Onboarding new staff takes up a considerable amount of our time as ABA professionals and can often be overwhelming for both new hires and managers. However, our staff is our biggest resource, and we have to put the time in to train them properly. Our new course, the Bx Blueprint, includes everything you need for onboarding and beyond. Here, we discuss all the details and who could benefit the most from the course.
Tiny Guidry is the owner of Clinician with a Mission. She’s always on the forefront of what’s next, and here, we chat with her about her passion for advocacy and how other people can find their place. Tina also shares insights into her own business and how it’s growing, information on her membership program, and advice for new BCBAs and established professionals looking to branch out.
A high-quality ABA program treats clients with dignity and respect. Here, we cover how to make sure that we’re maintaining that dignity in ABA sessions. We also talk about how to foster dignity within a classroom setting, how to use “televisibility” as a gauge for how our sessions go, how to discuss clients outside of work, and how to offer choices.
We recently sat down with Lisa Gelberman, the founder and creator of Literacy Decoded. Here, Lisa shares her experience with direct instruction and the Orton-Gillingham (OG) Approach and how she uses them with students. We also discuss how to use the OG approach with different types of learners, how Lisa used the OG approach with her son, and information on Lisa’s program.
Errorless teaching is an instructional strategy that ensures a student responds correctly. Here, we discuss why errorless teaching is important and how we can use it to benefit our learners. We provide some examples of what errorless teaching looks like and tips to help learners succeed. We also discuss how to choose the right prompt, why it’s important to make sure your prompt matches your SD, and how to fade prompts within sessions.
Reinforcement is one of our most common and useful tools, and it’s just as important to know how to fade reinforcement. Here, we dive into fading reinforcement through different schedules. Our conversation also includes tips on how to use behavior contracts and self-monitoring as well as how to naturally fade reinforcement in the classroom.
Getting back into the routine of a new school year isn’t always easy. Here, we discuss the best ways to help our learners with autism transition back to school. We discuss how to help kids get used to routines throughout the school day, adjusted schedules, the importance of a good communication system, and when to introduce behavior plans.
Trips to the doctor or dentist are hard for any kid. They’re especially tough for our learners with autism and other delays. Here, we dive into how to make these experiences easier for these learners and their families. We discuss the desensitization process, the benefits of social exposure through videos and play, how to be a good salesperson about the dentist or doctor, and the importance of modeling when normalizing going to appointments.
Kids with advanced language skills may be ready to have conversations with others, but how do we teach these skills? Here, we’re diving into what conversation skills are and how we can best teach them to our learners. We discuss examples of how to use different programs to teach conversation skills. We also talk about the challenges of teaching conversation skills with peers and in the natural environment.
The purpose of assessments is to provide us with a starting point and create a baseline for our learners. Some of the most common assessments include ABLLS and VB Mapp and we compare and contrast the two here. We also discuss the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) and why it’s good for early learners, why you shouldn’t outsource assessments to RBTs, information on PEAK, and tips for how to complete a successful assessment.
