A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to find a few hours to catch up with many-time guest and all-around podcast fave, Dr. Greg Hanley. We had what turned out to be a lengthy conversation that included the following:

• His recent professional association with Action Behavior Centers.
• Available jobs at Action Behavior Centers.
• The evolution of FTF Behavioral Consulting.
• The term, Compassionate ABA, including some of my misgivings on whether terms like these are necessary.
• The nuanced role of extinction in Skills Based Treatment.
• Distinguishing between the immediate and long-term effects of reinforcement.
• Efficacy vs. effectiveness.
• Some historical perspectives on Functional Analysis, including the unexpected topic in which the term 'automatic reinforcement' was used.
• Questioning the role of descriptive functional assessment.
• Greg's recent thoughts on head-directed self-injury.
• The role of tics in self-injury.
• Skills-based treatment's intersection with constructional approaches to behavioral intervention.

If you think that's a lot, it's just a sample of what we talk about.

Here are the links to what we discussed:

• Session 276 with Dr. Anthony Cammilleri.
• Ghaemmaghami et al. (2024). Toward Compassion in the Assessment and Treatment of Severe Problem Behavior.
• Slaton et al. (2024). Long-term effectiveness and generality of practical functional assessment and skill-based treatment.
• Carr et al. (1976). Stimulus control of self-destructive behavior in a psychotic child.
• Dr. Jessel's ResearchGate page.
• van Haaren (2015). Automatic negative reinforcement: Its possible role in problem behavior with treatment implications.

This podcast is brought to you by:

• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving (maybe even this episode!), walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The Behavioral Toolbox. thebehavioraltoolbox.com is a new education and training site that my colleagues Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni and I have been working on for over two years. Check out our latest course, Motivational Interviewing: Getting Educator Buy-In as well as the hugely popular When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classrooms.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations. Don't forget to use the coupon code, PODCAST to save at checkout!
• If you'd like to get BOP episodes a little earlier than everyone else, with no ads... just the interview itself, consider supporting the show with a Patreon subscription.

Quick, what's 47 minus 12? What did you have for breakfast the day before yesterday? When is the next leap year? Hit pause real quick and try to answer these.

Don't worry, I'm not going to hold you to your answers. What's more important is the processes you went through derive them. If you find this sort of thing interesting, then this is the podcast for you!

Dr. Judah Axe joins me in Session 282 to discuss a behavioral interpretation of problem solving. Judah is a Professor in the Department of Behavior Analysis at Simmons University, and along with Drs. Paul Alberto and Anne Troutman, he is the author of Applied Behavior Analysis for Teachers. Here are just some of the topics we hit on:

• What, in behavioral terms, constitutes a problem?
• How Skinner first conceptualized problems and problem solving.
• How self-talk, visualization, and other private events play a role in problem solving.
• How we both wished we had stronger backgrounds in Developmental Psychology. 
• A quick review of Blooms Taxonomy.
• Current educational practices that potentially impede the development of higher order problem solving.
• Some topics that Judah may discuss at the upcoming Verbal Behavior Conference.
• How to determine if or when to teach problem solving skills.
• How improvisation might be fostered.
• The role of developing rules.
• The challenges of studying problem solving.

Here are some resources we discussed:

• The Verbal Behavior Conference.
• Marckel, Neef, and Ferreri (2013). A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS OF TEACHING IMPROVISATION WITH THE PICTURE EXCHANGE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM TO CHILDREN WITH AUTISM.
• Park and Gaylord-Ross (1989). A problem-solving approach to social skills training in employment settings with mentally retarded youth.
• Mann and Karsten (2020). Efficacy and social validity of procedures for improving conversational skills of college students with autism.
• Axe, Phelan, and Irwin (2019). Empirical Evaluations of Skinner’s Analysis of Problem Solving.
• Talk Aloud Problem Solving.
• A sampling of LeBlanc and Carr's work in the area of problem solving.
• Michael (2017). What Every Student of Behavior Analysis Ought to Learn: A System for Classifying the Multiple Effects of Behavioral Variables.
• Spiral bound atlases.

This podcast is brought to you by:

• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving (maybe even this episode!), walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The Behavioral Toolbox. thebehavioraltoolbox.com is a new education and training site that my colleagues Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni and I have been working on for over two years. Check out our latest course, Motivational Interviewing: Getting Educator Buy-In as well as the hugely popular When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classrooms.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations. Don't forget to use the coupon code, PODCAST to save at checkout!
• If you'd like to get BOP episodes a little earlier than everyone else, with no ads... just the interview itself, consider supporting the show with a Patreon subscription.

Dr. Matt Tincani joins Dr. John Borrero and me for the 21st (can you believe it!?!?) installment of the Inside JABA Series on Behavioral Observations.

From a research perspective, this Inside JABA episode is by far our most wonkiest one to date. By that I mean we take a deep dive into the area of Open Science Practices.

If you're not familiar with the Open Science movement, Matt walks us through the basics. In doing so, we review the lead paper in the fall 2024 issue of JABA that he co-wrote with Drs. Shawn Gilroy and Art Dowdy (see Tincani, Gilroy, and Dowdy, 2024).

Of the several Open Science Practices, this paper - and by extension, this episode - focuses on Preregistration. According to Tincani and colleagues, "preregistration entails outlining a research protocol and specifying the study methods and plans for analysis, which are then archived publicly in a repository before conducting the study" (see p. 4).

The point of doing this, amongst others, is to increase transparency and reduce criticisms of questionable research practices in Behavior-Analytic research, such as the file drawer effect, dropping participants from analyses, and so on.

While these aims sound laudable, when reading this paper, my inner skeptic began formulating a handful of objections to preregistration, such as increasing barriers to conducting research by adding additional steps, "boxing in" the work of researchers to the point if inflexibility, and so on. Both in the paper and on this podcast, Matt walks through these common objections, so if you too are skeptical, give this episode a listen and see if Matt's treatment of these resonate with you.

Here are a few resources mentioned in the episode:

• Tincani, Gilroy, and Dowdy (2024). Extensions of open science for applied behavior analysis: Preregistration for single-case experimental designs.

• Tincani and Travers (2019). Replication Research, Publication Bias, and Applied Behavior Analysis.

• Subscribe to JABA here.

• Open Science Collaboration (2015). Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science.

• Retraction Watch.

• Rick Kubina, Session 39.

• Kubina et al. (2017). A Critical Review of Line Graphs in Behavior Analytic Journals.

Drs. Peter Gerhardt and Shanna Bahry join me to talk about a range of topics centering around supporting adults with ASD and related disabilities. They are the authors of the new book, Make it Meaningful: Creating Programs that Matter into Adulthood for Learners with Autism Spectrum and Related Disorders.

In this conversation, we talk about how ABA services are skewed towards younger populations, how programming for younger learners might look different if practitioners knew more about the unique needs of adult service recipients, risk aversion and other barriers to promoting independence, their 'wishlist' of skills that they'd like to see all adults with disabilities learn, having difficult conversations with parents, and lots more.

Of course we discuss their book, the resources their book provides, and how these resources relate to other functional skills curricula that are out there... such as Essential for Living.

You're also going to want to stay tuned for the entire conversation, because we close with some fantastic advice for just about everyone in this field.

Here are links to some of the resources discussed in this episode:

• Where to get more info on the book, Make it Meaningful.
• Meaningful Hope ABA.
• The Epic School.
• Dr. Bahry on LinkedIn.
• Dr. Gerhardt on LinkedIn.
• Essential for Living.
• Bannerman et al. (1990). Balancing the right to habilitation with the right to personal liberties: The rights of people with Developmental Disabilities to eat too many doughnuts and take a nap.
• Rubin (2018). The Happiness Project, Tenth Anniversary Edition: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun.

This podcast is brought to you by the following:

• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving (maybe even this episode!), walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The 2024 Stone Soup Conference! Behavior Analysis' premier online event is taking place on October 25th. Come hear from pod faves including Drs. John Austin, Lina Slim, Jim Moore, and many others! 8.5 Learning CEUs are available, and when you use the promo code PODCAST24, that comes out to less than 8 bucks per credit. Learn more here!
• The Behavioral Toolbox. thebehavioraltoolbox.com is a new education and training site that my colleagues Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni and I have been working on for over two years. We have two courses available: our first course, Ready, Set, Consult! and our newly released course, When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classrooms.
• Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations. Don't forget to use the coupon code, PODCAST to save at checkout!

Many-time guest Dr. Jim Moore stopped by the podcast to talk about a range of topics that he's been working on since we last spoke. In particular, we discussed his recent move to Arizona and his new job at Therapy Matters, what he's learned as a C-Suite executive who maintains an active client caseload, the value of implementing universal behavioral protocols clinic-wide, practical approaches to thinking about the concept of assent, and what he's learned as of late implementing concepts and practices in the area of naming, and the associated benefits he's seen in his clients from these strategies.

If you like what you hear, come hear Jim expand on all of these topics at the 2024 Stone Soup Conference. It's happening on October 25th, but it will also be available afterwards via Behavior Live. If you are interested in attending this fantastic conference, please be sure to use the promo code, PODCAST24 to save on your registration!

Here are some helpful links:

• Jim's LinkedIn page.
• TherapyMatters.org
• The 2024 Stone Soup Conference (use promo code PODCAST24 to save!).
• Schramm and Miller: The Seven Steps to Earning Instructional Control.
• Session 257 with Dr. Tim Vollmer (CEU available).
• Morris et al. (2024): Toward a Further Understanding of Assent.
• Shillingsburg et al. (2019). Rapport Building and Instructional Fading Prior to Discrete Trial Instruction: Moving From Child-Led Play to Intensive Teaching.
• Jim's previous BOP episodes.

Today's podcast is brought to you by:

• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving (maybe even this episode!), walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The 2024 Stone Soup Conference! Behavior Analysis' premier online event is taking place on October 25th. Come hear from pod faves including Drs. John Austin, Lina Slim, Jim Moore, and many others! 8.5 Learning CEUs are available, and when you use the promo code PODCAST24, that comes out to less than 8 bucks per credit. Learn more here!
• The Behavioral Toolbox. thebehavioraltoolbox.com is a new education and training site that my colleagues Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni and I have been working on for over two years. We have two courses available: our first course, Ready, Set, Consult! and our newly released course, When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classrooms.
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.

Una exploración acerca de la Latinidad en el análisis de conducta con la Dra. Corina Jimenez-Gomez y la Dra Sarah Lechago

En este episodio nos acompaña nuestra contribuidora frecuente, la Dra. Corina Jimenez, junto con la Dra. Sarah Lechago, una de las co-autoras de un nuevo artículo publicado en Behavior Analysis in Practice acerca de la Latinidad. En esta conversación se hace evidente que definir Latinidad no es una tarea fácil. Estas investigadoras identificaron, a través de varias fuentes en la literatura, que es común agrupar a los Latinos a partir de valores compartidos como el familismo, el machismo/marianismo, y la religiosidad/espiritualidad que subyacen en las tradiciones de las culturas Latinas. El artículo busca explorar a partir de una encuesta, como se identifican los analistas de conducta latinos con respecto a estos valores. A pesar de la complejidad de estos temas, queda claro que para ser proveedores de servicios de análisis de conducta más efectivos y culturalmente adeptos, nos incumbe informarnos y auto-evaluarnos con respecto a nuestros sesgos culturales como también tener mejores sensibilidades con respecto a los valores y prácticas culturales de las personas que apoyamos. 

An exploration of Latinidad in behavior analysis with Dr. Corina Jimenez-Gomez and Dr. Sarah Lechago

In this episode we are joined by our frequent contributor, Dr. Corina Jimenez, along with Dr. Sarah Lechago, one of the co-authors of a new article published in Behavior Analysis in Practice about Latinidad. In this conversation it becomes evident that defining Latinidad is not an easy task. These researchers identified, through various sources in the literature, that it is common to group Latinos based on shared values such as familismo, machismo/marianismo, and religiosity/spirituality that underlie the traditions of Latino cultures. The article seeks to explore, through a survey, how Latino behavior analysts identify themselves with respect to these values. Despite the complexity of these issues, it is clear that to be more effective and culturally adept providers of behavior analysis services, it is incumbent upon us to educate and self-assess regarding our cultural biases, as well as to have greater sensibilities regarding the cultural values and practices of the people we support.

Dr. Anthony Cammilleri - better known as Tony to friends and colleagues - joins me in Session 276. In this episode, we talked about his early experiences in Behavior Analyst, his experiences working in Greg Hanley's lab as a grad student, of course his work collaborating with Greg and other colleagues in the founding and development of the FTF consultancy, the recent news of his migration over to Action Behavior Centers, and what opportunities lie ahead in this partnership.

We then talk more generally about what's new in the world of the IISCA or Practical Functional Assessment, along with Skills-Based Treatment, and how those processes have evolved over the years, common mistakes people make when implementing these procedures, and more.

We also talked about my semi-misgivings about terms like Compassionate-ABA, Trauma-Informed-ABA, Trauma-Assumed-ABA, and the like, as well as Tony's upcoming talk at the 2024 Stone Soup Conference.

Here are links to some of the resources we mentioned:

• Free State Brewing (Lawrence, KS).
• All thing FTF.
• FTF's credentialing options.
• Action Behavior Center's big announcement!
• Action Behavior Center's homepage.
• The 2024 Stone Soup Conference (use PODCAST24 to save at checkout!).
• Hanley (2012). Functional Assessment of Problem Behavior: Dispelling Myths, Overcoming Implementation Obstacles, and Developing New Lore.
• Anderson and St. Peter (2013). Functional Analysis With Typically Developing Children: Best Practice or Too Early to Tell?: In Response to Hanley (2012).
• Hanley et al. (2014). Producing meaningful improvements in problem behavior of children with autism via synthesized analyses and treatments.
• Rajaraman and Hanley (2020). Mand compliance as a contingency controlling problem behavior: A systematic review.
• Fisher et al. (1996). On the reinforcing effects of the content of verbal attention.
• Dr. Tim Vollmer's appearance on the podcast in Session 257.
• Session 176: Towards Trauma-Informed Applications of Behavior Analysis.

This podcast is brought to you by:

• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving (maybe even this episode!), walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The 2024 Stone Soup Conference! Behavior Analysis' premier online event is taking place on October 25th. Come hear from pod faves including Drs. John Austin, Lina Slim, Jim Moore, and many others! 8.5 Learning CEUs are available, and when you use the promo code PODCAST24, that comes out to less than 8 bucks per credit. Learn more here!
• The Behavioral Toolbox. thebehavioraltoolbox.com is a new education and training site that my colleagues Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni and I have been working on for over two years. We have two courses available: our first course, Ready, Set, Consult! and our newly released course, When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classrooms.

My partner in crime and host of the BOP en Español Series, Miguel Avila, joins me to talk about Behavior Analysis in Spanish-speaking cultures.

In addition to his day job with Essential for Living, Miguel has been hard at work, and recorded over 10 Spanish language podcasts for Behavioral Observations listeners.

So in this episode, which we of course conduct in English because my Spanish did not progress past my Freshman year of college, I turn the tables and interview Miguel for a change.

We talk about his experience as an immigrant to the US, what constitutes "Spanglish," how he encountered Behavior Analysis, and how he ended up at Essential for Living, leading the efforts to translate those materials into Spanish.

We then broaden the discussion to talk about where Behavior Analysis stands in various Spanish-speaking countries. As you'll hear in the podcast, Miguel has spent time in many of these places in Latin America and Europe, so while he humbly claims to not be the ultimate authority on these matters, he certainly has gained lots of hands-on experience in these settings.

A conversation like this would not be complete if we didn't talk about efforts to provide training and consumer protections via regulatory institutions in these countries. In doing so, we touch on organizations including QABA, IBAO, LABA, ABA España, ABAI SIG Español, OMPAC, and more. Long story short, there's a lot to do in terms of supporting the profession of Behavior Analysis in these international contexts. In fact, Miguel will be speaking at the upcoming Puerto Rico ABA 2024 conference coming up in October.

Here are some links to the topics we discussed:

• Essential for Living
• PCMA
• Winston Behavioral Solutions
• Session 200 of the BOP (Miguel wrote and read the intro)
• Elcoro, at al (2024). Behavior Analysis in Venezuela: An Unrecognized Legacy

This podcast is brought to you with the support of:

• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving (maybe even this episode!), walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The 2024 Stone Soup Conference! Behavior Analysis' premier online event is taking place on October 25th. Come hear from pod faves including Drs. John Austin, Lina Slim, Jim Moore, and many others! 8.5 Learning CEUs are available, and when you use the promo code PODCAST24, that comes out to less than 8 bucks per credit. Learn more here!
• The Behavioral Toolbox. thebehavioraltoolbox.com is a new education and training site that my colleagues Anika Costa and Dr. Paulie Gavoni and I have been working on for over two years. We have two courses available: our first course, Ready, Set, Consult! and our newly released course, When Not to FBA: 5 Quick Strategies for Improving Behavior in Classrooms. Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations. Don't forget to use the coupon code, PODCAST to save at checkout!

Dr. John Austin returns to the show to discuss a topic that we touched on briefly back in Session 230: Psychological Safety.

While the idea of Psychological Safety might seem overly conceptual in nature, John breaks down what he thinks about it in very easily understood and measurable terms. More importantly, he talks about why Psychological Safety matters in the workplace.

Here are some of the aspects of this topic that we got into:

• The example of Google's Project Aristotle, where this term became popularized.
• Ways to measure Psychological Safety.
• Setting the occasion for employees saying what's on their minds.
• Creating conditions where feedback is accepted, and even desired.
• How employees might find meaning in their work.
• The concept of Behavioral Integrity.
• Leaders being surprised when employees quit unexpectedly.
• Other factors relating to employee retention.
• How to foster connections with coworkers and employees.
• What John will be talking about at the upcoming Stone Soup Conference (note: use promo code PODCAST24 to save $$$ at checkout!).
• Pivotal leadership behaviors, and lots more!

If you like John's content, you're in luck, because he's agreed to come back and do an episode on having difficult conversations, which as you'll hear, is a topic that many leaders struggle with.

Here are the resources we discussed in this episode:

• Free access to the audio version of John's book, Results: The Science-Based Approach

to Better Productivity, Profitability, and Safety.

• Sleiman, et al. (2020). A Quantitative Review of Performance Feedback in

Organizational Settings (1998-2018).

• John's website, drjohnaustin.com.
• Edmondson (2018). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth (note: Amazon Associates Link).
• Google Project Aristotle - 5 Keys to Team Success.
• Other podcasts mentioned: Session 262 (Pat Friman) and Session 266 (Chris McGinnis).

This podcast is brought to you by:

• How to ABA…The Bx Resource Membership saves you time, lends you support, and helps you keep up with your CEUs. It's a growing library of resources, materials, programs, datasheets, assessments, and how-to videos to help you tackle any ABA program with ease. It also includes live CEUs each month, live mentorship sessions, a full library of CEUs (60+, enough for recertification), and a community of fellow behavior professionals where you can ask questions when you need support. Join us at howtoaba.com/join.
• ACE Approved CEUs from .... Behavioral Observations. That's right, get your CEUs while driving (maybe even this episode!), walking your dog, doing the dishes, or whatever else you might have going on, all while learning from your favorite podcast guests!
• The 2024 Stone Soup Conference! Behavior Analysis' premier online event is taking place on October 25th. Come hear from pod faves including Drs. John Austin, Lina Slim, Jim Moore, and many others! 8.5 Learning CEUs are available, and when you use the promo code PODCAST24, that comes out to less than 8 bucks per credit. Learn more here!
• The University of Cincinnati Online. UC Online designed a Master of Education in Behavior Analysis program that is 100% online and asynchronous, meaning you log on when it works for you. Want to learn more? Go to online.uc.edu and click the “request info” button.
• HRIC Recruiting. Barb Voss has been placing BCBAs in permanent positions throughout the US for just about a decade, and has been in the business more generally for 30 years. When you work with HRIC, you work directly with Barb, thereby accessing highly personalized service. So if you're about to graduate, you're looking for a change of pace, or you just want to know if the grass really is greener on the other side, head over to HRIColorado.com to schedule a confidential chat right away.