Function Junction:Behavior Matters

Susan and Cissy have a great conversation with George Simos.  George is a Functional Behavior Evaluator for a school district.  He talks about how much he enjoys the process of evaluating students' behavior to help find the function and come up with a plan to help make a positive impact on their learning.  Have a listen to this really sharp guy.  He will get you thinking.  Stay for the question!

During this episode, Cissy talks about having to bail on the marathon in Disney World.  She reflects on her thought process of not finishing a very important goal for her.  Anytime we fail, we have the opportunity to consider the behaviors that contribute to missing the goal and then those behaviors that will help us try again to reach the goal.  This also led to thinking about individuals with special needs and how it must feel if they are aware that they are not achieving goals that have been set for them.  Hopefully, the discussion will inspire listeners if they have goals they are struggling with or if they are working with individuals who are pushing themselves everyday to learn.  Stay for the question.

Have a listen to the second half of Susan's and Cissy's conversation with Chelsea and Rachel.  They give us some insight into how ABA is a part of raising animals and their own children.  Sometimes the things we learn explain our behavioral history and sometimes it changes how we help our own family members learn.  Please enjoy and stay for the question at the end.

Susan and Cissy have a talk with Rachel and Chelsea about ABA concepts in their lives.  Both ladies are studying to become Board Certified Behavior Analysts and have interesting lives in which the concepts fit.  They work together in a school district in the Houston area helping teachers and students with special needs.  The first part of our conversation with them is, for the most part, about how behavior became a focus for their careers and how they decided to work on BCBA certification. Stay for the question and come back next week for the rest of their conversation.

Susan and Cissy talk about the history behind New Year's resolutions as well as the science related to why they are successful or not.  They share ideas for helping make resolutions work for you. Susan and Cissy hope that the new year brings joy to you. Stay for the question and the coming year.

Susan and Cissy have a great conversation with Troy Payne.  Troy does the editing for the podcast and could also be called the production engineer.  He has certainly been a gift to the hosts and the podcast.  He talks about several things.  One of the most fascinating is how his admiration for Mickey Gilley's music became a true friendship with the artist.  We hope that you enjoy listening to Troy.  
Follow those dreams - Happy Holidays 

In the start of this final part with Debarshi, he talks about wanting to be a teacher.  He wants to change things for other people with autism.  Who better to do that than someone who has autism?  He also talks about a misconception about people with autism being narcissistic.  He talks about how some people think people with autism do not care, but he disagrees because he knows that he cares a lot.  Thank you for listening.  Stay for the question.

In this second part of our conversation with Debarshi, we learn about his late diagnosis and how he was punished for social issues.  He talks about getting help and taking responsibility for his actions.  We also talk about skill vs performance.  Enjoy and stay for the question.

Susan and Cissy have a conversation with Debarshi Kundu.  Susan has known Debarshi since he was in high school.  He was diagnosed with autism at that time and talks about the challenges he has faced along the way.  He has gone on to graduate from the University of Texas at Austin and listeners will hear that he can self-reflect better than many.  This is the first of a three part conversation with an amazing person.  Have a listen and stay for the question at the end.

Susan talks about the history of Black Friday and great deal she recently managed at the grocery store.  They also give some of the behavioral science behind why Black Friday works so well.  Happy Shopping - hope you enjoy.  Stay for the question.