As BCBAs, part of our job is to target challenging behavior. Here, we discuss how to do so in a compassionate way so that our learners feel safe. Sometimes, our learners just need our empathy and support after a rough day. As behavior analysts, we have to shift our focus from a follow-through perspective to how to best support those we work with. The best solutions to challenging problems often come from providing a safe, welcoming environment.Having a trauma-informed approach is key, and pus...

Compassionately Targeting Challenging Behavior

We are Shira and Shayna and we are so excited to bring you our first podcast episode of How to ABA! We are both BCBAs with over twenty years of experience, and  as you can imagine, we have created and gathered so many resources in that time. We want to share them with you! That’s why we are here, and that’s why we created this podcast. If you are new to the world of ABA, are looking for new resources, or just looking for a fresh perspective, you’re in the right place!

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Toilet training is one of the most important skills we can teach our learners. When it comes to our learners with special needs or autism, it means we can promote their dignity. We feel strongly that toilet training should be introduced as soon as a child is ready. Here, we talk about prerequisite skills, intrinsic motivation, and how to build momentum before starting the training. Priming is essential as well and we discuss how to make the toilet a familiar, positive place. We talk about usi...

Toilet Training

Our approach to Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT) today might look a lot different to what we did in the past, or how we were taught in school. In the past, DTT was heavy on memorization, and it often lacked a natural environment component. Here, we discuss the evolution of DTT, what’s changed, and how we can apply it in our current work. We talk about the three-term contingency model of DTT and discuss some of the common misconceptions of the technique. We also discuss what a true child-led...

Evolution of Discrete Trial Training (DTT)

Through our ABA education, we learned a lot about rules and procedures around behavior management. However, sometimes rigid traditional methods fail to work, and we need to turn to an empathetic, person-centered approach instead. Acknowledging how our learners are feeling in the moment can sometimes be far more effective than trying to push ahead. Here, we discuss how the person-centered approach works.The beauty of a person-centered approach is that it holds space for our learners while stil...

Behavior Management- Person Centered Approach

Here at How to ABA, we get a lot of questions regarding Hanley’s approach to tolerance and delay. We’ve created our own user-friendly data sheet based on Hanley’s course that you can download and reuse. Here, we walk through our data sheet and show you how to use it in your practice. We also provide tips to help you and your learners have a successful treatment experience. Our membership space contains this form as well as many others. Head to the website below to check it out!What’s Inside:A...

Hanley's Approach to Teaching Tolerance and Delay

David Celiberti, Ph.D., BCBA, is the part time Executive Director of the Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT) and Past-President of its Board of Directors, a role he served from 2006 to 2012. He is the Co-Editor of ASAT’s newsletter, Science in Autism Treatment. Dr. Celiberti has served on a number of advisory boards and special interest groups in the fields of autism, applied behavior analysis, and early childhood education. Dr. Celiberti has also taught courses related to appl...

Compassionately Targeting Challenging Behavior

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