Life skills are a critical part of the success of our students. They’re needed in order for them to become as independent as possible in their lives. Here, we cover the best ways to assess life skills and how to make a plan of which skills our learners need to know. We spend so much time working on academic goals with our students, like learning to read and write. However, we forget that those goals are such a small part of their overall life and don’t have much of an impact on how they’ll live on their own. Things like taking public transportation, getting to a job, and doing the laundry are all valuable life skills that are just as important.

We dive into the definition of life skills and what the term can mean for different individuals and their own unique situations. Life skills really start in preschool, and we discuss how to build the right foundation and plant the seeds that will grow as they become teens and young adults. We also share some of the different assessments available that you can use. In many cases, you don’t even need to do a full assessment and just take the parts that are most relevant to your learner.

What’s Inside:

• Why it’s important to start teaching life skills at a young age.
• Examples of life skills assessments and how to use them.
• The importance of tasks when teaching life skills.

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BCBA Emily Varon is a sleep educator. We’ve spoken to Emily in a past episode where we discussed the importance of sleep. Lately, Emily has been diving into a new passion, which is burnout in the field of ABA. There is definitely a strong relationship between burnout and poor sleep and Emily went down the rabbit hole of researching all the data she could. She started talking about this concept more with ABA professionals with the goal of reducing burnout and becoming more well-rested and rejuvenated. Here, we chat with Emily about what burnout is and the domino effect it often leads to.

Burnout doesn’t just impact us as ABA professionals. The parents we work with experience this in their own lives, so it’s important for us to be able to pour from a full cup. The hardest part about burnout is how quickly it can creep up on us. We discuss some of the things that contribute to burnout, like a lack of supervision and being stretched too thin. We also talk about how to tap into our reinforcers, the challenges new and seasoned BCBAs face that can lead to burnout, and potential strategies and solutions to ease overwhelm.

We’re hosting a free webinar with Emily on burnout on March 1st at 8pm EST. For more information, click the link below.

What’s Inside:

• The connections between poor sleep and burnout.
• What contributes to burnout and its impacts is has on our lives.
• Challenges faced by new and seasoned BCBAs that can lead to burnout.

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When we discuss reinforcement, we usually think of things like token boards and other ABA therapist strategies. However, learners can also be taught to regulate their own behavior and become active participants in their own learning through behavior contracts. Here, we dive into the definition of behavior contracts and how we can use them. A behavior contract is a written agreement that outlines expectations, timeframes, and rewards for specific behaviors.

With many students, a behavior contract isn’t the first intervention, it’s something we work towards. Students who are already familiar with and understand a token system can more easily transition into a behavior contract. As students get older, it’s important for them to be responsible for their own goals. Behavior contracts give them ownership over their lives and access to their own reinforcers. We discuss the benefits of this strategy, how to introduce the concept to students, and tips for making your behavior contracts a success.

What’s Inside:

• The benefits of behavior contracts and how to use them.
• Which students benefit the most from behavior contracts.
• Tips to make your behavior contracts successful.

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Episode 070: The Importance of Self-Monitoring with Jamie Salter & Katie Croce

Valori Neiger is an autism feeding specialist. For any of us who have been in the field, we know that a lot of the kids we work with really struggle with feeding. When Valori reached out to us, of course, we had to have her join us on the show. She started her ABA journey in undergraduate school in the early 2000s, where she was introduced to psychology. Dr. Greg Madden, a pioneer in behavior economics, was a guest speaker in one of Valori’s classes and wanted to recruit students into an ABA track. Valori left class totally hooked and was inspired to get into the field. She then went on to graduate school where she gained valuable experience in a wide variety of areas. Valori relocated to Seattle after school, and she eventually worked in the specialty of feeding.

Through her work, Valori realized there was a huge demand for help with feeding concerns and the wait for families can be really long. Valori also started a blog as a way to help families and providers serving the population. We chat with Valori about how feeding falls under ABA, the biggest challenges to feeding when working with kids with autism, and suggestions on how to work on feeding flexibility. If you’re interested in learning more about Valori and her work, check out her blog by clicking the link below. We’re also hosting a webinar with Valori on feeding on Friday, February 24th at 12 pm EST. For more details and to become a member of How To ABA, head to our website.

What’s Inside:

• How Valori got into a career as an autism feeding specialist.
• How feeding can be incorporated into a team-based model.
• Steps to work on feeding flexibility.
• Tips for professionals and parents.
• Info on our upcoming webinar.

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Autism Feeding Specialist Blog
5 Ways to Improve Mealtime Flexibility

Passing your BCBA exam is an amazing accomplishment. Although becoming officially certified is something to celebrate, the next task is getting out into the field and putting your new skills to the test. Some new practitioners are faced with impostor syndrome while others believe that just by having the certification, they know everything there is to know. The truth is that getting that piece of paper is just the beginning of your journey as a new BCBA. There’s still so much to learn and experience and here, we’re sharing tips to help you start the journey off on the right foot.

Supervision is key, so be sure to find a mentor that you respect and trust. Surround yourself with people you can rely on and who are available to answer your questions. We dive into CEUs and how to make a plan to track them. We also discuss understanding your strengths, being open to new experiences, goal setting, and how to stay grounded when working with parents and other professionals. If you’re not already a member of How To ABA, becoming an official member gives you access to plenty of great resources to help you get acclimated as a brand-new professional.

What’s Inside:

• Why getting your BCBA certification is just the beginning of your journey.
• The importance of CEUs and making sure you track them.
• How to stay grounded when working with parents and professionals.

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Free BCBA Skills Assessment

As BCBAs, collaboration is a very critical part of our job. However, a lot of us have trouble collaborating effectively. Unfortunately, some of the other professionals we may encounter don’t have a great opinion about ABA, as it does have a bit of a negative reputation. Because of this, it’s important to have the right conversations about what we do and how we can help our clients reach their goals. It’s also important to be open to other disciplines, like speech and OT, as they offer their own unique perspectives.

Here, we discuss how we can collaborate with other professionals and incorporate them into some of our programmings. The first step is open communication, which includes keeping others updated and getting feedback when appropriate. Second, be open to new ideas, try them out, and make collaboration a group effort. Try to use regular terminology instead of ABA acronyms others may not understand. Sharing training sessions are also an effective way to support each other and get on the same page. Always keep in mind that we’re all human beings and professionals in our own unique areas.

What’s Inside:

• Why collaboration is an essential component of being a successful BCBA.
• Steps to effective collaboration with multi-disciplinary professionals.

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Free BCBA Skills Assessment 

Most BCBAs aren’t taught how to supervise others, and many of us are thrown into the role as soon as we get our certification. Right afterward, we’re expected to supervise ABA programs, staff members, and even parents. It’s important to know what steps to take when supervising so we don’t become overwhelmed and experience burnout. It’s common to experience imposter syndrome as a new BCBA, especially when we’re given so many added responsibilities. Here, we define supervision and walk through the various responsibilities and tasks a BCBA is expected to take on.

One of the best ways to minimize overwhelm is to prepare ahead of time and stay organized. Depending on the environment, you may be interacting with many different parties, so it’s important to take notes. Notetaking also makes following up in the next session simple.  We discuss how to collect and analyze data, how to share it with your supervisees, and the importance of looking at things from a big-picture perspective. We also cover how to model and make suggestions to staff, which should include a ton of positive feedback.

To download our free supervision task analysis form, click the link below.

What’s Inside:

• What supervision is and a BCBA’s responsibilities.
• Tips for preparing and staying organized through supervision sessions.
• How to model and give feedback to staff.

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Supervision Task Analysis Form

There is a lot of staff turnover in our field. It’s important to take care of ourselves to avoid burnout but figuring out how to manage a work-life balance can seem like a mystery. Here, Shana shares a story from when she owned several clinics and managed a staff of 25. While it was fun and rewarding, it was a lot to handle. As the owner, she felt constant pressure and her workload was well over 80 hours a week. After COVID forced Shana to step back from her responsibilities, she realized just how overwhelmed she was.

Many of us are busy moms in addition to working professionals, and it can be really difficult to juggle all of our priorities. Maintaining a work-life balance looks different for everyone, and it’s important to know what works for you. It’s OK to step back every once in a while and not feel guilty about it. Here, we discuss the importance of prioritizing your own unique needs, setting healthy boundaries, and why you should make time to fill up your tank and recharge. To download our free assessment resources, click on the link below.

What’s Inside:

• How to prioritize your unique needs to maintain a work-life balance.
• The importance of setting healthy boundaries.
• Why you should include time to recharge into your schedule.

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Free Assessment Resources 

BCBA Flor De Amelia (Lizette) Hoffman is a mom of two and we met at ABAI.  She was inspired to get into the field because of her daughter, who is now 13 years old. Lizette’s daughter was diagnosed with autism at 18 months but knew something was wrong as early as 8 months when she began to experience seizures. Lizette struggled to find answers for her daughter, and she shares what her journey was like as a young mom. ABA therapy helped greatly, and Lizette wanted to learn all about the techniques to practice them on her own. Today, she works with several families who have the same passion and willingness to learn.

Lizette became an RBT and then got her masters in ABA. After being told to “stay in her lane” at her daughter’s school, she got a master’s in special education while pregnant with her third child. Lizette’s story is so inspiring and it’s amazing to hear how her own experience pushed her forward. We talk about the depression, anger, and denial that parents experience on this journey and what helped Lizette get through it. We also discuss what’s next on Lizette’s career journey, how she’s continuing to advocate for her daughter and advice for practitioners working with parents and families.

What’s Inside:

• How Lizette’s daughter inspired her to pursue a career in ABA.
• How depression, anger, and denial affect parents with children with a diagnosis.
• Advice for practitioners working with parents and families.

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We’re taking some time to look back on 2022, and what a year it has been! Throughout 2022, we continued to host some great CEU speakers in our membership, covering several topics like self-monitoring, parenting, sleep, compassionate care, and ACT. We also covered how to be a better BCBA and how to prevent practitioner burnout. How To ABA started as our side gig as we worked our full-time jobs, and this year, we really strived to be more consistent. Since April, we’ve had a podcast and blog come out every week. We even had the chance to sponsor and speak at industry conferences. We also brought on a team to help us grow and provide our audience with even more great content.

In our look back, we share some personal growth stories and accomplishments as well. We’re looking forward to 2023 and would love to hear feedback from our listeners on what you’d like to see.

What’s Inside:

• A lookback and review on How To ABA in 2022

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