The Autism Helper Podcast

You are never truly an expert on something until you know how to teach it to others. Reinforcement is something that affects all areas of your classroom and your students' success. It affects your students' academic skills, level of independence, social skills, problem behaviors, and more. It's a fundamental component to your classroom. You absolutely need to ensure that you and your team are on the same page when it comes to something so important.

Whether your team has misunderstandings of how to utilize reinforcement the right way or what reinforcers are or if there just isn't enough reinforcement going on, it's time to level up this area of your collective skill set. In this episode, I break down how to utilize Behavior Skills Training (an evidence based approach) to teach your team all of the important details and nuances of reinforcement done right.

Throwback episodes:

Episode 41: How Reinforcement Goes Wrong - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-41-how-reinforcement-goes-wrong/id1443908794?i=1000449956558

Episode 1: Staff Training https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-1-staff-training/id1443908794?i=1000424237499

Episode 3: Staff Training Part 2 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-3-staff-training-pt-ii/id1443908794?i=1000424237497

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Leading your team effectively is essential for student success in the classroom. However, leadership skills aren't something that are taught and don't always come naturally. In this episode, I interview Dr. Sara Feldman. Sara is the co-owner of The Helm ABA Services in the Dallas area. As Sara has grown her business, she saw the importance in developing her team into strong leaders.

Sara shares things a good leader does:

- has a vision

- shares the vision in a way others understand

- is consistent with your feedback

- has empathy

This episode is packed with value! Staff training is so important to your classroom and this episode will help you fine tune your skills in this area!

More from Sara:

http://thehelmaba.com/

@thehelmaba

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In a school setting, working on teams is always part of the job. However, teamwork is hard. It can be even more challenging when working with colleagues who are "difficult". You may have colleagues who are pushy, overly opinionated, or aggressive. This can add stress to your day and impact your happiness at work.

In this episode, we take an ABA approach to collaboration. I share 4 common teamwork strategies and explain why taking these steps can be effective. Let's look at adult interactions through the same behavior lens that works with our students to help you work more effectively with challenging colleagues and reduce stress in these situations.

Click here to find out more info about The Autism Helper Professional Development Membership: https://theautismhelper.com/membership/

Want more information about The Autism Helper Courses? Visit: https://theautismhelper.com/courses/

Looking for a specific product or resource? Find it in our new Autism Helper store! https://shop.theautismhelper.com/

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A power struggle occurs when two individuals are unwilling to change their opinion or position. Power struggles happen in our lives and in our classrooms. In this episode, learn my 6 strategies for AVOIDING the power struggle before it even starts.

1. Pick your battles.

2. Give ways to be in control.

3. Say yes instead of no.

4. Model what you want to see.

5. Give transition warnings.

6. Don't punish the effort.

Work proactively instead of reactively. Build up your student or child's skill set and let them feel successful. Nobody wins in the power struggle so let's not even go there!

Click here to find out more info about The Autism Helper Professional Development Membership: https://theautismhelper.com/membership/

Want more information about The Autism Helper Courses? Visit: https://theautismhelper.com/courses/

Looking for a specific product or resource? Find it in our new Autism Helper store! https://shop.theautismhelper.com/

Or visit The Autism Helper store on TpT: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Autism-Helper

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Executive functioning skills are a set of process to get things done to achieve a goal. They are the skills you need to perform (or execute) a task. Once I started learned about how these skills, I had some major light bulb moments. I knew so many students, clients, and adults who struggled with these skills. I immediately saw how these skills could impact so many areas of an individual's life. I instantly became passionate about learning about how to teach and strengthened executive functions!

Executive functioning skills involve behavior and behavior can be learned or strengthened! In this episode, get an intro into what executive functioning skills are and how they can impact our learners. Get my step by step plan on how to address skill deficits in a way that gives a big impact.

Click here to find out more info about The Autism Helper Professional Development Membership: https://theautismhelper.com/membership/

Want more information about The Autism Helper Courses? Visit: https://theautismhelper.com/courses/

Looking for a specific product or resource? Find it in our new Autism Helper store! https://shop.theautismhelper.com/

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Dr. Laura Riffel is also know as the Behavior Doctor and has trained hundreds of thousands of teachers, clinicians, and parents on the principles of function based behavior change. In this episode, she is sharing her revamped Competing Pathways Chart. Laura shares all the details on how to utilize this framework to identify the function of behavior and develop a strategy for positive and long lasting behavior change.

Download the Competing Pathways Chart here: https://theautismhelper.com/competing-pathways-chart-dr-laura-riffel/

More on Dr. Laura Riffel, the Behavior Doctor here: https://behaviordoctor.org/

Click here to find out more info about The Autism Helper Professional Development Membership: https://theautismhelper.com/membership/

Want more information about The Autism Helper Courses? Visit: https://theautismhelper.com/courses/

Looking for a specific product or resource? Find it in our new Autism Helper store! https://shop.theautismhelper.com/

Or visit The Autism Helper store on TpT: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Autism-Helper

Get all updates from The Autism Helper Podcast by clicking subscribe above. Head over to theautismhelper.com for more info. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest @theautismhelper.

The school day starts from the second your student or child leaves the house and there is quite a lot that can happen between that moment and when the child enters the classroom. School bus staff are responsible for part of students' school day but receive very little (if any!) training and support. In this episode, I interview Patrick Mulick. Patrick is a BCBA, special education administrator, and educational consultant with a passion for helping provide transportation staff with the resources they need to be successful. Patrick and I discuss why including transportation staff is so important and what impacts this can have on students' school day. He shares actionable tips and strategies that you can incorporate today to help get the school bus staff that you work with on the same page in an easy to implement way.

Learn more about Patrick Mulick, BCBA here: http://patrickmulick.com/

Click here to find out more info about The Autism Helper Professional Development Membership: https://theautismhelper.com/membership/

Want more information about The Autism Helper Courses? Visit: https://theautismhelper.com/courses/

Looking for a specific product or resource? Find it in our new Autism Helper store! https://shop.theautismhelper.com/

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In this episode, Whitney Sarnowski shares her story from special ed teacher and soon to be BCBA to special needs parent. She shares the details of her son's diagnosis with autism and discusses what early warning signs she saw in her son. After identifying these signs, she reached out to Florida State's First Words Project (https://firstwordsproject.com/) and worked collaboratively with their team in the evaluation process. Whitney's son Kyson was diagnosed with autism at 20 months. Whitney was ready to start early intervention as soon as possible to give Kyson the skills he needed to learn, develop, and communicate effectively.

Whitney also shares how she utilizes Applied Behavior Analysis strategies and principles with her son in her home. She discusses incidental teaching, manding, and creating a structured and routine based environment to help Kyson be successful. Her suggestions as applicable to the home and school setting!

Whitney shares her journey at www.thespectrumcompass.com and strives to help parents going through the diagnosis process.

Click here to find out more info about The Autism Helper Professional Development Membership: https://theautismhelper.com/membership/

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Looking for a specific product or resource? Find it in our new Autism Helper store! https://shop.theautismhelper.com/

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Even with the best of intentions, utilizing AAC to its fullest can be both intimidating and overwhelming. In this episode, Susan Berkowitz, SLP helps streamline this process by sharing actionable and user friendly tips.

Susan shares her 10 Best Practices for AAC Use in the Classroom. We discuss how staff can set up communicate opportunities, teach use of the AAC system, and help students expand their skill sets. Susan gives strategies that are applicable to any setting or age level. If you have AAC users in your classroom, you will benefit from these tips!

Susan’s website: http://susanberkowitz.net/

Susan’s book: http://maketheconnectionbook.com/

Click here to find out more info about The Autism Helper Professional Development Membership: https://theautismhelper.com/membership/

Want more information about The Autism Helper Courses? Visit: https://theautismhelper.com/courses/

Looking for a specific product or resource? Find it in our new Autism Helper store! https://shop.theautismhelper.com/

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In my blog, social media, and this podcast, I strive to strike a balance between being positive and having a problem solving attitude with sharing being honest and discussing the struggles that come with the job of a special education teacher. In this episode, I want to share some of my hardest moments from my teaching career. I think it's important to talk about the challenges because it lets others going through the same situation know that they are not alone. I want to share what each of those situations taught me and how they made me a better teacher, BCBA, and person.

Because I am discussing more sensitive subjects, I am not sharing any specifics for the stories in this episode. I always want maintain the confidentiality and respect of every student and adult I have worked with. I give the context of each scenario without revealing any identifying information or specifics.

If you are going through a challenging time in your career, know that you are not alone. This job is hard. But you will get through this. Your students are lucky to have you and these struggles will make you a better educator!

Click here to find out more info about The Autism Helper Professional Development Membership: https://theautismhelper.com/membership/

Want more information about The Autism Helper Courses? Visit: https://theautismhelper.com/courses/

Looking for a specific product or resource? Find it in our new Autism Helper store! https://shop.theautismhelper.com/

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Get all updates from The Autism Helper Podcast by clicking subscribe above. Head over to theautismhelper.com for more info. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest @theautismhelper.