Aba Inside Track

Since the 1970s the scientific field has been steadily improving in its use of meaningful consent practices. But how are we doing when it comes to the related practice of gaining client assent? This week we discuss the similarities and differences between both and take a pulse check as to how behavior analysis is doing to ensure only the best of practices when it comes to benefiting our clients whether in the research lab or clinic setting. If you think of assent practices as just willingness to enter the classroom, you definitely need to listen to this episode. This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU. Articles discussed this episode: Mead Jasperse, S.C., Kelly, M.P., Ward, S.N., Fernand, J.K., Joslyn, P.R., & van Dijk, W. (2025). Consent and assent practices in behavior analytic research. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 18, 826-841. doi: 10.1007/s40617-023-00838-5  Flowers, J. & Dawes, J. (2023). Dignity and respect: Why therapeutic assent matters. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 16, 913-920. do

Special guest, Denisha Gingles, returns to the show to update our perceptions of good leadership with a decidedly non-Western traditional mindset of culturally responsive practices. For example, did you know that some cultures appreciate a greater sense of unity from their leaders? Apparently one giant know-it-all doesn't necessarily make for the best boss—looking at you, American CEOs! Learn how embracing a more diverse workforce can also benefit goals of meaningful mentorship and growth in our field with some examples from the medical world and how much we really should learn from rugby. This episode is available for 1.0 CULTURAL (ETHICS) CEU. Articles discussed this episode: Sriram, V., Atwal, A., & McKay, E.A. (2024). Exploring aspects of mentoring for black and minoritised healthcare professionals in the UK: A nominal group technique study. BMJ Open, 14. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089121 Kemzang, J., Bekolo, G., Jaunky, S., Mathieu, J., Contant, H., Oguntala, J., Rahmani, M., Louisme, M.C., Medina, N.

In our newest episode in our Tutorial series, we're joined by special guest (and SLP), Judy Southey to get the ABCs of PECS. Like, did you know saying, "Hand me a PEC" demonstrates a total misunderstanding of the acronym? Or, more importantly, the steps involved in training the usage of PECS for increasing verbal behavior? What comes first, second, last and what common misconceptions about PECS can interfer with the development of functional language? More questions, we've got the answers! This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU. Articles discussed this episode: Robertson, M. & Harris, T. (2024, December 30th). How to best determine if an autistic individual is using an effective communication system. Autism Spectrum News. https://autismspectrumnews.org/how-to-best-determine-if-an-autistic-individual-is-using-an-effective-communication-system Wannapaschaiyong, P., Vivattanasinchai, T., & Wongkwanmuang, A. (2025). Predictors of successful Picture Exchange Communication System training in childr

Much like the amount of time the New England sun stays up, enjoy a short preview of what's coming out in the darkest days of December on the podcast. This month we've got three special guests including SLP, Judy Southey leading us through the new "How To" all about PECS; Denisha Gingles to lead us through a discussion of leadership practices in ABA, and Matt Cicoria leading us into the new year by reviewing what happened in ABA in 2025 in our yearly special episode. And, to round things out, a discussion about exactly what makes up assent practices. Yule love it all! Articles for December 2025 Tutorial: PECS with Judy Southey Robertson, M. & Harris, T. (2024, December 30th). How to best determine if an autistic individual is using an effective communication system. Autism Spectrum News. https://autismspectrumnews.org/how-to-best-determine-if-an-autistic-individual-is-using-an-effective-communication-system Wannapaschaiyong, P., Vivattanasinchai, T., & Wongkwanmuang, A. (2025). Predictors of successfu

So, we already covered safety skills on land. But what about safety in the water? Drowning is one of the most common causes of death in children and those numbers increase significantly for autistic children. In this episode we review the research on how to teach water safety skills. Would you believe, a lot of them include teaching how to swim? That plus other skills that every child should learn and the most effective ways to teach them. This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU. Articles discussed this episode: Martin, C. & Dillenberger, K. (2019).  Behavioural Water Safety and Autism: a Systematic Review of Interventions. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 6, 356-366. doi: 10.1007/s40489-019-00166-x Levy, K. M., Ainsleigh, S. A., & Hunsinger-Harris, M. L. (2017). Let's go under! Teaching Water Safety Skills using a behavioral treatment package. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 52, 186-193. doi: 10.1177/215416471705200208 Tucker, M. & In

In this episode we're delving back into the world of OBM with special guest Dr. Doug Johnson. And after giving us a crash course in meaningful instrucitonal design, Dr. Johnson discusses many of the ways that meaningful teaching can leverge amazing business trainings. Shockingly tons of video and flashy graphics don't actually make your new employee orientation webinar good. There are rules about this kind of stuff, and Dr. Johnson points out some of the most important ones. This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU. Articles discussed this episode: Johnson, D.A. (2021). The foundations of behavior-based instructional design within business. In Houmanfar, R.A., Fryling, M., & Alavosius, M.P. (Eds.), Applied behavior science in organizations. (pp. 65-80). Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003198949-3 Johnson, D.A., Li, A., McCalpin, A.L., & Laske, M.M. (2024). The advancement of training within business using behavior-based instructional design. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 44, 150-1

Could it be? Could Jackie's option for Listener Choice actually have won the poll? I guess everybody really wants to learn more about the challenges involved in moving from one activity to the next. So, in this episode, that's exactly what we'll review. Are there good treatment options when putting down the iPad and joining an arts and crafts activity leads to tears? How can we even pinpoint where and why the transition chain is breaking down? Put down your JABA and head on over to your phone to find out. This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU. Articles discussed this episode: Waters, M.B., Lerman, D. C., & Hovantez, A. N. (2009). Separate and combined effects of visual schedules and extinction plus differential reinforcement on problem behavior occasioned by transitions. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 42, 309-313. doi: 10.1901/jaba.2009.42-309 Pálsdóttir, E.D., Magnússon, A.F., & Sveinbjörnsdóttir. (2024). An experimental analysis of task refusal: A comparison of negative reinforcemen

To wrap up the spooky season we leave you with a treat of an episode, the audio from the Thompson Center 2025 conference poster session. While Jackie and Diana often serve as judges for the event, Rob gets to wander around wherever the poster topics take him and enjoy short conversations with the authors. And sometimes, he gets to talk about video games! Please enjoy this sampling of student and practitioner research and practice from our friends at the Thompson Center.

Despite Rob disbelieving it, we've gone 300+ episodes without ever devoting an entire hour to research covering safety skills. So, before Dr. Miltenberger busts in to give us feedback about our failing, in situ-style, we get right on it. Aside from looking at specific examples of safety skills training with firearms and earthquakes, we look at the larger swath of training research to figure out what works best, what gets used most, and what components provide that extra-special treatment magic that your program can't succeed without. Stop, drop, and roll! This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU. Articles discussed this episode: Baruni, R.R. & Miltenberger, R.G. (2024). A survey of safety skills training used by behavior analysts in practice. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 17, 270-282. doi: 10.1007/s40617-023-00835-8 Miltenberger, R.G., Flessner, C., Gatheridge, B., Johnson, B., Satterlund, M., & Egemo, K. (2004). Evaluation of behavioral skills training to prevent gun play in children. Journal

We had so much fun the last time we talked about behavioral artistry, we decided to do it again. And this time, we brought one of the folks that’s leading the charge to better define just exactly what we DO when we act as behavioral artists. That’s right! Dr. Amy Buskzpan is joining us to share the latest in her work on training others to serve as behavioral artists and to help us discrminate TIP from BST. Plus, the Inside Track Gang owes a big citation apology to Dr. Buskzpan…and she doesn’t let us forget it! This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU. Articles discussed this episode: Bukszpan, A.R., Anderson, A., Moon, E., Kaplan, A., & Leaf, J.B. (2024). Training behavior technicians to become behavior artists through the teaching interaction procedure. Behavioral Interventions, 38, 1-17. doi: 10.1002/bin.1963 Bukszpan, A.R., Leaf, J.B., O’Brien, J.G., Lewis, A., Kristiansen, S., Lord, J., Axe, J., & Weiss, M.J. (2025). Utilizing the teaching interaction procedure to train special education tea

Hello, Grab Bag, my old friend I’ve come to pull from you again Because the field of ABA is always growing We disseminate studies for continued knowing And the research that was experimentally controlled With results told Within the sound of podcast   This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU. Articles discussed this episode: Blackman, A.L., DiGennaro Reed, F.D., Gunter, M., & Braren, B. (2025). The effects of group virtual training and self-monitoring on leading a meeting. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. doi: 10.1002/jaba.70024 Patrone, V., Napolitano, D., Myles, F., & Shanahan, M. (2025). Curriculum-based evaluation of cultural competency coursework in an online applied behavior analysis graduate program. Behavior Analysis in Practice. doi: 10.1007/s40617-025-01067-8 Castillo, M. I., Frank-Crawford, M. A., Leisfeld, J. E., Doan, T. M., Newcomb, E. T., Rooker, G. W., & Borrero, J. C. (2022). Do persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities prefer to save the best for last in

LIVE via recording from St. Charles, Missouri! It’s a preview episode! Yes, we continue our fall tradition of discussing everything coming out this spoooooky month from the comfort of the Thompson Center Conference hall. We spend some time gushing about all the great talks we just experienced before getting prepared for our NEXT conference, BABAT 2025. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say, “hi” at the conference and for the Thompson Center for hosting us again. And keep your eyes out for an extra treat in your goodie bags later this month! Sadly, it’s not the 3K I needed to bid on a signed “Walden Two”. Articles for October 2025 Hello, Grab Bag My Old Friend (Fall 2025 Grab Bag) Blackman, A.L., DiGennaro Reed, F.D., Gunter, M., & Braren, B. (2025). The effects of group virtual training and self-monitoring on leading a meeting. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. doi: 10.1002/jaba.70024 Patrone, V., Napolitano, D., Myles, F., & Shanahan, M. (2025). Curriculum-based evaluation of cultural compete

To celebrate the end of Supervision September, we’ve got an all new Book Club episode! And it’s available for everyone RIGHT NOW! We celebrate the life and work of Aubrey Daniels by checking off all of the supervision mistakes one can make as we read “OOPS! 13 Management Practices that Waste Time and Money”. And if hearing about 13 better ways to be a boss for your supervisees wasn’t enough, we also enjoy a visit from Dr. Judy Agnew from Aubrey Daniels International to share her memories of working with (and being supervised by) the late, great Dr. Daniels. This episode is available for 2.0 SUPERVISION CEUs. Want these CEs for FREE? Just subscribe to our Patreon at the $10+ levels and go to the original post for a discount code. Content discussed this episode: Daniels, A.C. (2009). Oops! 13 management practices that waste time and money (and what to do instead). Performance Management Publications. If you're interested in ordering CEs for listening to this episode, click here to go to the store page. You'll n

Despite the huge increase in discussion articles, think pieces, personal sharing of tools, and summaries of commonly-liked programs, there is a real dearth of research on what ACTUALLY works in supervision practices. And we weren’t the only people to wonder this. That’s why we’re joined this week by Dr. Natalie Andzik and Dr. Michael Kranak who’ve written their fair share of all of the above research when it comes to supervision and have thoughts about where the field is and where we need to go to ensure only the best for our trainees. This episode is available for 1.0 SUPERVISION CEU. Articles discussed this episode: Kranak, M.P., Andzik, N.R., Jones, C., & Hall, H. (2023). A systematic review of supervision research related to board certified behavior analysts. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 16, 1006-1021. doi: 10.1007/s40617-023-00805-0 Kranak, M.P., Andzik, N.R., Jones, C., & Grunewald, K. (2024). A scoping review of research on and strategies for mitigating burnout among board certified behavior

This year we’re kicking off Supervision September by focusing our supervisory efforts with a growing category of supervisees, individuals with disabilities. Because, for a field based on helping people, we don’t always practice what we preach with our colleagues! We discuss the culture of disability in regards to humility in supervision as well as how to bring what other fields have learned to our own behavior analysis trainees. This episode is available for 1.0 SUPERVISION or 1.0 ETHICS/CULTURAL CEU. Articles discussed this episode: Andrews, E.E., Kuemmel, A., Williams, J.L., Pilarski, C.R., Dunn, M., & Lund, E.M. (2013). Providing culturally competent supervision to trainees with disabilities in rehabilitation settings. Rehabilitation Psychology, 58, 233-244. doi: 10.1037/a0033338 Ecko Jojo, G. (2024). Disability-affirming supervision: future directions in applied behavior analytic supervision. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 17, 26-36. doi: 10.1007/s40617-023-00846-5 Gatzunis, K.S., Edwards, K.Y., Diaz,

Can you believe it! It’s Supervision September! An enitre month of episodes all about supervision, supervising, and supersizing your abilities to lead the next generation of awesome behavior analysts. We’ve got the amazing duo of Dr. Michael Kranak and Dr. Natalie Andzik reviewing what we ACTUALLY know about supervision from an evidence-based perspective. We’ve got a discussion with the core crew about building supervision skills that also promote disability affirming practices. And, in case you thought we couldn’t fit 4 hours of supervision talk into 3 weeks of episodes, we crammed in an entire Book Club reviewing one of Dr. Aubrey Daniels final books, “OOPS! 13 Management Practices That Waste Time and Money” featuring an interview with Dr. Judy Agnew from Aubrey Daniels INternational on the legacy of Dr. Daniels. We even save some time to make sure you know what really grinds our gears as we attempt to navigate our supervision tips into ways to make a U-turn on the hellish experience that is 2025 America. A

One of our longest running mysteries is finally revealed in this week’s episode: Why does Jackie hate DROs so much? This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU. Articles discussed this episode: Mazalesik, J.I., Iwata, B.A., Vollmer, T.R., Zarcone, J.R., & Smith, R.G. (1993). Analysis of the reinforcement and extinction components in DRO contingencies with self-injury. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 26, 143-156. doi: 10.1901/jaba.1993.26-143 Hangen, M.M., Romero, A.N., Neidert, P.L., & Borrero, J.C. (2020). “Other” behavior and the DRO: The roles of extinction and reinforcement. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53, 2385-2404. doi: 10.1002/jaba.736 Romano, L.M. & St. Peter, C.C. (2017). Omission training results in more resurgence than alternative reinforcement. Psychological Record, 67, 315-324. doi: 10.1007/s40732-016-0214-z If you're interested in ordering CEs for listening to this episode, click here to go to the store page. You'll need to enter your name, BCBA #, and the two epis

Teaching new skills is a lot of fun. But sometimes it seems to take forever. And since we all only have so much time to learn everything needed to maximize access to reinforcement in our lives, we don’t really have the luxury of time to mess about. So, in good behavior analyst fashion, we look for a better way to min-max our learning activities. Thanks to our awesome patrons, we’re talking about increasing the efficiency of skill acquisition through preference assessment, choice, , and reinforcement timing. So many options, but which ones actually matter when it comes to running the most efficient teaching sessions? Patrons receive a FREE CE for listening to this episode. Just go to the Patron Episode Page (you can even watch the raw video recording!) and enter the code at discount. This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU. Articles discussed this episode: Weinsztok, S.C., Goldman, K.J., & DeLeon, I.G. (2023). Assessing parameters of reinforcement on efficiency of acquisition: A systematic review. B

UNLOCKED from our Patreon page, it’s the “Good Night, Sweet Dreams, I Love You” Book Club! Interested in more Book Clubs? Want to vote on what we read next? Feeling FOMO at getting this a full year late? Wish your 2 CEs for listening to the episode were FREE??? Join us on Patreon to get all of our episodes a week early, access to these bonus episodes, plus other goodies. There’s nothing more amazing than spending time with kids, whether in your family or as clients. But, man, is putting them to bed when you’re exhausted after a long day and they just have to watch one more episode of “Bluey” before they promise they’ll jump right under the covers but first can you get them a drink of water and leave on all the lights just the freaking worst. Pat Friman, save us with your succinct and well-tailored wisdom in book form, please! And could you be sure to write your book the same way you do awesome conference lectures? Like hilarious and true and entertaining? Thanks! This episode is available for 2.0 LEARNING CEU