences shaped her as a clinician, as well as learn a thing or two about how to (appropriately/legally) stalk people you look up to! I had such a good time chatting with Evelyn that we didn't even get to the listener submitted questions (sorry!!!). So naturally, we'll have to have her back for a round two on the podcast. We didn't talk about a ton of resources, but here are the ones that I do recall: The paper on parent training (Gould, Tarbox, and Coyne, 2018). The DNA-v curriculum Evelyn uses. The ACT Bootcamp for Behavior Analysts, March 7-10, 2019 (if you decide to go, save $50 off of registration by using promo code BEHAVEOBS19). This podcast is also brought to you by HRIC, providing personalized job search and placement services. Let Barb Voss help you find your dream job, or your dream candidate! Click here to schedule a confidential appointment!

11 Feb 20191h 22min

Matt Brodhead Returns to Discuss Scope of Competence for BCBAs: Session 75

Matt Brodhead Returns to Discuss Scope of Competence for BCBAs: Session 75

The last time we checked in with Dr. Matt Brodhead, he was putting the final touches on his book, Practical Ethics for Effective Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Well, he's been out on the speaking circuit now that the book has been out for some time, so I thought it would be a good idea for him to return to the show and discuss what he's hearing out in the field as he makes his way from conference to conference. And since Matt has been on the show, The Behavioral Observations Podcast has become one of his mother's favorite things to listen to. Don't believe me? Check this out: In this episode we also tackle quite a few listener questions as well, most of which had to do with how to define or obtain competence in a given area of Behavior Analysis. Along the way, we discussed the following articles: A Call for Discussion About Scope of Competence in Behavior Analysis (Brodhead, Quigley, & Wilczynski, 2018). A survey of functional behavior assessment methods used by behavior analysts in practice (Oliver, Pratt, & Normand, 2015). A statewide survey assessing practitioners' use and perceived utility of functional assessment (Roscoe et. al., 2015). And by the way, follow Matt on Twitter (@mattbrodhead)! This session of The Behavioral Observations Podcast is sponsored by Praxis Continuing Education & Training: The 4-day ACT BootCamp for Behavior Analysts workshop in Reno, Nevada, with Steven C. Hayes, Evelyn Gould, Mark Dixon, and David Sloan Wilson. This will take place March 7-10, 2019, and will provide 32 Type 2 CE's! This BootCamp is designed to provide behavior analysts a foundational understanding of acceptance and commitment training (ACT). ACT's conceptual and empirical basis has strengthened considerably over the last three decades, and it is now fully entering into the armamentarium of BCBAs in areas like parent training, staff management & development, organizational work, work with developmentally delayed populations or the chronically mentally ill, educational settings with special needs students, and beyond. For more details, click here, and if you do decide to go, use code BEHAVEOBS19 at checkout to save $50! Behavior University. BU's mission is to provide university-quality continuing education to Behavior Analysis practitioners in a convenient and affordable format. Save 10% on all Continuing Education and training products with the code PODCAST. Click here for more details. The Himalaya Podcast app. Are you frustrated with the native Apple Podcast app, which seems to get worse and worse with each "update"? Are you an Android user who is looking for a better podcast experience? Then download Himalaya to your device and decide whether this is a better alternative. Oh, and be sure to follow The Behavioral Observations Podcast when you do!

7 Feb 20191h

11 Tips for Consulting in Public School Settings, Session 74

11 Tips for Consulting in Public School Settings, Session 74

When things are going as they should, I usually have two to four interviews recorded and ready to go at any given time. However, for several reasons I got behind the 8-ball as the saying goes. And when a recent interview was cancelled I was left without a third show for January. So rather than go without, I thought I'd put out a solo episode, and share some general thoughts I have regarding consulting in public school settings. The timing of this was oddly fortuitous, mainly because I've been thinking a lot about the "soft skills," in the practice of Behavior Analysis. As a result, I sat down at my computer and made a bullet list of what 11 tips or suggestions for effective consultation. As I mention in the beginning of the episode, I do not present these from up upon a soapbox. I learned many of these lessons the hard way. Another thing I'd like to mention is that many of these tips sound really obvious, and can be thought of as belonging in the realm of common sense. But I ask you to trust me, because common sense doesn't always prevail. Here are the two articles I mentioned: Compassionate Care in Behavior Analytic Treatment (Taylor, LeBlanc, & Nosik, 2018). Maintaining Professional Relationships in an Interdisciplinary Setting (Brodhead, 2015). Lastly, given that this is my first solo episode, feel free to send me some feedback. I plan on sticking with the interview format, but I'd love to know how a show like this is received in case this situation comes up again. This session of The Behavioral Observations Podcast is sponsored by Praxis Continuing Education & Training: Join Praxis Continuing Education & Training for the 4-day ACT BootCamp for Behavior Analysts workshop in Reno, Nevada, with Steven C. Hayes, Evelyn Gould, Mark Dixon, and David Sloan Wilson. This will take place March 7-10, 2019, and will provide 32 Type 2 CE's! This BootCamp is designed to provide behavior analysts a foundational understanding of acceptance and commitment training (ACT). ACT's conceptual and empirical basis has strengthened considerably over the last three decades, and it is now fully entering into the armamentarium of BCBAs in areas like parent training, staff management & development, organizational work, work with developmentally delayed populations or the chronically mentally ill, educational settings with special needs students, and beyond. What's new at this BootCamp? Prosocial methods for groups! All successful behavior analysis programs have to deal with groups, whether it be with schools, agencies, businesses, or their own staff. This year, we will emphasize how ACT and RFT can empower organizational and team effectiveness. Renowned evolutionary scientist David Sloan Wilson, PhD, will train you on how to implement Prosocial, a new method for helping groups work better together. For more details, click here, and if you do decide to go, use code BEHAVEOBS19 at checkout to save $50!

29 Jan 201940min

Actively Caring for People Police... Session 73 with Amy Smith Wiech

Actively Caring for People Police... Session 73 with Amy Smith Wiech

Dr. Amy Smith Wiech joins me in Session 73 to talk about the implementation of Geller's Actively Caring for People (AC4P) movement in Law Enforcement settings. At its core, ABA is about solving socially relevant problems, and the issue of police shootings, and in a broader sense, police-community relations, couldn't be more relevant these days. If you're not familiar with AC4P, don't worry... Amy breaks it down for us, and if you're still looking for more information, she provided me this treasure-trove of links to additional resources. This session of The Behavioral Observations Podcast is brought to with the support of the following: The Himalaya Podcast app. Are you frustrated with the native Apple Podcast app, which seems to get worse and worse with each "update"? Are you an Android user who is looking for a better podcast experience? Then download Himalaya to your device and decide whether this is a better alternative. Oh, and be sure to follow The Behavioral Observations Podcast when you do! HRIC, which brings 30 years of recruiting experience to help BCBA's find their dream jobs. Find out about available positions in your area, what type of salaries you should expect, and more! Click here to schedule your confidential inquiry.

18 Jan 201953min

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