The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

In Session 71, I join the folks at ABA Inside Track for a 2018 Year in Review. In this episode, we discuss: The passing of influential Behavior Analysts in 2018. Important events in the field, such as the #timesupABA and #dobetter movements. The good and bad associated with the continued growth of our field. Things we're looking forward to in 2019. As a bonus (or punishment) we even sing a few lines from Auld Lang Syne. I apologize in advance... Please do not let this influence any potential iTunes reviews for either of our podcasts! Our sponsors for this episode include: The Himalaya Podcast app. Are you frustrated with the native Apple Podcast app, which seems to get worse and worse with each "update"? Are you an Android user who is looking for a better podcast experience? Then download Himalaya to your device and decide whether this is a better alternative. Oh, and be sure to follow The Behavioral Observations Podcast when you do! My own wicked-awesome discount on 12 Type 2 CE's. Use the offer code, "bundle" and save over 50% on your continuing education needs. Keep up to date with the happenings in the field while you drive, walk the dog, etc...

Neil Deochand is an Assistant Professor-Educator in the Behavior Analysis Distance Learning Program at the University of Cincinnati. Since 2011 he has worked as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in both center based, and out-patient settings. His research interests span a wide variety of topics including quality assurance of behavioral graphing practices, behavioral medicine, and he is interested in disseminating decision-making tools to support the professional practice of applied behavior analysis. In this episode, we talk about these areas, but also focused on Neil's work in consumer product development. This should be of significant interest to those of us who want to see our science applied more broadly. We also talk about Neil's interest in basic research using planaria, which, I am embarrassed to admit, I had to Google to figure out what planaria actually are. Somehow, Neil ties these varied topics all together, and mentions several resources and articles on the way. If you want to track any of them down, head over to https://behavioralobservations.com for the show notes.

In Session 69 of The Behavioral Observations Podcast, we are treated to a TAGteach primer from Martha Gabler. In this episode, Martha shares how she discovered TAGteach when she was searching for intervention strategies to help her son with Autism. Martha also describes how she used this teaching strategy to reduce tantrums, bolting, and problematic sleep routines. In doing so, she provides us with a nice overview of the basics of TAGteach. If this is something you are interested in learning more about, we have links a-plenty below. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

In this episode, I have the pleasure of talking with Hannah Branigan of Wonder Pups Training and the Drinking from the Toilet Podcast. We chat about how she decided to pursue dog (and human) training as a career and what it's like to teach people to train dogs. We then spend a considerable amount of time discussing how to conceptualize and address common behavior problems in dogs. As I note in the show, this is an area that I could stand to learn a lot more about. And if I'm being really honest, I don't spend much time at all teaching my dog the important skills that are discussed in this episode. As such, chatting with Hannah has been a good source of motivation to remediate this. I hope that if you're in the same boat as I am, that this show has the same effect. During our conversation Hannah mentioned many resources. I have attempted to list them all below, but as always, please let me know if there's anything I missed. Lastly, I urge you to check out her podcast (see link above), and if you like it, to leave a rating and review in iTunes (doing so really helps out us podcasters!). Here are those links: Hannah's social media channels: Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Excel-erated Learning by Pam Reid The Dog Training by Kikopup YouTube channel A Deaf Dog Joins the Family, by Terrie Hayward PetTutor Smart Training Feeder (a discount code for this product is mentioned in episode 74 of Hannah's podcast) This podcast episode is supported by the following: The "Growing up with Skinner" event, which is hosted by Brett DiNovi and Associates (BDA). This is a one-day event that is taking place on November 30th in Mt. Laurel, NJ at the Weston Hotel and Conference Center. If you're not in New Jersey, don't worry, as it is available for live-streaming (both during and well after the event). This event will feature a keynote by Dr. Julie Vargas, who will be talking about her experiences with growing up with B.F. Skinner as a Dad (how cool!). It will be followed by talks from Brett DiNovi and Matt Linder from BDA, and Dr. Don Hantula will provide the closing address. All told, 5.5 supervision CE's are available, and best of all, the proceeds of this event will benefit the B.F. Skinner Foundation. Interested? Click here to learn more. Behavior University: BU's live webinars generally have a limited number of attendees, so that the learning experience is interactive, with plenty of opportunities for engaging with the presenters. If you can't make the live events, these webinars are recorded and available in Behavior University's CEU Library for later viewing. So if you would like to learn more, head over to Behavioruniversity.com/observations, where you'll find a 10% discount code for podcast listeners. Thanks for checking them out!

Ok I get it. You're probably tired of me talking about the 2018 Hoosier ABA conference, but this is the last Indy-related show... at least until next year. My guest today, Dr. Paul Gavoni, a.k.a. "Paulie Gloves," has each one of his feet firmly planted in two worlds: Coaching elite boxers and MMA fighters, and consulting in public school settings as the Director of School Improvement for PBS Corp. From his website, QuickWinsPro.com, he is described as follows: An expert in human performance and organizational leadership, Dr. Paul Gavoni has over 20 years supporting education and human services. Specializing in improving climate and cultures to move stalled improvement efforts, Dr. Gavoni supports organizational, district, school, and classroom leaders with embedding processes and procedures that rapidly impact key performance indicators. Dr. Gloves possesses a Doctorate of Education, a Specialist of Educational Leadership, and a Masters and Bachelors of Social Work. Pauli is also the co-author of Quick Wins, which he co-wrote with former guest Manny Rodriguez. He is also the co-author of the upcoming book, Deliberate Coaching, which he co-authored with yet another former podcast guest, Nic Weatherly. We cover quite a range of topics in this episode, specifically how Paulie got into Behavior Analysis, best practices for coaching school personnel, and how he applies the science of behavior towards working with combat sports athletes. Here are some of the links we discussed: Manny Rodriguez's earlier podcast appearance (way back in Session 9!) Nic Weatherly's earlier podcast appearance The Big 5 of classroom management Blood, Sweat, and Science... one of Pauli's many bSci21.org articles Pauli's LinkeIn page (which links to many of his articles) This podcast episode is supported by the following: The "Growing up with Skinner" event, which is hosted by Brett DiNovi and Associates (BDA). This is a one-day event that is taking place on November 30th in Mt. Laurel, NJ at the Weston Hotel and Conference Center. If you're not in New Jersey, don't worry, as it is available for live-streaming. This event will feature a keynote by Dr. Julie Vargas, who will be talking about her experiences with growing up with B.F. Skinner as a Dad (how cool!). It will be followed by talks from Brett DiNovi and Matt Linder from BDA, and Dr. Don Hantula will provide the closing address. All told, 5.5 supervision CE's are available, and best of all, the proceeds of this event will benefit the B.F. Skinner Foundation. Interested? Click here to learn more. HRIC, which brings 30 years of recruiting experience to help BCBA's find their dream jobs. Find out about available positions in your area, what type of salaries you should expect, and more! Click here to schedule your confidential inquiry. Behavior University: BU's live webinars generally have a limited number of attendees, so that the learning experience is interactive, with plenty of opportunities for engaging with the presenters. If you can't make the live events, these webinars are recorded and available in Behavior University's CEU Library for later viewing. So if you would like to learn more, head over to Behavioruniversity.com/observations, where you'll find a 10% discount code for podcast listeners. Thanks for checking them out!

Well the gift that was the Hoosier Association for Behavior Analysis conference keeps on giving. What do I mean by this? Well, just before he left Indianapolis, I was able to snag Brett DiNovi for a little while and recorded this conversation in the lobby of the Sheraton City Center. If you are on any of the ABA social media channels, you've undoubtedly seen Brett's YouTube channel. However, for those who don't know him, Brett is the Founder and CEO of Brett DiNovi and Associates, which is the largest ABA provider on the East Coast of the United states. In this episode, we discuss how we briefly met more almost 15 years ago and how he got started in ABA. We also talk a lot about the ups and downs of running a successful ABA agency, and how BDA is not only expanding into new marketplaces, but how it is supporting other independent ABA providers. Compared to Brett's short and sweet YouTube videos, this is a long-form conversation, and I'm betting you'll learn a lot more about who he is, how he sees the field, and how he has managed to create a winning company culture. I mentioned his main YouTube channel already, and in this conversation, Brett lets us know about another channel that his company has launched, called "Hacking Clinical Behavior." If you have a chance, go check them out, and give them a thumbs up and share with friends if you like them. This episode is sponsored by Behavior University. Behavior University is a BACB Approved Continuing Education Provider, and their mission is to provide university-quality courses in applied behavior analysis for new and experienced professionals alike. Their live webinars generally have a limited number of attendees, so that the learning experience is interactive, with plenty of opportunities for engaging with the presenters. If you can't make the live events, these webinars are recorded and available in Behavior University's CEU Library for later viewing. Behavior University also has a 40 hour RBT training. This self-paced course uses a combination of visual presentation, audio lectures, and live video models to teach all areas of the RBT Task List. The course is accessible any time and from anywhere. So if you would like to learn more, head over to Behavioruniversity.com/observations, where you'll find a 10% discount code for podcast listeners. Thanks for checking them out!

Dr. Matt Normand graciously accepted my offer to be a test subject for the first live-audience taping of The Behavioral Observations Podcast. In this episode we discussed his entry into the field of Behavior Analysis, his line of research in helping children in schools engage in vigorous physical activity, and his thoughts on the development of our profession. Matt referenced a number of his studies and rather than duplicate them here, you can visit his website, where he has links to many of his publications. I also recommend following him on Twitter. We taped this interview at the 10th Annual Hoosier Association for Behavior Analysis conference. This was a fantastic conference, and I am very grateful to HABA board members, Danyl Epperheimer and Kyle Steury, for inviting me to participate in this event. It was my first time visiting Indianapolis, and I really loved the city. If you're in the general area next year, I would strongly consider attending for sure! Back to this episode... the conference committee set us up at the Skyline Club, which is on the 36th floor of a building that overlooks the city. The interview took place during the evening social, and to add to the overall mirth of the occasion, Stephen Foreman from Clinical Behavior Analysis brought a very special bottle of Kentucky Bourbon to share with us as well as the audience. Long story short, when compared to doing interviews from my basement, this was definitely a special event. I also had the chance to talk with numerous listeners as well as former podcast guests, and to list them all would be to risk forgetting someone, so instead, I will say that it was really quite a treat to connect with everyone at the conference. Here are some pictures of the taping of the podcast, and I may have some more on my Instagram account: This episode is sponsored by the following: The Precision ABA Workshop, by Dr. Rick Kubina of Chartlytics. This will be held on November 15th and 16th in Indianapolis, Indiana. This 2-day workshop will guide you through the steps of precision measurement and help you obtain superior ABA outcomes. You will learn evidence-based science and practical techniques that you can implement in your own ABA service delivery. If you're going to attend and want to save 10% on registration, use the coupon code Matt. The Next Gen Revolution Summit, taking place on November 10th & 11th in Las Vegas. Attend in person, or live-stream so you can watch it in your Jammies. If you're interested in seeing talks from instructional luminaries like Janet Tyman and T.V. Joe Layng, hearing what podcast guests Megan Miller and Sara Gershfeld Litvak have to say, or learning about the latest in technological innovations in our field, this is the event for you. If you do decide to attend, use offer code Matt to save 10%.

OK, so to be honest, I'm writing these show notes while on the road after an amazing Hoosier ABA conference (more on that in a subsequent episode or two ;-). As such, I'll be uncharacteristically brief. To risk hyperbole, I think that just about anyone can benefit from listening to this episode. My guest, Dr. Jim Moore, talks about his ups and downs (followed by more ups and downs... and ups) with weight loss. What I like about Jim is that he shares these deeply personal struggles in order to, in my estimation, help others who have similar problems. Jim has gone from being overweight, to super fit, to morbidly obese... to now, where he is on a trend of fairly sustainable success. He acknowledge he still has room to improve, but check these pictures out, and you'll get an idea of how much progress he's gained: And because I'm on the road, I unfortunately do not have my notes from our interview. That said, I do recall discussing an article titled, The Shame of American Education, by B.F. Skinner himself. If there are other references I missed, visit the Contact page and let me know what it was, and I'll update these show notes. This episode is sponsored by the following: The Precision ABA Workshop, by Dr. Rick Kubina of Chartlytics. This will be held on November 15th and 16th in Indianapolis, Indiana. This 2-day workshop will guide you through the steps of precision measurement and help you obtain superior ABA outcomes. You will learn evidence-based science and practical techniques that you can implement in your own ABA service delivery. If you're going to attend and want to save 10% on registration, use the coupon code Matt. The Next Gen Revolution Summit, taking place on November 10th & 11th in Las Vegas. Attend in person, or live-stream so you can watch it in your Jammies. If you're interested in seeing talks from instructional luminaries like Janet Tyman and T.V. Joe Layng, hearing what podcast guests Megan Miller and Sara Gershfeld Litvak have to say, or learning about the latest in technological innovations in our field, this is the event for you. If you do decide to attend, use offer code Matt to save 10%. HRIC, which brings 30 years of recruiting experience to help BCBA's find their dream jobs. Click here to schedule your confidential inquiry.

To say that I enjoyed my conversation with Chuck Merbitz is a colossal understatement. As you will see when you listen to this one, Chuck has a rare combination of humility and wisdom, and he generously shares many lessons learned in his over four decade career in Behavior Analysis. This is one of our longer episodes, and I promise you it's worth listening to in its entirety! In Session 63, we discuss a wide range of topics that include the following: How to teach recovering alcoholic WWII veterans to get dates and find jobs (but not necessarily in that order!). What the Behavior Analysis scene was like in the early 70s when he began his graduate training. How to be a practitioner who is both pragmatic and compassionate (as well as how to avoid being the "ugly behaviorist!"). How and why he started the ABA program at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. How collecting precise data on both communicative responses AND therapist prompts helped him identify barriers to a learner's progress. And of course, some discussion on the terms frequency and rate in our profession (see link to the Merbitz, Merbitz, & Pennypacker paper below). If you're not familiar with Chuck, you can check out his LinkedIn profile to get a sense of where he's coming from. In brief though, Chuck has had a long and storied career in our field, holding faculty appointments not only at CSPP, but also at the Illinois Institute of Technology, the Northwestern University Medical School, and Jacksonville State University. Chuck is also a pioneer in the development of digital tools for Behavior Analysts. Time did not permit us getting too deep into this part of his career, but I think it will make for a nice follow up interview. We touched on a few papers, and I've done my best to run them down here. Please let me know if there are any that I missed: Johnston & Pennypacker (1971). A behavioral approach to college teaching. Merbitz, Merbitz, & Pennypacker (2016). On terms: Frequency and rate in Applied Behavior Analysis. Merbitz, Miller, & Hansen (2000). Cueing and Logical Problem Solving In Brain Trauma Rehabilitation: Frequency Patterns In Clinician And Patient Behaviors. This episode is sponsored by the following: The Precision ABA Workshop, by Dr. Rick Kubina of Chartlytics. This will be held on November 15th and 16th in Indianapolis, Indiana. This 2-day workshop will guide you through the steps of precision measurement and help you obtain superior ABA outcomes. You will learn evidence-based science and practical techniques that you can implement in your own ABA service delivery. If you're going to attend and want to save 10% on registration, use the coupon code Matt. The Next Gen Revolution Summit, taking place on November 10th & 11th in Las Vegas. Attend in person, or live-stream so you can watch it in your Jammies. If you're interested in seeing talks from instructional luminaries like Janet Tyman and T.V. Joe Layng, hearing what podcast guests Megan Miller and Sara Gershfeld Litvak have to say, or learning about the latest in technological innovations in our field, this is the event for you. If you do decide to attend, use offer code Matt to save 10%. And while not technically a sponsor, if you're in the midwest and want to check out a cool event, consider attending the Hoosier Association for Behavior Analysis' 10th anniversary conference. I've interviewed almost everyone on the speakers' roster, so I know attendees are bound to hear some good stuff. I'll also be doing my first live, in-person podcast with HABA's keynote speaker, Dr. Matthew Normand. It should be a good time had by all, and I hope to see you there!

To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, "What's the deal with accreditation?!?!" In Session 62, Sara Gershfeld Litvak joins me to talk about what accreditation is, what the process is like, why it's important for the field of Applied Behavior Analysis to have its own accrediting body, and most importantly, why you should care. Sara is the Chief Executive Officer of the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence. If you're not familiar with the BHCOE, it is... ...an international accrediting body created to meet accreditation needs specific to the delivery of behavior analysis. The BHCOE's accreditation requirements undergo regular review according to international standards for organizations that grant accreditation. All BHCOE requirements and survey content are reviewed annually by content experts. BHCOE Accreditation ® is a certification given to an applied behavior analysis provider once it has demonstrated it has met and continues to meet an assortment of clinical and administrative standards as determined by an independent third-party evaluator. Sara describes her background in the episode itself, but here's a little bit from her bio: Sara Gershfeld Litvak completed her graduate degree from Claremont Graduate University. Sara is an Adjunct Professor for the Applied Behavior Analysis program at Pepperdine University and serves as a systems consultant for the California Regional Center system designing Quality Assurance processes to ensure that ABA service providers provide clinically sound services. In addition, Sara is also the co-founder of the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence (BHCOE) the only ABA-specific accrediting body. She is an education blogger for the Huffington Post, has served as past Co-Chair of the Autism Special Interest Group at ABAI, on the Board of Directors for the Association for Science in Autism Treatment, and as a Subject Matter Expert for the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB). For more information on accreditation, feel free to contact Sara through the BHCOE contact page. And if you're interested in doing a self-study of your agency, you can find their self-evaluation checklist here. This session of The Behavioral Observations Podcast is sponsored by: Constellations Behavioral Services. CBS believes that everyone can learn, everyone can participate, and everyone can communicate. They provide outstanding ABA services in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and to learn more about career opportunities at CBS, click here. The Precision ABA Workshop, by Dr. Rick Kubina of Chartlytics. This will be held on November 15th and 16th in Indianapolis, Indiana. This 2-day workshop will guide you through the steps of precision measurement and help you obtain superior ABA outcomes. You will learn evidence-based science and practical techniques that you can implement in your own ABA service delivery. If you're going to attend and want to save 10% on registration, use the coupon code Matt. And while not technically a sponsor, if you're in the midwest and want to check out a cool event, consider attending the Hoosier Association for Behavior Analysis' 10th anniversary conference. I've interviewed almost everyone on the speakers' roster, so I know attendees are bound to hear some good stuff. I'll also be doing my first live, in-person podcast with HABA's keynote speaker, Dr. Matthew Normand. It should be a good time had by all, and I hope to see you there!