The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria

Dr. Becca Tagg from Del Mar Behavioral Health joins me to discuss the unique approach her agency uses to train early-career BCBAs. This conversation was inspired by the interview I conducted with Dr. Mary Jane Weiss last year, in which we talked about how cool it would be if the field had an ABA equivalent of a medical residency model, so that BCBAs can learn about practicing with a variety of populations. As you'll hear in the interview, Becca heard this and reached out to say that this is exactly what they do, and we spend the majority of the conversation discussing just how they implement this unique training strategy. Before we get to the residency topic, we spent a little bit of time catching up since our last chat, and especially focus on how Del Mar's services adapted to the Covid-19 pandemic. To this end, I should also note that we recorded this conversation in December, and as such, some of the references may seem a bit anachronistic, but many of these challenges are still with us in the Spring of 2021, so I chose to keep that part of the conversation in this episode. If you like these types of topics, I suggest that you join the ABA Business Builders Facebook Group if you haven't already done so. While you're there, say hello to Becca! Here are the links to resources we discussed: Becca's first episode with me, Session 97. My interview with Mary Jane Weiss (definitely check out if you haven't heard it yet), Session 128. A golden oldie, my conversation with Tim Courtney, Session 46. Becca's podcast and business consulting services. Sniffy, the Virtual Rat. #DoBetterMovement. Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most, Stone, Patton, Heen and Fisher. This episode of Behavioral Observations was brought to you with support from: 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. Consider joining the BOP Patreon. Patreon members get early access to podcasts, bonus podcast material, discounts on CEU events from FTF and other continuing ed purveyors, occasional Zoom hangouts, and more! The Whoop Strap! I've been wearing the Whoop Strap for just a few weeks and I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed getting quantitative information on all aspects of my health, including sleep analytics, heart rate, along with heart rate variability, calorie burn, exercise intensity, and Whoop's proprietary "strain" score. I could extol this neat device's virtues indefinitely to you, but instead, you can go check it out for yourself. To get your first month free, head over to behavioralobservations.com/whoop! Also, feel free to join the Behavior Analysts who Whoop Facebook group!

Dr. Adithyan "Dithu" Rajaraman joins me in Session 156 to discuss his work in the Practical Functional Assessment/Skills-Based Treatment literature.  Dithu is a former student of pod-fave Dr. Greg Hanley, and as one might expect, Dithu approaches his work with a similar degree of humility and open-mindedness. He earned his Ph.D. at Western New England University, and is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County  As we discuss in the first few minutes of the show, I met Dithu about four or five years ago at APBA, and I was instantly struck with how well he communicated complex ideas in a manner that just about anybody can understand. We've kept in touch since then, and I was fortunate enough to find a time where we could get together for an in-depth conversation on the podcast.  In this episode, we covered his entry into the field of ABA, the seemingly false distinction of behavior-reduction vs. skill instruction, the basics of the Practical Functional Assessment and Skills-Based Treatment models, dealing with caregiver objections to these approaches, Dithu's research on what he calls the Enhanced Choice Model of skill instruction, implementing these procedures in public school settings, and much more. We also talk about how he stumped me with a question when I was a panelist at an ABAI event… You’re going to want to stay through to the very end because Dithu provides some really unique advice – not only for newly-minted BCBAs, but practitioners of all experience levels. The Patreon version of this show involves an extra 45-50 minutes of content, in which we talk about Dithu’s passion for the sport Cricket and field questions from Patrons. Last but not least, Dithu, as some of you might know, is quite the singer, and he ends the bonus footage by sharing his vocal stylings. To get access to this content, as well as commercial-free podcast feeds, discounts on FTF trainings, and more, check out patreon.com/behavioralobservations. And while we’re on the topic of Patreon, Dithu has agreed to do a Zoom call with members, where he’ll take questions directly from listeners. I should also add that Dithu insisted I give some shoutouts to the following folks who helped him with his research, and they include the aforementioned Greg Hanley, as well as Holly Gover, Johanna Staubitz, John Staubitz, Kathleen Simcoe, Rachel Metras, Robin Landa, and Kelsey Ruppel. This research has been recently published in Behavior Analysis in Practice as well, so I recommend you check it out when you get a chance.  If you like Dithu's approach and want to learn more from him, my friends at Behavior University are hosting a webinar with him titled: Enhanced Choice Model: Trauma-informed Process for Assessing and Treating Dangerous Behavior. Behavior University is a sponsor of the podcast, and if you'd like to save on your registration for this event, use the code PODCAST at checkout.  Also, if you're looking for a grad program and you really want to dive deep into this area, UMBC is always accepting applicants to their Master's program in ABA, which is closely affiliated with the Kennedy Krieger Institute, and that Dithu is accepting doctoral students in the Applied Developmental Psychology program.  In addition to Behavior University and the Patreon Group, this episode is also brought to you by How-to-ABA. Being a BCBA can be lonely and overwhelming.  At howtoaba.com, we help BCBA’s feel supported and confident by providing easy to access printables, CEU's and a collaborative community. Also, your monthly pro membership includes access to CEU’s! Along with the community of over 1000 ABA professionals, howtoaba.com will help you save time, feel confident and master what you love! For more information, Go to howtoaba.com/joinbxresource.  When you join today and use code BOP, you’ll receive 10% off a yearly subscription (includes CEU’s!).

In previous appearances on this podcast and elsewhere, Pat Friman has told the story of Father Flanagan, founder of BoysTown. According to Pat, Father Flanagan often made the following statement when describing his philosophy of helping troubled youths: "there is no such thing as a bad boy, only bad environments, bad modeling, and bad teaching." For the Spring 2021 issue of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Dr. Linda LeBlanc invited Pat to expand on these remarks in the issue's lead paper. In this podcast, I'm joined by both Linda and Pat, as well as Inside JABA regular, Dr. Claire St. Peter, where we talk at length about the "circumstantial view" of behavior as it applies to both clinical practice in particular, and societal trends more generally. Specifically, we discuss the following: How this paper fits into LeBlanc’s “big idea paper” concept. How “big idea” papers are often conceptual rather than data based. Why Pat stopped presenting papers with original data, and why he started giving more thematic talks. The difference, from Pat’s perspective between giving a talk and writing a journal article. A brief history of BoysTown. Just what is the Circumstantial View of problem behavior? Some examples from Pat’s life where he failed to take the Circumstantial View of behavior. Why the Circumstantial View has failed to flourish? How supervisors can incorporate these views with trainees and other team members? Why it is important to tell a real-life story as a vehicle for explain a behavioral principles. Why Pat’s view of Walden Two has changed. Movies that demonstrate both the Circumstantial and Characterological View of behavior. And much more! During this conversation, we discussed many papers and other resources. I've done my best to capture all of them below: The paper that inspired this podcast, "There is no such thing as a bad boy: The circumstantial view of problem behavior." The JABA Homepage. Pat Friman's appearances on Behavioral Observations (Session 10, Session 16, Session 42, and Session 77). Goldiamond (2002). Toward a Constructional Approach to Social Problems: Ethical and Constitutional Issues Raised by Applied Behavior Analysis. Pat's TedTalk. The short film Pat referenced. The DailyBA clip we discussed (Pink Sweater/Didn't Know her Circumstances). This Way of Thinking (CE/Short film by Team OnLocation). Session 72: Compassionate Service Delivery. Quotable Quote: “When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.” – Alexander Den Heijer. Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman. A Clockwork Orange. Walden Two. In keeping with previous Inside JABA Series podcasts, there will be no ads in this episode. However, this show happens to be eligible for BACB Continuing Education. So click here for more information. And, to help incentivize getting Pat's important message out there, I’m running a 50% 55% off sale from now, through the first week of May, 2021. Use offer code Boystown, to get more than half off any CEU in the Behavioral Observations catalog. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. If so, please consider sharing with friends and colleagues!

I had a great chat with fellow Auburn University alum Dr. Alice Shillingsburg. Alice has been doing great work in the field for decades, as you can see from her bio below: Dr. Shillingsburg currently serves as Sr. Vice President of Children’s Clinical Services and Training at May Institute. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Auburn University and completed her predoctoral internship and post-doctoral fellowship at the Marcus Institute. She previously served as the Director of the Language and Learning Clinic at the Marcus Autism Center and held an appointment of Associate Professor at Emory University in the Division of Autism and Related Developmental Disabilities. Dr. Shillingsburg is a licensed psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D). Her clinical expertise includes the development of language and behavioral programming to address a variety of behavioral difficulties and social communication deficits associated with autism and other developmental disabilities. She has published over 50 empirical papers and book chapters on interventions for children with autism and related developmental disabilities. She is currently an associate editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, editorial board member of Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, and is past associate editor for The Analysis of Verbal Behavior. In this episode we talk about: How she got into the ABA field. Our similar experiences at Auburn University's Psychology Department.  Her work in clinical leadership at The May Institute. Things to avoid when trying to advocate for change. Her upcoming talks (two of them!) at the Verbal Behavior Conference 2021.  Teaching Social Skills. Using Speech Generation Devices... and so much more.  As noted in the interview, the VBC is coming up right around the corner. If you do decide to register, use the code Podcast10 at checkout to save some $$$. As we mentioned towards the end of the show, the May Institute is looking for staff to invest in, so click here to learn more about available job opportunities. This podcast is brought to you by the following: Behavior University. Their mission is to provide university quality professional development for the busy Behavior Analyst. Learn about their CEU offerings, including their brand new 8-hour Supervision Course, as well as their RBT offerings over at behavioruniversity.com/observations. How-to-ABA. Being a BCBA can be lonely and overwhelming.  At howtoaba.com, we help BCBA’s feel supported and confident by providing easy to access printables, CEU's and a collaborative community. Also, your monthly pro membership includes access to CEU’s! Along with the community of over 1000 ABA professionals, howtoaba.com will help you save time, feel confident and master what you love! For more information, Go to howtoaba.com/joinbxresource.  When you join today and use code BOP, you’ll receive 10% off a yearly subscription (includes CEU’s!). Consider joining the BOP Patreon. Patreon members get early access to podcasts, bonus podcast material, discounts on CEU events from FTF and other continuing ed purveyors, occasional Zoom hangouts, and more!

In Session 153, , which I'll get to in just a minute. But to set the context for our conversation, I'd like to start by noticing that I often see the quote by Skinner, "When you run into something interesting, drop everything else and study it," posted on social media quite frequently. In fact, when I plugged that quote into Google, it returned almost 9 million results! Now, I could be wrong about this, but this notion of following one's interests would seem to fly in the face of developing a successful research career. That is, it may be more productive from a publishing point of view to go an inch-wide and mile-deep into a particular topic, and that academic contingencies perhaps nudge researchers away from investigating a wider range of phenomena. What does all this have to do with this interview? Well, it seems that Nicole had done quite well in bucking this tendency, and that she has been quite successful doing research across a wide area of clinical topics. And in this conversation, we cover many of these research and practice interests, including supporting individuals with restricted and repetitive problem behaviors, the effects of physical reactions to aggressive behavior, what she's going to be talking about at the 2021 Verbal Behavior Conference, her outreach to Spanish speaking clients and families, and what it's like to pursue so many different research ideas. She closes out the show with some fantastic advice that is not only applicable to newly minted BCBA's, but practitioners of all experience levels. I don't want to spoil it here in the intro, so you'll want to make sure to listen all the way through. Long story short, this was a fun conversation, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. In this episode, we discussed the following: Athens and Vollmer (2010). Hood, Rodriguez, Luczynski, and Fisher (2019). Fisher et al. (1996). Howard and Rice (1988). Dr. Solandy Forte on ABA Inside Track. The 2021 VBC. If you decide to attend, use code Podcast10 to save at checkout! This podcast is brought to you with support from the following: Institutional Tier Patron Greenspace Behavioral Technology. For more information on their products and services check out greenspacebehavior.com. 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. Consider joining the BOP Patreon. Patreon members get early access to podcasts, bonus podcast material, discounts on CEU events from FTF and other continuing ed purveyors, occasional Zoom hangouts, and more! Become a Patron!

Are you consulting Google to determine how to keep your clients and co-workers safe in this seemingly never-ending Covid-19 pandemic? Well, lucky for you, my guests in Session 152 have done the heavy lifting and thoroughly researched best practices in risk-mitigation in ABA clinical practice. My guests for this episode include Drs. Zahra Hajiaghamohseni, Mary Caruso-Anderson, Jennifer Sweeny, Sarah Duarte, and Christy Evanko. These Behavior Analysts hail from all over the country and came together to develop a continuum of care screener, which is a tool that ABA providers can use to manage risk in their practice. In this show, we discuss what risk-mitigation means, why the practice of ABA presents unique risk-mitigation challenges, and steps providers can take to reduce the likelihood of becoming infected with Covid-19. We cover a lot of ground in this episode, and this may be one that you want to share with your co-workers, supervisors, and anyone else who is charged with the health and safety of clients and staff members. Here are the links to some resources that were discussed: World Behavior Analysis Day (shout out Elizabeth Drago!). Greenspace workshop on Covid-19 Risk Mitigation. The Continuum of Care Screener. The Whoop Strap discount link (disclosure, this is an affiliate link). Zahra's appearance in Session 90 of the BOP. Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live (Christakis, 2020). Inside JABA Series #1, Peer Review. OSHA Covid-19 page. CDC Covid-19 page. Session 143, The Whoop episode. This episode is brought to you with support from: The 2021 Virginia Association for Behavior Analysis Conference! This year's VABA conference is April 15th and 16th. While this will be a safe and socially-distanced in-person event, it will also be available online, so don't worry if you're not local to the Virginia area. If you do sign up for it, use the promo code, GOMBU - a nod to conference sponsor, Mary Baldwin University, to save at checkout. 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. The Whoop Strap! I've been wearing the Whoop Strap for just a few weeks and I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed getting quantitative information on all aspects of my health, including sleep analytics, heart rate, along with heart rate variability, calorie burn, exercise intensity, and Whoop's proprietary "strain" score. I could extol this neat device's virtues indefinitely to you, but instead, you can go check it out for yourself. To get your first month free, head over to behavioralobservations.com/whoop! Also, feel free to join the Behavior Analysts who Whoop Facebook group! Consider joining the BOP Patreon. Patreon members get early access to podcasts, bonus podcast material, discounts on CEU events from FTF and other continuing ed purveyors, occasional Zoom hangouts, and more!

In Session 151, I chat with Dr. Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi about a range of topics, but we spent the majority of the time discussing her recent paper in Behavior Analysis in Practice titled: Black Women and Barriers to Leadership in ABA. Nasiah is the CEO of two organizations, Ulezi, LLC and Pivot 2 Inclusion. If you haven't read her paper yet, please pause this show and go do so. It's a sobering account of some of the struggles faced by Black women in our field. Nasiah highlights her findings in this conversation, so I don't want to spoil them here in the introduction, so let's just say it's unsettling, yet necessary to hear about some of the challenges faced by Black women in our field.  Fortunately, Nasiah discusses some potential solutions, and more generally, provides us with some things to think about moving forward. In this episode, we also discussed her upcoming keynote address at this year's Virginia ABA conference, which is scheduled for April 16th and 17th. VABA is offering this event as both an in-person conference as well as a virtual experience. It you'd like to learn more, go to Virginiaaba.org, and if you sign up, use the code GOMBU to save at registration.    We closed the show out with a brief discussion of what behaviorally-based life-coaching looks like, as that's a service that Nasiah has been offering for some time. And then she closes the show with some outstanding advice for Behavior Analysts of all experience levels.  Here are the links to the resources we discussed: Ulezi LLC and Pivot 2 Inclusion. Virginia ABA 2021 Conference. Blog post by Shawn T. Capell: The current status of African Americans within the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. Humble Behaviorism (Neuringer, 1991).   Nasiah's YouTube channel, Ulezi the Advocate. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much a I did, and thanks so much for supporting the show! This podcast is brought to you with support from: Gateway Learning Group, and their Autism Leadership Academy. Designed for new Regional Directors, the Autism Leadership Academy develops motivated BCBAs into successful leaders in the autism field. If you’re interested in running your own regional center and want to learn the skills to do so successfully, check out gatewaylg.com/BOP. Note: Immediate openings available in Texas. BCBAs across the U.S. are encouraged to apply! Consider joining the BOP Patreon. Patreon members get early access to podcasts, bonus podcast material, discounts on CEU events from FTF and other continuing ed purveyors, occasional Zoom hangouts, and more!

In Session 150 of The Behavioral Observations Podcast, I got a chance to finally interview Dr. Vince Carbone. In our conversation we covered a lot of interesting topics. Instead of covering the ins and outs of Verbal Behavior - the topic it's fair to say that Vince is best known for - we talked about the history and evolution of the field of Behavior Analysis. Specifically, we discussed how he transitioned from aspiring baseball player to Psychology student, what the field was like when he first got started, his early career experiences in the Juvenile Justice and public education systems, and why he started the Carbone clinics. We spend a fair amount of time on his ideas for sustainably growing an ABA practice, including how he built a pipeline of exceptional clinicians and some of the challenges he sees in the field as a whole. Vince also shared many anecdotes from his various interactions with B.F. Skinner. Additionally, Vince shared his thoughts on the recent passing of Jack Michael. Here are a few references that were mentioned in the show: Why are we not acting to save the world? Reflections on Behaviorism and Society. The B.F. Skinner Foundation. Carbone and Lynch (1982). The Functional Analysis of Behavior in a Juvenile Detention Facility. Vince will be giving two talks at the 2021 Verbal Behavior Conference, which is on April 22-23, and is brought to you by my friends at the Central Texas Autism Center. There will be many other great speakers at the conference as well, and like last year, they invited me to facilitate a panel discussion, so if you'd like to learn more, click here to learn more. If you decide to register, use the code Podcast10 to save 10% at checkout! Today's episode is brought to you with the generous support of the following: Essential For Living. The Essential for Living is the most comprehensive life skills curriculum and teaching handbook on the market today. It is designed for both children and adults with moderate-to-severe disabilities, including, but not limited to autism. The EFL is extraordinarily helpful in guiding the instruction of all adults with moderate-to-severe intellectual disabilities. To learn more, go to essentialforliving.com, and if you decide to purchase any EFL materials, use the code BOEFL to save 10% off your order now through the end of March! How-to-ABA. Being a BCBA can be lonely and overwhelming.  At howtoaba.com, we help BCBA’s feel supported and confident by providing easy to access printables, CEU's and a collaborative community. Also, your monthly pro membership includes access to CEU’s! Along with the community of over 1000 ABA professionals, howtoaba.com will help you save time, feel confident and master what you love! For more information, Go to howtoaba.com/joinbxresource.  When you join today and use code BOP, you’ll receive 10% off a yearly subscription (includes CEU’s!). Behavioral Observations Patreon. A lot of folks have been joining the BOP Patreon Group since its launch in January. So if you're interested in getting awesome discounts for professional development from FTF, accessing an ad-free podcast feed, listening to bonus patrons-only content, and more, head over to patreon.com/behavioralobservations.

I've known that the 5th anniversary of the podcast has been coming up for quite some time now, and I've been wracking my brain on how best to commemorate this milestone. After considering a few different options, I eventually decided that there was no better place to start than by looking back at the first episode of Behavioral Observations, my interview with Dr. Greg Hanley. In this episode, we discussed the origins of what is now called the Practical Functional Assessment approach, back when it was referred to as the IISCA. I wanted to replay this show for a few reasons. First, even though the PFA process has gone through many refinements over the last few years, in this episode, Greg describes the factors that led him to deviate from the Standard Functional Analysis procedure. I think that part of the show on its own is worth revisiting. The second reason for sharing this conversation again is that every day new listeners are coming in contact with the show. While I get emails from some of them who tell me that they binge the back catalog, with nearly 150 shows, I don't expect that everyone is going to subject themselves to that. Lastly, this particular episode is the most downloaded episode when compared to all the other shows I've published. As of this writing, the show has been downloaded over 56,000 times. About 15,000 times more than the second-most downloaded show (which by the way, is Session 7, again with Greg... want to guess who's in the third-most downloaded show?). So for all those reasons and more, I hope you enjoy this episode, whether it is for the first time, or if you're dusting it off for a re-listen. On a broader note, I'd like to talk for a minute about my thoughts on the show turning five. It's not an understatement when I tell you that creating this podcast has been a life-changing experience for me. Most certainly life-changing in a professional sense, and very likely from a personal one as well. With regard to the former, starting the show really re-energized my passion for the field at a time when I was teetering on the brink of burnout (before burnout became a fashionable term). With regard to the latter, I've met several hundred people and made some amazing friends throughout this journey. And when milestones like these come up, it is incredibly overwhelming to think through all of the people who've helped me make this show happen. First, there are so many people who have been listeners and supporters since Session 1. People who've listened to every single episode... all of my filler words, awkward silences, vocal fry, the whole nine yards. I once had someone actually take data on my filler words and would send it to me from time to time. That's dedication! All kidding aside, this show would've quietly faded out over time if it wasn't for the support and encouragement from you, the listener. I'm also grateful to everyone who shares episodes with friends and co-workers. And of course supervisors and professors who who force their mentees and students to consume this content. It is both amazing and gratifying that this fun side project is helping people learn more about the science we all know and love. I've had countless people and organizations support the show financially, whether by purchasing CEUs*, subscribing to my Patreon membership, sponsoring episodes, or inviting me to speak at events. To be perfectly candid, the ability to generate some revenue from Behavioral Observations allows me to put more time into the show, and I'm grateful for everyone who has helped me do just that. It is always a danger to list specific people to thank in situations like these, as it is all too easy to inadvertently leave someone out. As such, I've chosen to limit my shoutouts to one person in particular: my friend John Corley. John is not a Behavior Analyst, but he is a programmer and all around tech-savvy guy. I shared the idea of a podcast with him over a few beers, and he relentlessly encouraged me to follow through with it. In fact, he helped me set up my website, the podcast's RSS feed, showed me the basics of GarageBand, and lots more. He remains on standby to me whenever I have a bug or glitch that needs sorting out. John Corley and me ~ 2017 So huge thanks to both John, and everyone else who has played a part in getting this show to nearly 2.5 million downloads in these last five years. I could say thank you a million times and it wouldn't be enough. I look forward to sharing these conversations with you for the next five years and beyond! The 2021 Virginia Association for Behavior Analysis Conference! This year's VABA conference is April 15th and 16th. While this will be a safe and socially-distanced in-person event, it will also be available online, so don't worry if you're not local to the Virginia area. If you do sign up for it, use the promo code, GOMBU - a nod to conference sponsor, Mary Baldwin University, to save at checkout. Also, I'm throwing a 5-year anniversary sale for all BOP CEU events. Get 55% off all CEU events by using the promo code "fiveyears." This offer expires at the end of February, 2021. Don't need CEU's, but want to get ad-free podcasts, access to bonus content, member Q & A zooms, and more? Consider joining the BOP Patreon Group. For more info, check out patreon.com/behavioralobservations!

So the title of this show may be a bit of a misnomer. Let me explain... In Session 148, Shira Karpel and Shayna Gaunt, founders of HowToABA.com, join me to talk about one of my favorite topics: supporting the newly-minted BCBA. As you might know by now, that's very often my closing question of the podcast. In this episode however, we pretty much spent the entire time talking about strategies for helping early-career professionals succeed. So what is the misnomer all about? As it turns out, the advice that Shira and Shayna provided - on topics ranging from obtaining mentorship to setting professional boundaries - is helpful for BCBA's of all experience levels. Moreover, Shira and Shayna created HowToABA.com to provide materials and continuing education opportunities for BCBA's, as well as a supportive community of like-minded practitioners. And in this episode, they share their experiences and insight and address the following: Common challenges faced by newly-minted BCBA's (and how to address them). Common mistakes early-stage practitioners make. Strategies to establish professional boundaries. What practitioners are looking for in their Continuing Education. Why they started HowToABA.com. The ABA Forum that they're hosting. It's a virtual 3-night event where they bring together recognized speakers in the field who will share on different topics in Behavior Analysis - from supervision to ethics and social skills and everything in between. Again, despite the headline, there's something in this episode for everyone. Also, I want to note that we had some intermittent Zoom connectivity challenges, and Shira's audio flaked in and out in a few spots. I chose not to edit those segments out because I think she was still able to make her points known, and thankfully, we were able to resolve it as the show went on. Here are links to some of the things we discussed: The HowToABA.com homepage (and if you sign up for the BxResource, use code BOP to save 10%). The ABA Forum registration page. Surveys of the use (or lack thereof) Functional Analysis by practitioners (Oliver, Pratt, and Normand, 2015; Roscoe, et al., 2015). Great article about setting boundaries and avoiding burnout. And here's another perspective. Today's episode is brought to you by: The 2021 Virginia Association for Behavior Analysis Conference! This year's VABA conference is April 15th and 16th. While this will be a safe and socially-distanced in-person event, it will also be available online, so don't worry if you're not local to the Virginia area. If you do sign up for it, use the promo code, GOMBU - a nod to conference sponsor, Mary Baldwin University, to save at checkout. 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. Also, I'm throwing a 5-year anniversary sale for all BOP CEU events. Get 55% off all CEU events by using the promo code "fiveyears." This offer expires at the end of February, 2021. Don't need CEU's, but want to get ad-free podcasts, access to bonus content, member Q & A zooms, and more? Consider joining the BOP Patreon Group. For more info, check out patreon.com/behavioralobservations!