Picture this- you’re out cruising the galaxy and a distress signal pings across your board. You immediately respond with, “We’re here!” and you deploy rescue pods, only to have them float aimlessly through space, never completing their mission. What happened?

Often times our eagerness to help prevents us from taking the time to ask some very critical questions. What are your coordinates? What caused this to happen? What is the environment like going in? Can it be a clean rescue or do the processes need to be reviewed first in order to be more successful?

In our previous encounter with the PBS Matters team, we discussed the value of being fluent in the science; meaning, our language should be as easily interpreted by someone in the field as well as those implementing our recommendations. As behavior analysts we come equipped with a variety of tools that can be applied to a variety of settings. We’re taught to look at the environment, analyze the function, and then recommend/prescribe an intervention. But when progress stalls, to whom do we listen? Sure we check the data, but what about checking in with the people who produce the data?

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the values of listening and taking time to build rapport

2. Troubleshoot some of the barriers when taking time to listen

3.  Describe some examples of active listening

Take Aways- your bite-sized educational noms

• Culture- of the learning/treatment environment, histories of clients and stakeholders.

• Communication- appreciative inquiry. Ask purposeful questions. Get comfortable building rapport.

• Context- of the behavior, the speaker, the client. Talk about the rationale for programs and why they are important; what’s the point?

• Contingencies- that progress learning forward, that hinder learning and teaching.

Worth: 1 Type Learning CE, 1 ethics, 0 supervision

References:

- Seligman’s PERMA+ Model Explained: A Theory of Wellbeing.

- Jumping Into the Chaos of Things - David Pitonyak

- Fong, E. H., Catagnus, R. M., Brodhead, M. T., Quigley, S., & Field, S. (2016). Developing the Cultural - Awareness Skills of Behavior Analysts. Behavior analysis in practice, 9(1), 84–94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-016-0111-6

- Biglan A. The Need for a More Effective Science of Cultural Practices. Behav Anal. 2016 Feb 4;39(1):97-107. doi: 10.1007/s40614-016-0051-z. PMID: 27606190; PMCID: PMC4883505. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31976264/

- Beaulieu L, Addington J, Almeida D. Behavior Analysts' Training and Practices Regarding Cultural Diversity: the Case for Culturally Competent Care. Behav Anal Pract. 2018 Dec 7;12(3):557-575. doi: 10.1007/s40617-018-00313-6. PMID: 31976264; PMCID: PMC6743533.

- Callahan, K., Foxx, R. M., Swierczynski, A., Aerts, X., Mehta, S., McComb, M. E., Nichols, S. M., Segal, G., Donald, A., & Sharma, R. (2019). Behavioral Artistry: Examining the Relationship Between the Interpersonal Skills and Effective Practice Repertoires of Applied Behavior Analysis Practitioners. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 49(9), 3557–3570. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04082-1

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Intro Music- "Message in a Bottle"- Sting and the Police

Music by: www.purple-planet.com

Graphic by: Nikko Macaspac at Unsplash