Cooperant Learning Podcast

CEUs: Sparks Behavioral Services, LLC (ACE #OP-21-0004) is an ACE-approved provider of continuing education units for behavior analysts. You can earn continuing education units (CEUs) for listening to many of our episodes by visiting cooperantlearning.com!

Summary:

On this episode of Behavior Business Roundtable, Kyle is joined by Steve, Taylor, and Kristen to tackle the great caseload debate.

The panel explores why there's no universal magic number for BCBA caseloads, how billable-hour expectations influence clinical decision-making, and what happens when the financial demands of running an ABA organization collide with the realities of delivering quality care.

Guests

Taylor Barker is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who has dedicated his career to improving the lives of individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities through compassionate, evidence-based care. After graduating from Western Michigan University, Taylor gained experience providing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services in both Indiana and Michigan, where he worked alongside exceptional mentors and colleagues who helped shape his clinical approach and commitment to high-quality, individualized services.

Dr. Sparks is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with the doctoral designation, a licensed behavior analyst, and has years of experience in early childhood intervention for autism, the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, parent training, and consulting in inpatient, outpatient, school, and organizational settings. In the past Dr. Sparks served as a member of the Transition & Adult Services Subcommittee of the Michigan Autism Council. 

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What separates competent clinical decision-making from simply following a checklist?

In this episode of Behavior Business Roundtable, Kyle Steury is joined by Kristen Byra,  Steve Sparks, and Taylor Barker for a wide-ranging conversation about how behavior analysts learn to make good clinical decisions, and what may be getting lost as the field grows.

The panel discusses the role of literature reviews and mentorship when BCBAs encounter unfamiliar clinical problems, the difference between completing an assessment tool and actually analyzing behavior, and the risks of relying on social media for clinical recommendations. They also examine what should happen when an intervention isn't working, including treatment fidelity, measurement, reinforcement, stimulus control, environmental variables, and whether the original clinical hypothesis was correct. The panel flips the conversation around at the end and discusses "What are newer BCBAs getting right?" 

Topics include:

Behavior Business Roundtable brings experienced behavior analysts together to debate the clinical, ethical, and business issues shaping the field of applied behavior analysis.

Subscribe for more conversations about ABA practice, leadership, ethics, supervision, clinical decision-making, and the future of the field.

Cooperant Learning Podcast | Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Continuity of Care: ABA in Hospital Settings | Roxanne Gayle

CEUs: Sparks Behavioral Services, LLC (ACE #OP-21-0004) is an ACE-approved provider of continuing education units for behavior analysts. You can earn continuing education units (CEUs) for listening to many of our episodes by visiting cooperantlearning.com!

Summary: What does behavior analysis look like inside a hospital?

Our conversation covered the role of BCBAs on interdisciplinary teams, collaboration with physicians and psychiatrists, medication considerations, functional assessment, incident reports, staffing ratios, communication across disciplines, and the challenges of providing effective treatment within short inpatient stays.

Dr. Gayle also discusses one of the biggest gaps in the current system: what happens after an individual leaves the hospital. Warm handoffs, preparing community providers, caregiver support, environmental modifications, and how outpatient programs might become better equipped to serve individuals with severe behavior all come up!

The episode closes with potential research questions for students and practitioners interested in hospital-based behavior analysis, including patient acuity, length of stay, treatment engagement, family resilience, and long-term maintenance.

Guest bio:

With over 15 years of experience in clinical practice, Roxanne's commitment to the field extends beyond the walls of the clinic through her engagement with the community, where she offers her expertise to dental, hairdressing, and medical professionals to better serve individuals with autism. 

Her collaboration with various community providers underscores her belief in a comprehensive approach to care. 

Roxanne has contributed to professional knowledge through her publications, with recent works focusing on ethics in human services, the relationship between autonomic arousal and cooperation with appointments, and the potential of virtual reality training for children with autism. 

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Music licensed through Soundstripe.

CEUs: Sparks Behavioral Services, LLC (ACE #OP-21-0004) is an ACE-approved provider of continuing education units for behavior analysts. You can earn continuing education units (CEUs) for listening to many of our episodes by visiting cooperantlearning.com!

Summary:  

In this episode of Behavior Business Roundtable, Kristen, Taylor, and Steve sit down to talk about what happens when supervision gets complicated. They get into professionalism, difficult feedback, performance improvement plans, clinical judgment, the supervisor-supervisee relationship, and the question of what it really means to prepare someone to practice independently.

Also, Kristen tells us about the dangers of stilettos in a clinical setting, Steve explains why everyone should read Verbal Behavior, and Taylor gets to relive one of his earliest supervision experiences.

Guests bio

Taylor Barker is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who has dedicated his career to improving the lives of individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities through compassionate, evidence-based care. After graduating from Western Michigan University, Taylor gained experience providing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services in both Indiana and Michigan, where he worked alongside exceptional mentors and colleagues who helped shape his clinical approach and commitment to high-quality, individualized services.

Dr. Sparks is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with the doctoral designation, a licensed behavior analyst, and has years of experience in early childhood intervention for autism, the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, parent training, and consulting in inpatient, outpatient, school, and organizational settings. In the past Dr. Sparks served as a member of the Transition & Adult Services Subcommittee of the Michigan Autism Council. 

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CEUs: Sparks Behavioral Services, LLC (ACE #OP-21-0004) is an ACE-approved provider of continuing education units for behavior analysts. You can earn continuing education units (CEUs) for listening to many of our episodes by visiting cooperantlearning.com!

Summary: Steve Sparks, Kristen Byra and Taylor Barker discuss the role of control in ABA organizations. Can organizations balance standardization with flexibility? Can leadership foster accountability while preserving staff autonomy? We talk about practical strategies, philosophical insights, and real-world examples for ABA organizations to optimize organizational effectiveness while maintaining quality.

Taylor Barker is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who has dedicated his career to improving the lives of individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities through compassionate, evidence-based care. After graduating from Western Michigan University, Taylor gained experience providing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services in both Indiana and Michigan, where he worked alongside exceptional mentors and colleagues who helped shape his clinical approach and commitment to high-quality, individualized services.

Dr. Sparks is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with the doctoral designation, a licensed behavior analyst, and has years of experience in early childhood intervention for autism, the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, parent training, and consulting in inpatient, outpatient, school, and organizational settings. In the past Dr. Sparks served as a member of the Transition & Adult Services Subcommittee of the Michigan Autism Council. 

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Cooperant Learning Podcast | Equity in Public Education | Malika Pritchett, Sarah Pinkleman, Shahla Ala'i-Rosales

CEUs: Sparks Behavioral Services, LLC (ACE #OP-21-0004) is an ACE-approved provider of continuing education units for behavior analysts. You can earn continuing education units (CEUs) for listening to many of our episodes by visiting cooperantlearning.com!

Summary: In this episode we were joined by Dr. Malika Pritchett, Dr. Sarah Pinkelman, and Dr. Shahla Ala'i-Rosales to discuss their paper, “Behavior Analysis and Equity in Public Education: An Abolitionist Approach,” published in Behavior and Social Issues.

Our discussion explored what an abolitionist approach means for behavior analysts working in public schools and why addressing individual behavior without examining the larger systems surrounding that behavior may fall short. We discussed social justice, public education, behavior analysis, and the responsibility that comes with intervening in complex human systems.

Guests bio:

Dr. Sarah Pinkelman is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Western Michigan University and currently serving as the Behavior Analysis program assistant chair.  An overarching theme in Dr. Pinkelman’s research and applied work is bridging the research-to-practice gap in public education. She is interested in (a) socially and ecologically valid approaches to improving teacher and staff implementation of behavior analytic interventions, (b) scaling-up effective and equitable programming in school systems, (c) school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SWPBIS), (d) implementation science as it relates to evidence-based practice in schools, and (e) research ethics and single-case research methodology.

Shahla Alai-Rosales, PHD, BCBA-D, CPBA-AP is a Professor in the Department of Behavior Analysis at the University of North Texas. She has taught courses in Texas, Europe and the Middle East on a variety of topics, including ethics, early autism intervention, parent training, behavioral systems, applied research methods, technology transfer, behavior change techniques, and cultural diversity. Shahla has published and presented research on social justice, ethics in early intervention, play and social skills, family harmony, and supervision and mentoring. Shahla has more than four decades of experience working with families and has trained hundreds of behavior analysts. 

Resources:

Pritchett M, Ala'i-Rosales S, Cruz AR, Cihon TM. Social Justice is the Spirit and Aim of an Applied Science of Human Behavior: Moving from Colonial to Participatory Research Practices. Behav Anal Pract. 2021 Jun 22;15(4):1074-1092. doi: 10.1007/s40617-021-00591-7. PMID: 34178290; PMCID: PMC8218790.

Laura P. Graham, “Safe Spaces” and “Brave Spaces”: The Case for Creating Law School Classrooms That Are Both, 76 U. Mia. L. Rev. 84 (2021).

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...

Dr. Bettina Love Website: https://bettinalove.com

Dr. Ruha Benjamin Website: https://www.ruhabenjamin.com

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Cooperant Learning Podcast | Clinical Decision Support Systems | Kristen Byra

CEUs: Sparks Behavioral Services, LLC (ACE #OP-21-0004) is an ACE-approved provider of continuing education units for behavior analysts. You can earn continuing education units (CEUs) for listening to many of our episodes by visiting cooperantlearning.com!

Summary:

Guests:

Following her graduation, Dr. Byra concentrated her professional efforts on delivering center-based and home-based services for children diagnosed with autism and related disorders. She also provided consultation services for several school districts in Arizona and Nevada. Since 2017, Dr. Byra has been creating Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) and Clinical Intelligence Forms (CIF) for various prominent insurance companies and provider agencies. She has contributed as an expert witness in several court cases and has functioned as an ad-hoc reviewer for the Behavior Analysis in Practice journal. Her ongoing dedication is to the dissemination of information and research concerning the best practices in behavior analysis. She accomplishes this through web-based learning platforms and consultation.

Most recently she has been appointed by the Governor of Arizona to be a committee member on the Committee for Behavior Analysts.

Links:

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Cooperant Learning Podcast | Student Involvement in Social Validity Assessment | Megan Carpenter & Monique Pinczynski 

CEUs: Sparks Behavioral Services, LLC (ACE #OP-21-0004) is an ACE-approved provider of continuing education units for behavior analysts. You can earn continuing education units (CEUs) for listening to many of our episodes by visiting cooperantlearning.com!

Summary:  

Monique Pinczynski is an Assistant Professor in Special Education at Boise State University and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Her research focuses on autism, applied behavior analysis, and evidence-based practices for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and extensive support needs in school settings. Her work examines communication, writing instruction, technology-based interventions, and community participation. Before entering academia, Monique was a special education teacher in Henderson, Nevada, which continues to inform her research and commitment to improving outcomes for students with disabilities. Through her scholarship, she aims to bridge research and practice by developing practical, effective interventions that support educators, families, and individuals with diverse learning and communication needs.

Research:

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#bcba #bcaba #registeredbehaviortechnician #rbt #appliedbehavioranalysis #behaviorscience #aba #behavioranalysis

CEUs: Sparks Behavioral Services, LLC (ACE #OP-21-0004) is an ACE-approved provider of continuing education units for behavior analysts. You can earn continuing education units (CEUs) for listening to many of our episodes by visiting cooperantlearning.com!

Summary:

An ethics one! The crew explores some of the challenging situations behavior analysts as business leaders face and how organizational culture influences ethical decision-making, why protecting data integrity matters, and how to balance high-quality clinical care with the realities of growing an organization. 

References:

Kelly EM, Greeny K, Rosenberg NE, Schwartz IS. How Behavior Analysts Make Ethical Decisions: A Qualitative Study. Behav Anal Pract. 2023 May 10;18(3):693-705. doi: 10.1007/s40617-023-00804-1. PMID: 41080015; PMCID: PMC12508416.

Guests

Taylor Barker is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who has dedicated his career to improving the lives of individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities through compassionate, evidence-based care. After graduating from Western Michigan University, Taylor gained experience providing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services in both Indiana and Michigan, where he worked alongside exceptional mentors and colleagues who helped shape his clinical approach and commitment to high-quality, individualized services.

Dr. Steven P. Sparks was born and raised in Rochester, Michigan. He received his Bachelors with honors from the Psychology Department at Western Michigan University in 2009, Masters in Behavior Analysis from Western Michigan University in 2012 under the mentorship of Dr. Richard Malott, and completed his Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis at Western Michigan University in 2016 under the mentorship of Dr. Jessica Frieder. 

Dr. Sparks is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with the doctoral designation, a licensed behavior analyst, and has years of experience in early childhood intervention for autism, the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, parent training, and consulting in inpatient, outpatient, school, and organizational settings. In the past Dr. Sparks served as a member of the Transition & Adult Services Subcommittee of the Michigan Autism Council. 

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CEUs: Sparks Behavioral Services, LLC (ACE #OP-21-0004) is an ACE-approved provider of continuing education units for behavior analysts. You can earn continuing education units (CEUs) for listening to many of our episodes by visiting cooperantlearning.com!

Summary: In this episode of the Behavior Business Roundtable we discuss the application of behavior analysis in workplace settings, focusing on the effectiveness of reinforcement versus punishment in employee management. We'll explore the importance of creating a positive workplace culture that fosters motivation and engagement, emphasizing the need for understanding individual differences in employee motivation. The conversation highlights the challenges and strategies for improving employee performance and satisfaction through behavior analytic principles. 

Guests

Taylor Barker is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who has dedicated his career to improving the lives of individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities through compassionate, evidence-based care. After graduating from Western Michigan University, Taylor gained experience providing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services in both Indiana and Michigan, where he worked alongside exceptional mentors and colleagues who helped shape his clinical approach and commitment to high-quality, individualized services.

Dr. Steven P. Sparks was born and raised in Rochester, Michigan. He received his Bachelors with honors from the Psychology Department at Western Michigan University in 2009, Masters in Behavior Analysis from Western Michigan University in 2012 under the mentorship of Dr. Richard Malott, and completed his Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis at Western Michigan University in 2016 under the mentorship of Dr. Jessica Frieder. 

Dr. Sparks is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with the doctoral designation, a licensed behavior analyst, and has years of experience in early childhood intervention for autism, the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, parent training, and consulting in inpatient, outpatient, school, and organizational settings. In the past Dr. Sparks served as a member of the Transition & Adult Services Subcommittee of the Michigan Autism Council. 

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