ABA Inside Track

Buckle your seatbelts, folks. It's SUPERVISION SEPTEMBER 2022!!! And, to celebrate, we've got 3 episodes all about how to kick your supervision into overdrive. First, we review the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services to help you figure out why your employees are struggling. Then, we bust out the Book Club Crew to figure out how to broach the tough topics at work via the classic business book, "Crucial Conversations". It may be fall, but supervision discussion is our real vacation!

Articles for September 2022

The Performance Diagnostic Checklist - Human Services

Carr, J.E., Wilder, D.A., Majdalany, L., Mathisen, D., & Strain, L.A. (2013). An assessment-based solution to a human-service employee performance problem. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 6, 16-32. doi: 10.1007/BF03391789

Bowe, M. & Sellers, T.P. (2018). Evaluating the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services to assess incorrect error-correction procedures by preschool paraprofessionals. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 51, 166-176. doi: 1002/jaba.428

Merritt, T.A., DiGennaro Reed, F.D, & Martinez, C.E. (2019). Using the Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services to identify an indicated intervention to decrease employee tardiness. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 52, 1034-1048. doi: 10.1002/jaba.643

Wilder, D.A., Cymbal, D., & Villacorta, J. (2020). The Performance Diagnostic Checklist-Human Services: A brief review. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53, 1170-1176. doi: 10.1002/jaba.676

Crucial Conversations Book Club

Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2011). Crucial conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill.

Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2021). Crucial conversations: Tools for talking when stakes are high (3rd ed.). McGraw Hill.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: To earn CEUs for listening, you MUST sign up and listen to this episode on our website to get credit.

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While compassionate action is the goal of every BCBA, wishing it and doing it remain two separate things. This week, Drs. Weiss and Rohrer join us to discuss their Compassionate Collaboration Tool, a means for self-reflection and assessment of those skills that best lend themselves to compassionate action in our work. Plus, we review some of the research on why compassion is important and what's next for the CCT.

This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU.

Articles discussed this episode:

Rohrer, J.L., Marshall, K.B., Suzio, C., & Weiss, M.J. (2021). Soft skills: The case for compassionate approaches or how behavior analysis keeps finding its heart. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 14, 1135-1143. doi: 10.1007/s40617-021-00563-x

Enjoy a short preview of our latest full-length Book Club episode. Want to hear the whole thing and get 2 CEs for free? Subscribe to our Patreon today at the premium $10+ levels for that plus other bonuses!

As the summer wraps up and school begins in the U.S., many BCBAs will find themselves frustrated for their clients due to the continued inequitable practices which leave our schools failing learners of color. And what if I told you that your sweet sweet data may be a part of the failure of Western education? Yes....YOUR DATA! For our summer Book Club, we discussed "Street Data" by Safir and Dugan, a review of culturally responsive practices on how to collect relevant, student-centered, and antiracist information about learners to create a more equitable school system. Will the crew find these steps in line with our ethical BCBA obligations for client-centered practice? Or does an affront to the traditional way of "doing school" leave us calling our parents to pick us up early?

Content discussed in this episode

Safir, S. & Dugan, J. (2021). Street data: A next-generation model for equity, pedagogy, and school transformation. Corwin.

To download the whole episode plus a code for 2 free CEs, just subscribe to our Patreon at the $10+ levels.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: To earn CEUs for listening, you MUST sign up and listen to this episode on our website to get credit.

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Making decisions is hard. Yet somehow, most of us seem to muddle through the process. But how can we support children whose decisions lead them to negative outcomes? This week we review research related to teaching choice making, problem solving, and all kinds of big decision making, helping children move from being told what to do to deciding for themselves.

This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU.

Articles discussed this episode:

Vlachou, A. & Stavroussi, P. (2016). Promoting social inclusion: A structured intervention for enhancing interpersonal problem-solving skills in children with mild intellectual disabilities. Support for Learning, 31, 27-45. doi: 10.1111/1467-9604.12112

Sparks, S.L., Pierce, T., Higgins, K., Miller, S., & Tandy, R. (2016). Increasing choice making in students with intellectual disability. Education and Training in Autism, 51, 331-343.

Hune, J.B. & Nelson, C.M. (2002). Effects of teaching a problem-solving strategy on preschool children with problem behavior. Behavioral Disorders, 27, 185-207. doi: 10.1177/019874290202700302

Sparks, S.C. & Cote, D.L. (2012). Teaching choice making to elementary students with mild ot moderate disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 47, 290-296. doi: 10.1177/1053451211430123

IMPORTANT NOTICE: To earn CEUs for listening, you MUST sign up and listen to this episode on our website to get credit.

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While we've discussed becoming a trauma-informed practitioner and ABA frameworks for understanding trauma, what does a TIC approach look like when rubber meets the road? Saundra Bishop brings her years of doing just that to the show to help us better understand how a trauma-informed approach can improve our behavior plan writing and skill acquisition program development. We're going beyond the four-term contingency, folks!

This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU.

Articles discussed this episode:

Rajaraman, A., Austin, J.L., Gover, H.C., Cammilleri, A.P., Donnelly, D.R., & Hanley, G.P. (2022). Toward trauma-informed applications of behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 55, 40-61. doi: 10.1002/jaba.881

Bath, H. (2008). The three pillars of trauma-informed care. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 17, 17-21.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019). Preventing adverse childhood experiences: Leveraging the best available evidence. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bishop, S. (2022). The trauma-informed behavior management handbook. Washington D.C.: Basics ABA Therapy, LLC.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: To earn CEUs for listening, you MUST sign up and listen to this episode on our website to get credit.

To listen for the fun of learning? Just push play!

Email us at [email protected] for further assistance.

Whether the spice of life of the lifeblood of a field, it's important that different people engage in different actions to create a robust group of practitioners. But what does it really mean to have a variety of behavior analysts in the world? This week, Dr. Matthew Normand explains the many benefits and frequent challenges of creating a plethora of ABA for the world. And it's not just about getting a new job!

This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU.

Articles discussed this episode:

Normand, M.P. & Kohn, C.S. (2013). Don't wag the dog: Extending the reach of applied behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 36, 109-122. doi: 10.1007/BF03392294

Friman, P.C. (2010). Com on in, the water is fine: Achieving mainstream relevance through integration with primary medical care. The Behavior Analyst, 33, 19-36. doi: 10.1007/BF03392201

Heward, W.L., Critchfield, T.S., Reed, D.D., Detrich, R., & Kimball, J.W. (2022). ABA from A to Z: Behavior science applied to 350 domains of socially significant behavior. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 45, 327-359. doi: 10.1007/s40614-022-00336-z

With so many guests making time to join us this month, we almost didn't have a chance to record this month's preview! But, between our research-reading, jet-setting lifestyle, we found a peaceful—albeit much too hot—moment to head into the studio to run down what's to come in August. We start off a variety of episodes by talking about variety itself in ABA with Dr. Matthew Normand. Then we review how trauma-informed care can be implemented in behavior management with Saundra Bishop before delving into the related area of compassion and collaboration with Dr. Jessica Rohrer and Dr. Mary Jane Weiss. Finally, we turn our baseball caps around to rap about teaching kids to make their own decisions.

Don't forget: new book club this month on the Patreon site. We're talking all about Street Data, a.k.a., how data can be used for equity in schools.

Articles for August 2022

Variety in ABA w/ Dr. Matthew Normand

Normand, M.P. & Kohn, C.S. (2013). Don't wag the dog: Extending the reach of applied behavior analysis. The Behavior Analyst, 36, 109-122. doi: 10.1007/BF03392294

Friman, P.C. (2010). Com on in, the water is fine: Achieving mainstream relevance through integration with primary medical care. The Behavior Analyst, 33, 19-36. doi: 10.1007/BF03392201

Heward, W.L., Critchfield, T.S., Reed, D.D., Detrich, R., & Kimball, J.W. (2022). ABA from A to Z: Behavior science applied to 350 domains of socially significant behavior. Perspectives on Behavior Science, 45, 327-359. doi: 10.1007/s40614-022-00336-z

Applications of Trauma-Informed Care w/ Saundra Bishop

Rajaraman, A., Austin, J.L., Gover, H.C., Cammilleri, A.P., Donnelly, D.R., & Hanley, G.P. (2022). Toward trauma-informed applications of behavior analysis. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 55, 40-61. doi: 10.1002/jaba.881

Bath, H. (2008). The three pillars of trauma-informed care. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 17, 17-21.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019). Preventing adverse childhood experiences: Leveraging the best available evidence. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bishop, S. (2022). The trauma-informed behavior management handbook. Washington D.C.: Basics ABA Therapy, LLC.

Decision Making for Kids

Vlachou, A. & Stavroussi, P. (2016). Promoting social inclusion: A structured intervention for enhancing interpersonal problem-solving skills in children with mild intellectual disabilities. Support for Learning, 31, 27-45. doi: 10.1111/1467-9604.12112

Sparks, S.L., Pierce, T., Higgins, K., Miller, S., & Tandy, R. (2016). Increasing choice making in students with intellectual disability. Education and Training in Autism, 51, 331-343.

Hune, J.B. & Nelson, C.M. (2002). Effects of teaching a problem-solving strategy on preschool children with problem behavior. Behavioral Disorders, 27, 185-207. doi: 10.1177/019874290202700302

Sparks, S.C. & Cote, D.L. (2012). Teaching choice making to elementary students with mild ot moderate disabilities. Intervention in School and Clinic, 47, 290-296. doi: 10.1177/1053451211430123

Compassionate Care in ABA w/ Dr. Jessica Rohrer + Dr. Mary Jane Weiss

Rohrer, J.L., Marshall, K.B., Suzio, C., & Weiss, M.J. (2021). Soft skills: The case for compassionate approaches or how behavior analysis keeps finding its heart. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 14, 1135-1143. doi: 10.1007/s40617-021-00563-x

Street Data Book Club (Patrons Only)

Safir, S. & Dugan, J. (2021). Street data: a next-generation model for equity, pedagogy, and school transformation. Corwin.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: To earn CEUs for listening, you MUST sign up and listen to this episode on our website to get credit.

To listen for the fun of learning? Just push play!

Email us at [email protected] for further assistance.

Did you know that multiple exemplar training and multiple exemplar instruction are actually two different procedures? Neither did we! But, on this week's episode we learned to tell both apart as well as how both techniques can be a boon (mostly) for improving the efficiency of your teaching procedures. Please enjoy our review of multiple exemplars of multiple exemplar research!

This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU.

Articles discussed this episode:

Sivaraman, M. (2017). Using multiple exemplar training to teach empathy skills to children with autism. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 10, 337-346. doi: 10.1007/s40617-017-0183-y

Marzullo-Kerth, D., Reeve, S.A., Reeve, K.F., & Townsend, D.B. (2011). Using multiple-exemplar training to teach a generalized repertoire of sharing to children with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 44, 279-294. doi: 10.1901/jaba.2011.44-279

LaFrance, D.L. & Tarbox, J. (2020). The importance of multiple exemplar instruction in the establishment of novel verbal behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53, 10-24. doi: 10.1002/jaba.611

Lechago, S.A., Carr, J.E., Kisamore, A.N., & Grow, L.L. (2015). The effects of multiple exemplar instruction on the relation between listener and intraverbal categorization repertoires. Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 31, 76-95. doi: 10.1007/s40616-015-0027-1

IMPORTANT NOTICE: To earn CEUs for listening, you MUST sign up and listen to this episode on our website to get credit.

To listen for the fun of learning? Just push play!

Email us at [email protected] for further assistance.

ADHD may seem to be so prevalent in our society that you think doctors prescribe Ritalin to kids at birth. But, there's actually a robust research literature on the effectiveness of behavioral treatment that you may not be aware of. This week, we hit the big points of behavioral interventions for ADHD before diving into some recent articles to fine-tune the details. If you were hoping to find research to support your fidget spinner addiction, this episode may be for you!

This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU.

Wish you could earn that CEU for no cost and/or see a video of our live recording for this episode? Head to our Patreon page and subscribe at our $5 tier for just that.

Articles discussed this episode:

Pfiffner, L.J. & Haack (2014). Behavior management for school aged children with ADHD. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 23, 731-746. doi: 10.1016/j.chc.2014.05.014

Aspiranti, K.B. & Hulac, D.M. (2022). Using fidget spinners to improve on-task classroom behavior for students with ADHD. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 15, 454-465. doi: 10.1007/s40617-021-00588-2

Danforth, J.S. (2016). A flow chart of behavior management strategies for families of children with co-occurring attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct problem behavior. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 9, 64-76. doi: 10.1007/s40617-016-0103-6

Staff, A.I., van den Hoofdakker, B.J., van der Oord, S., Hornstra, R., Hoekstra, P.J., Twisk, J.W.R., Oosterlaan, J., & Luman, M. Effectiveness of specific techniques in behavioral teacher training for childhood ADHD: A randomized controlled microtrial. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 50, 763-779. doi: 10.1080/15374416.2020.1846542

IMPORTANT NOTICE: To earn CEUs for listening, you MUST sign up and listen to this episode on our website to get credit.

To listen for the fun of learning? Just push play!

Email us at [email protected] for further assistance.

For clinicians working in schools, you probably know that being asked to write up functional behavior assessments is a nigh-weekly occurrence. And while functional analyses may be the gold standard of behavior assessment, barely 50% of BCBAs in the world regularly use them. Rather than wag our fingers for a full hour, we take a look at the literature around conducting the best FBAs possible taking into account time, space, and efficiency. Plus, Rob's spicy hot takes on descriptive assessments!

This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU.

Articles discussed this episode:

Nesselrode, R., Falcomata, T.S., Hills, L., & Erhard, P. (2022). Functional analysis in public school settings: A systematic review of the literature. Behavior Analysis in Practice. doi: 10.1007/s40617-022-00679-8

Oliver, A.C., Pratt, L.A., & Normand, M.P. (2015). A survey of functional behavior assessment methods used by behavior analysts in practice. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 48, 817-829. doi: 10.1002/jaba.256

Asmus, J.M., Vollmer, T.R., & Borrero, J.C. (2002). Functional behavior assessment: A school based model. Education and Treatment of Children, 25, 67-90. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42900516

Anderson, C.M. & St. Peter, C.C. (2013). Functional analysis with typically developing children: Best practice or too early to tell?: In response to Hanley (2012). Behavior Analysis in Practice, 6, 62-76. doi: 10.1007/BF03391806

Kestner, K.M., Peterson, S.M., Eldridge, R.R., & Peterson, L.D. (2018). Considerations of baseline classroom conditions in conducting functional behavior assessments in school settings. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 12, 452-465. doi: 10.1007/s40617-018-0269-1

Lewis, T.J., Mitchell, B.S., Harvey, K., Green, A., & McKenzie, J. (2015). A comparison of functional behavioral assessment and functional analysis methodology among students with mild disabilities. Behavioral Disorders, 41, 5-20. doi: 10.17988/0198-7429-41.1.5