The How to ABA Podcast Shira Karpel & Shayna Gaunt

Our approach to Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT) today might look a lot different to what we did in the past, or how we were taught in school. In the past, DTT was heavy on memorization, and it often lacked a natural environment component. Here, we discuss the evolution of DTT, what’s changed, and how we can apply it in our current work. We talk about the three-term contingency model of DTT and discuss some of the common misconceptions of the technique. We also discuss what a true child-led...

Through our ABA education, we learned a lot about rules and procedures around behavior management. However, sometimes rigid traditional methods fail to work, and we need to turn to an empathetic, person-centered approach instead. Acknowledging how our learners are feeling in the moment can sometimes be far more effective than trying to push ahead. Here, we discuss how the person-centered approach works.The beauty of a person-centered approach is that it holds space for our learners while stil...

Here at How to ABA, we get a lot of questions regarding Hanley’s approach to tolerance and delay. We’ve created our own user-friendly data sheet based on Hanley’s course that you can download and reuse. Here, we walk through our data sheet and show you how to use it in your practice. We also provide tips to help you and your learners have a successful treatment experience. Our membership space contains this form as well as many others. Head to the website below to check it out!What’s Inside:A...

David Celiberti, Ph.D., BCBA, is the part time Executive Director of the Association for Science in Autism Treatment (ASAT) and Past-President of its Board of Directors, a role he served from 2006 to 2012. He is the Co-Editor of ASAT’s newsletter, Science in Autism Treatment. Dr. Celiberti has served on a number of advisory boards and special interest groups in the fields of autism, applied behavior analysis, and early childhood education. Dr. Celiberti has also taught courses related to appl...

Extinction is a buzzword we hear frequently in the world of ABA; however, what does it truly mean? Many people may think extinction is the same thing as ignoring, which is a misuse and misunderstanding. Extinction really means to stop providing reinforcement where it once was. It does not mean ignoring or following through on demands in spite of what else may be going on with our learners.Here, we discuss different ways to extinguish behaviors and use examples like sleep and potty training. W...

For learners who can understand delayed reinforcement, we often use behavior contracts. These tools can be a great way to help learners understand and integrate those unwritten rules we see in places like school and the workplace. Behavior contracts are also a form of agreement between practitioners and learners, or even parents and children. Here, we define behavior contracts and talk about when they’re typically put into place. We discuss the positives of behavior contracts, including how t...