Sleep, Autism, and Screen Time: Session 308 with Emily Varon

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 his concept of "task as reinforcer," and then digress into helping kids who present with oppositional repertoires. We discussed a ton of resources, and I have done my best to capture them below. If you like the kind of approach that Steve offers, he is conducting a webinar that's hosted by The Applied Behavior Analysis Center on June 16th, 2020. ABAC is offering a 20% discount on this event as well as others to podcast listeners. If you're interested in checking this out, go to abacnj.com and use the code ABACBO20 at check out. With a few exceptions, this discount is available for most of the ABAC webinars, so hit the show notes for more details. Steve's ABAC webinar. The Inventory of Good Learner Repertoires. Teaching Good Learner Repertoires. Teaching Advanced Learner Repertoires. What You Need to Know About Motivation and Teaching Games: An In-Depth Analysis. Another 21 Games: This Time, It's Personal. Task-as-reinforcer BAP paper. Using Humor paper. An Operant Analysis of Joint Attention (Holth, 2005). Today's show is brought to you with the generous support of: HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. Like Batman, she works alone, which means that when you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb and get highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away. The Behavior Analysis Student Association from Florida Tech. In somewhat of a role-reversal, Behavioral Observations is sponsoring their annual student conference, which is taking place on April 17th, in sunny Melbourne, FL. This event will feature presentations from people such as Drs. Sarah Bloom and Tim Vollmer. It's good for 5 CEU's and both on and off site registration options are available. This is a student fundraiser, so no promo codes but don't worry, the early-bird registration price is absurdly cheap! For more information, go to FIT.edu/continuing-education. On April 20th, Hillcrest Educational Centers is hosting Dr. Greg Hanley for a full day workshop in Pittsfield, MA. The event is titled, "How to provide happy, relaxed and engaged treatment." Attendees will earn 7 CE's. Save on your registration by using the promo code YEARN.

13 Mars 20201h 22min

Rebecca Womack, who is the Director of Clinical Compliance at BlueSprig Autism joins me in Session 101 to provide an overview of the importance of pinpointing and analyzing Key Performance Indicators, or, KPI's for short. At first glance, this may seem like a topic that is about as exciting as doing your taxes. However, when we dove into this subject, my inner nerd was engaged, and I started thinking about how I could use this concept in all aspects of what I do. I guarantee that even if you do not work in an insurance funded setting, or if you are not in operations management - you'll still many takeaways from this conversation. Rebecca effectively makes the case for using a KPI lens in your work. After we concluded our interview, I learned that she was not only battling pneumonia, but her husband was texting her with updates from their barn, as one of their goats was giving birth! So I appreciated Rebecca's ability to put aside these things to patiently educate me on this topic. We mentioned a handful of resources in the episode: Article on Values-Based Care. Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP). Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, 3rd Edition. Panel on KPS's at the 2020 Association for Professional Behavior Analysts convention (details TBA). Session 110 is brought to you with support from the following: My friends at FTF Behavioral Consulting are holding a two-day workshop covering all aspects of the Practical Functional Assessment and Skills-Based Treatment processes (formerly known as the IISCA). It will be held at the DCU center on April 16th and 17th in Worcester, Massachusetts. For more information, go to ftfbc.com and click the events tab. Let's say you're not in Massachusetts on April 17th, but some place warmer, like Melbourne, Florida, consider attending the FIT Behavior Analysis Student's Association conference! This event is also available online, so to learn more, check out fit.edu/continuing-education! Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings and podcast-specific discounts over at behavioruniversity.com/observations. Last but certainly not least, on April 2nd and 3rd, the Verbal Behavior Conference will be going down in Austin Texas. This event will feature speakers such as David Palmer, Barbara Esch, Pat McGreevy, Mark Sundberg, and more! They've even asked me to moderate a panel at the end of the first day, so if this sounds like fun to you, go to ctac1.com/podcast, where you can register at a discounted rate.

27 Feb 20201h 1min

Hey Everyone, welcome to session 109 of The Behavioral Observations Podcast! I'm joined by multiple-time guest, Dr. Pat McGreevy. We talk about what he's been up to lately, how to support learners who have barriers in communication, implementing Essential for Living in public school settings, why he prefers working with non-behavior analysts… and we end with a fun and poignant story about Pat's mentor, Ogden Lindsley. We also spend some time discussing the upcoming Verbal Behavior Conference. It's taking place on April 2nd and 3rd in Austin, Texas. In the spirit of transparency, I'm helping the Central Texas Autism Center promote the event, so keep that in mind for what it's worth. In addition to promoting the event, I'm also excited to be a part of the program this year. At the end of the first day, I get to moderate a panel with all of the conference speakers! If this all sounds fun to you, head to ctac1.com/podcast and take advantage of the discount that was arranged for Behavioral Observations listeners. Also, if you're traveling to Austin, the special event rates for the conference hotel, the Hilton Austin, will expire on March 2nd, so if this is something you're considering, I would advise you to make your plans soon! If you can't make it to the event, but want to learn more about Pat, and/or The Essential for Living Assessment and Curriculum, check out their website. And check out their options for online training at eflapp.com/training. This podcast is sponsored by an event that's coming up in a different part of the country. It's called the Insider's Guide to Legal Tactics Used Against Schools: How Behavior Analysis Can Help! This event is brought to you by Brett DiNovi and Associates, and it takes place on February 28, 2020 from 9:30am-2:00pm at the DoubleTree by Hilton at SeaWorld in Orlando, FL. Attend either in-person or via webinar. Student discounts are available, and all proceeds go towards the BF Skinner Foundation!

18 Feb 202049min

Dr. Kendra Newsome joins me in Session 108. Our original plan was to discuss how FitLearning is incorporating ACT and other mindfulness based activities with their learners. And talk about that we did. However, we went down quite a few interesting and unexpected rabbit holes along the way. The sidebar that was of most interest to me was our discussion on how they run staff meetings. I'm sure you're thinking to yourself, "how can staff meetings be interesting?" Well, it sounds like the FitLearning crew found an answer to that question. As such, you'll have to let me know what you think about their, "Get weird," approach to staff meetings. Kendra also dispenses some really unique advice for newly-minted BCBA's. And in case you're wondering, the advice is applicable to BCBA's of all experience levels as well, so you'll want to listen to this episode all the way through to hear what she has to say on this topic. We discussed a few books, podcasts, and articles in our chat, and I have done my best to capture all of them here: Kim Berens' first appearance on the show (which contains an excellent history of FitLearning for those who are interested). Nick Berens' interview, discussing, among other things, Relational Frame Theory. Kim's return to the podcast (recorded live at the Tate Behavioral Conference in October, 2019). Donny Newsome's interview on Why We Do What We Do, discussing the importance of fluency (highly recommend checking out if you're not familiar with this stuff). Tools of Titans, by Tim Ferriss. Tribal Leadership, by Dave Logan. Peak, Secrets From the New Science of Expertise, by Ericsson and Pool. Talking to Strangers, by Malcolm Gladwell. This podcast is brought to you by the following: The ACT BootCamp for Behavior Analysts that's taking place from March 19th-22nd in Reno, Nevada. Attendees will earn a total of 32 BACB Continuing Education units, including 4 ethics and 3 supervision CEU's. If this sounds like something you're interested, check out https://praxiscet.com/bopod (or hit the show notes to this episode), and use the code BO50 to save on your registration! HRIC Recruiting. If you're looking for your dream job, work directly with agency owner Barb Voss, and let her put her 30+ years of recruiting experience to work for you. Whether you're re-locating or just wondering what else is available, go to HRIColorado.com and schedule a confidential chat right away. An Insider's Guide to Legal Tactics Used Against Schools: How Behavior Analysis Can Help! This event is brought to you by Brett DiNovi and Associates, and it takes place onFebruary 28, 2020 from 9:30am-2:00pm at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel Orlando at SeaWorld. Attend either in-person or via webinar. Student discounts are available, and all proceeds go towards the BF Skinner Foundation! Lastly, I am honored to be part of this year's Verbal Behavior Conference that's being held on April 2nd and 3rd in Austin Texas. Come learn from VB experts such as Mark Sundberg, Anna Petursdottir, Ciao Miguel, Barbara Esch, and more! Click here for special registration prices for podcast listeners!

11 Feb 20201h 22min

Dr. Emily Sandoz joins me in Session 107 to talk about her work in ACT and Clinical Behavior Analysis. I found this conversation really fascinating as she shares how she helps people in talk-therapy contexts - a setting that most listeners do not practice in. Going into this interview, I assumed we'd get deep into the ACT Hexaflex Processes, but we ended up dispensing with a lot of the common, "mid-level terms," of ACT, and instead focused on the functional analysis of verbal behavior in the context of a therapy session. I think you'll find Emily's approach to ACT refreshingly direct and simple. And, even if you don't have an interest in the talk-therapy world, there are tons of connections that you're likely to make, especially in the area of supervision. How, you might ask? I can't spoil it here, so be sure to listen to the conversation in its entirety. In broadcasting terms, we had a "hard-out" in terms of time. Otherwise this interview could have continued for much longer. So if this type of content interests you, go to the shownotes of this episode at behavioralobservations.com and let me know, as I'd love to have Emily back to chat some more. We talked about a few books and other resources during the conversation, and I've linked them below: Wilson and DuFrene (2009). Mindfulness for Two. Wilson and DuFrene (2010). Things Might Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong: A Guide to Life Liberated from Anxiety. (not mentioned during the interview, but I had to add it to the links based on the title alone!). BACB Fact Sheet on Clinical Behavior Analysis. Clinical Behavior Analysis, edited by Dougher (2000). Kanter and Woods (2009). Introduction to the Special Issue on Clinical Behavior Analysis of The Behavior Analyst. Today's podcast is sponsored by The ACT BootCamp for Behavior Analysts that's taking place from March 19th-22nd in Reno, Nevada. This workshop is taught by a who's who in the ACT and ABA world, including Drs. Evelyn Gould, Steve Hayes, Kendra Newsome, Mark Dixon to name just a few. Attendees will earn a total of 32 BACB Continuing Education units, including 4 ethics and 3 supervision CEU's. If this sounds like something you're interested, check out https://praxiscet.com/bopod (or hit the show notes to this episode), and use the code BO50 to save on your registration! HRIC Recruiting. If you're looking for your dream job, work directly with agency owner Barb Voss, and let her put her 30+ years of recruiting experience to work for you. Whether you're re-locating or just wondering what else is available, go to HRIColorado.com and schedule a confidential chat right away. Lastly, I am honored to be part of this year's Verbal Behavior Conference that's being held on April 2nd and 3rd in Austin Texas. Come learn from VB experts such as Mark Sundberg, Anna Petursdottir, Ciao Miguel, Barbara Esch, and more! Click here for special registration prices for podcast listeners!

29 Jan 20201h 9min

If you missed the first installment of the Inside JABA Series, let me explain what's going on here: Once a quarter, I'll be joined by Drs. Linda Leblanc, Clair St. Peter, and Jeff Tiger to discuss the latest issue of The Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. The goal is to highlight a paper or theme from the issue, and give you a behind-the-scenes look at what went into that piece of research, how it may or may not have changed during the review process, and what the practical implications that work has for the everyday practitioner. What's the big idea? If you're a craft beer nerd like me, think of this kind of like when a brewery does a tap-takeover at your favorite pub. In today's episode, we discuss the Winter 2020 issue of JABA. We start with Linda LeBlanc describing her call for "big idea" papers to be written and submitted to JABA. What is a big idea paper? You're going to have to listen to find out. In this episode, we are also joined by Dr. Danielle LaFrance, who, along with Jonathan Tarbox, just so happened to publish one of these big idea papers in the Winter issue. We discuss this paper, which is titled, The importance of multiple exemplar instruction in the establishment of novel verbal behavior. And in addition to this, we each share an influential "big idea" that shaped us as Behavior Analysts. As with the previous Inside JABA podcast, there are no commercials in this show. However, the content of this episode does meet the standards for continuing education, and half of the proceeds of the Inside JABA Series shows goes directly to the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior. So if you'd like to get come continuing education for listening to this podcast, check out behavioral observations.com/get-ceus. And if you wanted to check out the Big Idea papers we discussed, they are linked right here (hat tip to Emily Gillich for curating these references... the APA mistakes and failures to format in WordPress are my own): Allen, K. D., & Warzak, W. J. (2000). The problem of parental nonadherence in clinical behavior analysis: effective treatment is not enough. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 33(3), 373–391. doi:10.1901/jaba.2000.33-373. Baer, D. M., Wolf, M. M., & Risley, T. R. (1968). Some current dimensions of applied behavior analysis. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1(1), 91–97. doi:10.1901/jaba.1968.1-91. Balsam, P. D., & Bondy, A. S. (1983). The negative side effects of reward. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 16(3), 283–296. doi:10.1901/jaba.1983.16-283. Fisher W.W, Ninness H.A.C, Piazza C.C, Owen-DeSchryver, J.S. (1996). On the reinforcing effects of the content of verbal attention. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 29, 235–238. Peterson, L., Homer, A. L., & Wonderlich, S. A. (1982). The integrity of independent variables in behavior analysis. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 15(4), 477–492. doi:10.1901/jaba.1982.15-477. Other Articles Discussed: LaFrance, D. L., & Tarbox, J. (2019). The importance of multiple exemplar instruction in the establishment of novel verbal behavior. Journal of applied behavior analysis. Stokes, T. F., & Baer, D. M. (1977). An implicit technology of generalization. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 10(2), 349–367. doi:10.1901/jaba.1977.10-349. St. Peter Pipkin, C., Vollmer, T. R., & Sloman, K. N. (2010). Effects of treatment integrity failures during differential reinforcement of alternative behavior: a translational model. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 43(1), 47–70. doi:10.1901/jaba.2010.43-47. Vollmer, T. R., Iwata, B. A., Zarcone, J. R., Smith, R. G., & Mazaleski, J. L. (1993). The role of attention in the treatment of attention-maintained self-injurious behavior: noncontingent reinforcement and differential reinforcement of other behavior. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 26(1), 9–21. doi:10.1901/jaba.1993.26-9. Wolf M. M. (1978). Social validity: the case for subjective measurement or how applied behavior analysis is finding its heart. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 11(2), 203–214. doi:10.1901/jaba.1978.11-203.

23 Jan 202057min

Dr. Nick Green from BehaviorFit joins me in Session 105 to discuss my plans to shed a few pounds in 2020. If you're like me, you may have put on a little weight over the holidays. In my case, I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to take my family to France to stay with my oldest friend (an ex-pat who has been living there for the past 20 years or so). As such, the normal workout routine fell by the wayside, while at the same time, cheese and bread were consumed in great quantities! This was on the menu all too often! So it is timely that Dr. Nick Green from BehaviorFit returns to the podcast! In this episode, Nick and I talk about some strategies I can use for getting back into reasonable shape. Specifically, we discuss measurement, nutrition, strength training, and more! While on the surface, this show may seem like it's all about me, Nick does a real nice job discussing concepts and principles in a way that is relatable to just about anyone. If you missed Nick's first appearance on the podcast, I recommend going back and checking that one out. Better yet, go to his awesome blog, BehaviorFIt.com, follow him on Instagram @behaviorfit, or listen to his podcast, BehaviorFit Radio. Here are the specific links: BehaviorFit | Health, Fitness, & Applied Behavior Analysis (blog). BehaviorFit - Home (Facebook). BehaviorFit (@behaviorfit) (Instagram). BehaviorFit (YouTube). Nicholas Green PhD, Behavioral Scientist - ABA Clinical Program Director - Hopebridge (LinkeIn Profile). BehaviorFit Radio (Nick's podcast). We mentioned a few other blogs, podcasts, and resources. Here they are: Jim Moore's appearance on this show. Moore & Quintero (2019) study on teaching Olympic lifting techniques. The Peter Attia Drive Podcast (my favorite podcast!). The Centenarian Olympics (what I mistakenly referred to as the Octogenarian Olympics during the show; scroll down to where it says, "Aim to be a kick-ass 100 year old). Aesthetic Physiques Coaching (Dave Bonollo's IG Page). Dave's 30 Days of Drinking Challenge. More on this here. Pavel Tsatsouline's Wikipedia page. Pavel on the Joe Rogan Experience. Today's episode is sponsored by the following: Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings and podcast-specific discounts over at behavioruniversity.com/observations. GoLotus. GoLotus is an easy to use, intuitive practice management platform. From scheduling, to notes, to data collection and more, they do it all. And with no contracts or obligations. Find out more about what they have to offer at golotus.com/register. And If you do sign up, tell them use the coupon code Matt2019 and you will get 25% off for the first 3 months. The ACT4HFA workshop is being held in Santa Ana, CA on February 7-9th in Santa Ana, CA. Check out connections-behavior.com/events/act4hfa for more info, and if it's something you want to attend, use the promo code podcast 25! OK, one last thing: On April 2nd and 3rd, the Verbal Behavior Conference will be going down in Austin Texas. This event will feature speakers such as David Palmer, Barbara Esch, Pat McGreevy, Mark Sundberg, and more! They've even asked me to moderate a panel at the end of the first day, so if this sounds like fun to you, go to ctac1.com/podcast, where you can register at a discounted rate.

13 Jan 20201h 37min

My friends at ABA Inside Track - Rob, Diana, and Jackie - invited me back for another Year-in-Review episode. I've enjoyed getting to know these guys over the last few years, and doing an episode like this seems like it's a fun tradition-in-the-making. So what did we talk about? Well, it seems like 2019 was the year of the ABA podcast. So many shows were launched that it's hard to keep track of. In addition to Behavioral Observations, I've listed all the currently published ABA shows below, and I'll apologize in advance to my podcasting brethren if I've missed any: ABA Inside Track. Why We Do What We Do. The Controversial Exchange. Behavior Bitches. Behaviorbabe. Beautiful Humans Changecast. Functional Relations. ABA on Call. #doBetter Pod. The Business of Behavior Podcast. Turn Autism Around. ABA Ultimate Showdown. The Behavior Chef. Inside the BACB. The Autism Helper. We also discussed some milestones that both of our shows hit in 2019, specifically, crossing the 100 episode mark, and having over 1,000,000 downloads. It's positively humbling that so many people have taken interest in what we've been doing. Rob, Jackie, Diana, and I also discussed the passing of prominent leaders in our field, including Drs. Barbara Etzel, Janet Ellis, and Murray Sidman. (note: we did not discuss the passing of Chuck Merbitz, but you can hear about his work and legacy in the memorial episode that was published earlier this year). We then rounded out the show by covering some of the trends in ABA practice that we observed in 2019, and gave a preview of what's coming up for both shows in 2020! And on this note, I want to extend a personal thanks to all of you who tuned in to the podcast in 2019. I wish you a safe and happy holiday, and I look forward to providing informative Behavior-Analytic content for you in 2020 and beyond! This podcast is sponsored by the following: HRIC Recruiting. If you're looking for your dream job, work directly with agency owner Barb Voss, and let her put her 30+ years of recruiting experience to work for you. Whether you're re-locating or just wondering what else is available, go to HRIColorado.com and schedule a confidential chat right away. The ACT for HFA workshop that's being held in Santa Ana, CA on February 7-9th in Santa Ana, CA. Check out connections-behavior.com/events/act4hfa for more info, and if it's something you want to attend, use the promo code podcast 25! GoLotus. GoLotus is an easy to use, intuitive practice management platform. From scheduling, to notes, to data collection and more, they do it all. And with no contracts or obligations. Find out more about what they have to offer at golotus.com/register. And If you do sign up, tell them use the coupon code Matt2019 and you will get 25% off for the first 3 months.

25 Dec 20191h 26min