April showers are fun, especially after winter snowstorms. Fortunately, we've thawed out a whole mess of episodes for you to enjoy this month including our latest grab bag. But what about the themed episodes? Glad you asked! First, we'll be talking all about relapse which includes discussions of resurgence and renewal (see, aren't you glad you're learning about this?). Then we're joined by Armando Bernal to discuss how PECS could be a key component of building up our support of assent practices. Finally we get real and talk about peer mediation. The kind where children support skill acquisition of their with cues and praise. Not the other one. That'll get its own episode someday. All that and a new LISTENER POLL!

Articles for April 2026

Golden Grab Bag (Spring Grab Bag 2026)

Loomis, K. Morales, L., Yeo, Y., & Fienup, D.M. (2026). Turning the page: Increasing young children's preference for looking at and engaging with books. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 59. doi: 10.1002/jaba.70051

Bigwood, L., Staples, E., & Sharp, R. (2026). Making preference assessments more acceptable and effective for people with dementia. Behavior Analysis in Practice. doi: 10.1007/s40617-025-01145-x

Kaplan, B. A., Gelino, B. W., & Reed, D. D. (2018). A behavioral economic approach to green consumerism: Demand for reusable shopping bags. Behavior and Social Issues, 27, 20-30. doi: 10.5210/bsi.v.27i0.8003

Relapse

Shahan, T.A. (2020). Relapse: An introduction. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 113, 8-14. doi: 10.1002/jeab.578

Mitteer, D.R., Greer, B.D., Fisher, W.W., Briggs, A.D., & Wacker, D.P. (2018). A laboratory model for evaluating relapse of undesirable caregiver behavior. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 110, 252-266. doi: 10.1002/jeab.462

Podlesnik, C.A., Ritchey, C.M., Muething, C., & Falligant, J.M. (2025). Different criteria affect prevalence of relapse of behavior targeted for treatment. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 58, 225-231. doi: 10.1002/jaba.2927

Muething, C., Call, N., Ritchey, C.M., Pavlov, A., Bernstein, A.M., & Podlesnik, C.A. (2022). Prevalence of relapse of automatically maintained behavior resulting from context changes. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 55, 138-153. doi: 10.1002/jaba.887

Assent and PECS w/ Armando Bernal

Allen, L.L., Mellons, L.S., Syed, N., Johnson, J.F., & Bernal, A.J. (2024). Neurodiversity-affirming applied behavior analysis. Behavior Analysis in Practice. doi: 10.1007/s40617-024-00918-0

Doherty, A., Bracken, M., & Gormley, L. (2018). Teaching children with autism to initiate and respond to peer mands using picture exchange communication system (PECS). Behavior Analysis in Practice, 11, 279-288. doi: 10.1007/s40617-018-00311-8

Peer Mediation

Morrison, L., Kamps, D., Garcia, J., & Parker, D. (2001). Peer mediation and monitoring strategies to improve initiations and social skills for students with autism. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 3, 237-250. doi: 10.1177/10983007010030040

Beaulieu, L., Hanley, J.P., & Roberson, A.A. (2013). Effects of peer mediation on preschoolers' compliance and compliance precursors. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 46, 555-567. doi: 10.1002/jaba.66

Grauvogel-MacAleese, A.N. & Wallace, M.D. (2010). Use of peer-mediated intervention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 43, 547-551. doi: 10.1901/jaba.2010.43-547