PBS Matters

Dr Maggie Hoerger, president of the UKSBA joins Paddy and Jo to discuss the recognition of PBS qualifications, including BTEC levels 4,5, 6 and 7 and how they align with the credentialing within the UKSBA. They discuss the importance of the professional qualification and that credentialling recognises the level of expertise of professionals. Maggie explains that joining the UKSBA means PBS professionals are agreeing to follow the UKSBA ethical code and are therefore values led whilst being safe and ethical practitioners. Maggie shares that the development of the competencies for the recognition of the PBS qualifications were developed alongside members with an expertise in PBS. 

Guest - Dr Matt Brodhead: 

Matt is an associate professor at Michigan state University and leader in ethical and professional issues in applied behaviour analysis and autism treatment. Over the past 15 years he's established multiple school-based programmes for children with autism and has provided training to teachers, related service providers and behaviour analysts nationally and internationally. Additionally, he is the author for "Practical Ethics for Effective Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder". He has also published over 50 peer reviewed articles, along with a number of book chapters and commentaries in the area of autism, social skill development, functional behaviour assessment, ethics and ABA. He serves as an associate editor for The Journal of Behavioural Education, Behaviour Analysis in Practice and The Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, and he's on the editorial boards of multiple behaviour analytic journals including JABA. Matt is recognised in the academic community as a leader in the area of ABA treatment of autism and is one of the foremost experts in the areas of ethics and professionalism  =in the practice of ABA. He is also the director of of "---- support" , a service which provides free evidence based support to caregivers of people with autism in the state of Michigan

In this episode, Matt, Paddy and Jo give advice to people who are put in situations where their organisation has asked them to (and expects them to) work with people outside their scope of competence. Matt then discusses work regarding the CCC confidence and competence checklist and his 2018 paper: Call For Discussions About Scope of Competence and Behaviour Analysis. 
Next, the talk about co-production within systems especially with the family and their wishes, and about training and making progress when becoming a behaviour analyst / over your career as a BCBA. They discuss change within the business and how to handle that (e.g. regarding mental health) and finally talk about growth in the profession. 

Guest - Dr Tia martin:
Tia is the co-founding director of PBS UK, who have been incorporated for around 7.5 years. Her primary area of working is behaviour analysis in autism and learning disability. She did her PHD at Queen's University Belfast, on behavioural safety and teaching behavioural skills to young people with autism and intellectual disability.

In this episode, Tia, Paddy and Jo discuss a survey Tia recently ran regarding job application and recruitment within the field of behaviour support. Tia ran this survey as she wanted to understand what influences peoples decisions to apply for jobs as PBS practitioners, and what can organisations do anything differently to be more successful. She discusses what the survey looked like, the format, how she got it out there, and the of questions she asked. Tia talks about the themes she noticed in the responses from the survey, and what people consider when taking a roll. She then gives some general advice to recruiters, like: how you pitch your job advert, realistic salaries, etc. Finally, Tia offers advice to the people who are going for jobs.

Guest - Debby Austin:
Debby is a family carer for her daughter Lucy. She has 30 years experience in NHS as a community physio, has worked in community learning disability teams, and is now the strategic LD workforce development manager for family carers. 

Guest - Nick (not sure how to spell last name sorry!!):
Nick is a clinical psychologist, behaviour analyst, and lecturer at the Tizard Centre at University of Kent. He was involved in the making of the first State of the Nation report.

In this episode, Paddy discusses the State of the Nation report with Debby and Nick, who were both involved in the development of the paper. Paddy, Debby and Nick focus on and converse the importance of co-production, partnership working, and working with families. Debby primarily discusses PBS and how it changed family life for her, and talks about her experience being a part of the group who developed the report. We also hear about Lucy's recent new job role and what she plans to do in the future in this role. Nick describes the methodology of putting the report together and also gives some examples on how to engage with families and understand common challenges they face.

Guest - Professor Richard Hastings:
Professor Richard Hastings Researcher from CEDAR, University of Warwick. He has been a researcher for over 30 years, and works primarily in the field of learning disability and autism. He works with practitioners and other services in many ways.
All of Richard's research is very applied and focused on trying to understand the challenged that face children with learning disabilities and their families, but also what they can help to do about that to change and improve people and their families.

In this episode, Paddy, Jo and Richard discuss The State of the Nation report from the International Journal of Positive Behaviour Support. They discuss the priority of co-production in the report, differences between the first and second report, and identify some broader themes in the report (for example, identifying who PBS is for, things to respond to based on change occurring in the 10 years since the first report, the drive behind this change, and more). Further, they discuss pushback received and how to combat unsuccessful attempts at implementing PBS. To conclude, Richard tells us about his hopes regarding what happens next and what this paper will do for the community.

This episode links to Episode 10 when Paddy and Jo spoke with Peter Baker about staff wellbeing. Nick discusses an initial pilot research project that trained staff from two community based adult services to provide post incident support. Nick shows that two stages are required, Diffusion and Critical Incident Stress Debrief. 

Guest - Dr Ashok Roy:
Dr Ashok Roy is a consultant psychiatrist, who works in learning disability and autism services and is a clinical advisor for workforce related matters. He is also the chair of a local Autism Partnership board and a member of Autism West Midlands Charity, and  a charity called Build.
 
In this episode, Ashok (alongside Paddy and Jo) answer's listeners question in relation to PBS. Some of the discussions include describing how to work in collaboration with 'STOMP', Ashok's initial thoughts on PBS and how it's changed / improved, and how to work together to ensure correct diagnoses and medication / solutions (including discussing coexisting conditions like ADHD alongside autism) - as well as many more questions.

Paddy and Jo announce the return of the PBS Matters Podcast, what they have been doing for the last two years and what the upcoming plans are for future episodes. 

Part three:
"How do you know someone is fluent?" When they demonstrate certain behaviours? Emit certain phrases and buss words? Complete their SAFMEDS in record time? What about the outcomes we're usually interested in: understanding what people are doing and why they are doing it, and describing it in such a way that ties it to behavioural principals. Meaning, breaking down the information we're given into relevant behaviour elements (Humility Note: don't break it down and feed it back to them. Please do it in your own head unless they ask you). Once you have your internal translation, use plain language to gauge your own and your listener's understanding, instead of relying on jargon.

Part two:
What do Atilla the Hun, Notorious B.I.G., and behaviour analysis have in common? Tune in to find out! We meet again with our across-the-pond pals to talk about interacting with humans on a less robotic level. For some of us, these skills don't come easily and we often fail to realise the power behind our interactions. Come with us on a reflective journey where we discuss the value of complex internal behaviours and how our intentions may not always hit their mark. We can't see the galaxy for the stars; we've become so focused on goals at hand that we've overlooked all the staff, caregivers, and clients behaviour that are standing in the way. So buckle in, adjust your ear buds, and prepare for you inflight discussion on the value of evaluating our own public and private behaviour and the impact on the work we set out to accomplish.