Something I do regularly as part of clinical consultation,is what I call Quality Assurance.   Basically, providing clinical guidance to a family or fellow professional who wants to know: “Is this normal? Is this what ABA should look like? What should I expect from services? Can I request that the provider start/stop doing (blank)?”.  Issues can range from the simple to the complex, such as answering questions like “Is this a good Behavior Plan?” to “How many hours a week of therapy does my child need? Does it have to be 40?”.   Doing this regularly, I hear LOTS of craz ..read more

  “She’s/He’s just a bad kid”   Dig deeper.   Have you considered: Maybe you just don’t know how to teach him? Maybe he has a trauma experience you know nothing about? Maybe he’s misdiagnosed? Maybe he’s undiagnosed? Maybe he’s undermedicated? Maybe he’s overmedicated? Maybe he has mental health issues? Maybe she can’t focus in this environment? Maybe your low expectations are impacting her performance? Maybe you just aren’t that reinforcing? Maybe this material is beneath her ability level? Maybe this material is far too challenging?   “Bad” is a lazy word meant to sig ..read more

  Recently, there were many publicized and non-publicized mass closings in the ABA industry. This means many people lost their jobs. It also means many clients abruptly lost access to needed services. Since this happened, I've talked to parents from all over wanting to know how to recognize a private equity backed company or how to spot warning signs or clues of a low-quality provider.  It won't always be possible to see shutdowns/company closures coming, and just because things start off going well doesn't mean they will continue that way. Just ask all the families who started ..read more

 Birthday parties. Let's talk about it. Parties, gatherings, events, picnics, etc., where there will be lots of people, noise/music, activity, chatter/laughing, and hidden, unspoken rules for "appropriate" behavior. The event may even be outdoors, which brings a whole host of safety concerns. Or, the event could be near a body of water (pool party), which definitely adds even more safety concerns. For parents with Autistic children, or another disability, do you just not go??? Is that the way to do this? How do you get a child through elementary school without ever attending a birthda ..read more

  I have been presenting/speaking, writing, and training on the topic of ABA Reform/anti-ABA sentiments for some time now. I have spent time engaging in intentional community and dialogue with people who disagree with ABA, and even have traumatic experiences from therapy services (some which really should never have been called “ABA”), as well as doing the work daily in my sphere of influence to train up/mentor/coach supervisees on this topic. Lots of listening, closing my mouth, being open to changing my own mind, being open to critique and feedback, and letting people tell their own ..read more

  "McABAs" is my own created term to refer to the low-quality, murky billing practices, mass produced interventions ("cookie cutter" programs), undertrained or nontrained RBTs, and overworked and harried clinicians, kind of ABA providers. Similar to how when your body is hungry and in need of sustenance, I don't recommend reaching for a greasy fast food bag of empty calories, if you are in need of high-quality, professional, ethical behavior analytic services I don't recommend calling up a McABA. The problem is, low-quality providers may not look/seem like a low-quality provider ..read more

 Autism Awareness 2022. It's April again. If you haven't read my thoughts on moving from awareness to action, see HERE. Advocate. Support. Inform. Educate. Accept. But please do more than just be aware. I Love ABA ..read more

  Across multiple industries, staffing deficits are a big problem right now.  There are many different explanations for this, but certainly in a post-COVID world all of us are redefining work, evaluating our priorities, and learning how precious our time is…..if people are unhappy at work/in their career, it makes sense that the past 2 years would push them to DO something about that.   But let’s talk about RBT’s, specifically.   The RBT credential is an entry level position into this field. When a clinician company hops, it is usually for a different BCBA position. After ..read more

"The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting" Plutarch "Autism isn't something a person has, or a shell that a person is trapped inside. There's no normal child hidden behind the autism" J Sinclair  There used to be a school of thought in the Autism world that the individual was somewhat of an "empty vessel" waiting to be filled. A blank slate, trapped within a hard to understand shell and wanting to emerge. No.  And what a harmful, disparaging view of individuality. Autism is not being without/lacking, it's being differently tuned with interactin ..read more

 Recommended Read: Toxic Staff  If toxic staff is 1/2 of the conversation about what creates and perpetuates sick, dysfunctional work culture, then toxic leadership is definitely the other 1/2 of the conversation. You can't discuss one without discussing the other. Unhealthy work demands, narcissistic managers, unrealistic productivity metrics, all of these contribute to the "revolving door" staffing issues that many, many ABA companies face. Who is at the top? Who is getting promoted to the top (and who isn't)? And what characteristics and concerning behaviors do those in leader ..read more