Keeping It Behavioral

How much say should a family really have in their own treatment? This week on Keeping It Behavioral, we sit down with Tommy Parry, who blends behavior science with an approach rooted in values and meaning, to talk about control, choice, and how care changes over time.

Tommy breaks down two ideas every family and clinician should know. Degrees of freedom for care describes how much of a treatment plan is shaped by the family or client versus set by the clinician or system. Trajectory of treatment is the direction a person's care is expected to take over time, and why it is a path that shifts rather than a fixed finish line.

Drawing on his research with caregivers of people with dementia and cancer, Tommy shares how to tell a family the plan is changing without it feeling like giving up. We also talk about the ways insurance, schools, and even well meaning relatives narrow a family's choices.

Stick around to the end for Tommy's one piece of advice for parents navigating control, changing goals, and outside pressure.

Connect with us on Instagram @keepingitbehavioral and tell us what you took away from this conversation.

BCBA transitions can feel unsettling, but they're a normal part of ABA services and don't reflect on your child's progress. In this episode of Keeping It Behavioral, we break down everything parents/caregivers need to know when their child's BCBA changes.

We cover why transitions happen, how to prepare (from requesting timelines to sharing your child's history and progress), and how to support your child through the handoff — including tips for building rapport with a new provider while keeping routines consistent. We also talk about effective communication with both BCBAs and your child, what a successful transition looks like, and what to do if things aren't going well, including documenting concerns and knowing when to ask for a different provider.

Episode 22: Two Sisters, 3 Children On The Spectrum

This episode, we sit down with with sisters Shanda and Mary about raising their kids on the spectrum, Shanda's nonverbal daughter Maycie (15), and Mary's kids Daniel (16) and Izzy (11).

They walk through the journey chronologically: life before diagnosis and the cues that led them to seek one, the hardest mental shifts and grief that came after diagnosis, and how parent community has shaped their understanding of neurodivergence.

From there they dig into the ongoing parenting journey, including parenting kids who need control for regulation, how supporting their kids' emotional regulation has changed their own, celebrating small wins, giving themselves grace after hard moments, and avoiding burnout.

They close with reflection and advice: the resources that helped most, what to steer clear of, and words of encouragement for parents who aren't there yet.

In this episode, we sit down with Rachael White, owner of Up Beet Eaters and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst specializing in pediatric feeding and family-centered care. We dig into the nuances of Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), how these diagnoses overlap and differ, and what that means for kids and families navigating feeding challenges. We also talk through naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs), the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between behavior analysts, feeding therapists, and medical providers, and how cultural considerations shape effective, compassionate feeding support.

Whether you're a clinician, a caregiver, or just curious about the intersection of ABA and pediatric feeding, this conversation offers practical insight and a hopeful, family-first perspective.

🤔 Concerned your child may have PFD? Rachael White says the first step parents should take is to fill out the free questionnaire at: https://www.feedingmatters.org/questionnaire

-Learn more about Feeding Matters: https://www.feedingmatters.org/

- Learn more about Rachael and Up Beet Eaters: https://www.upbeeteaters.com/

-Follow Up Beet Eaters on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upbeeteaters/

- Follow Up Beet Eaters on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086930240887

Referenced research:

• Goday et al., "Pediatric Feeding Disorder—Consensus Definition and Conceptual Framework" (JPGN, 2019): https://doi.org/10.1097/MPG.0000000000002188
• Estrem et al., "A US-Based Consensus on Diagnostic Overlap and Distinction for Pediatric Feeding Disorder and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder" (Int J Eat Disord, 2025): https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.24349

What if the things we're told to "fix" are actually strengths in disguise?

We're joined by Kassi Bogolin — retired special education teacher and author of What If It's Not Broken? — to talk about neurodiversity, why autism and ADHD are being reframed from disorders to differences, and what parents and educators can do to better support the neurodivergent kids in their lives. A conversation full of insight, compassion, and a few perspectives that might just change the way you see the world.

What does it mean to truly advocate for students in special education? In this episode, we're joined again by Aria Dean, who opens up about how she got here, what inspires her, and the values that guide her work in ABA and advocacy. We dig into assent, advocacy, and the ripple effect — and why Aria believes the impact of this work reaches further than we'll ever fully know.

Aria Dean has spent over a decade in neurodiversity support and has now stepped into advocacy to support change at the source. During this episode, she sits down with us at Keeping It Behavioral to break down what assent really means in practice, why it's distinct from consent, and why honoring it is a matter of dignity and not just compliance.

We also get into the neurodiversity-affirming movement, what it looks like on the ground, and why autistic voices have to lead that conversation.

A must-listen for BCBAs, RBTs, parents, and anyone committed to doing this work right.

We've covered this topic before, but we're covering it again because it's worth revisiting. In Episode 17, we return to the question at the heart of our show: what is autism?

This time we go further, exploring the realities of the spectrum, sensory experiences, masking, late diagnoses, and what true acceptance looks like beyond awareness.

In a world that's louder, faster, and more overwhelming than ever, individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder often face a unique and exhausting challenge — navigating a constant flood of sensory and cognitive input that most people never notice. In this episode of Keeping It Behavioral, we dive into the science and practice behind information overload in ASD: what's happening in the brain, why it hits differently for autistic individuals, and — most importantly — what we can actually do about it.

We'll explore evidence-based behavioral strategies for reducing environmental overwhelm, building predictable routines, and teaching self-regulation skills that stick. Whether you're a behavior analyst, therapist, parent, educator, or someone on the spectrum yourself, this conversation is packed with practical takeaways you can put to work right away.

We'll also touch on how to recognize the early signs of overload before a meltdown or shutdown occurs, how to set up environments that work with the autistic brain rather than against it, and how caregivers and support teams can become powerful allies in managing day-to-day overwhelm.

Because when we reduce the noise, we make space for real learning, real connection, and real progress.

In this episode of Keeping It Behavioral, we’re talking about lower support need autistic learners—a group that is often misunderstood and frequently overlooked. Because their challenges may be less visible, these learners are often expected to keep up without the support they still genuinely need.

We discuss masking, executive functioning struggles, social expectations, and the risk of burnout when support systems assume “low support need” means “no support needed.” We also share ways parents, educators, and clinicians can better recognize and support these learners in meaningful ways.