I listened to episode 254 talking about AAC devices and it made me think of how kids and adults use the devices in a different way. The way we teach them how to communicate on them is very important for actual conversations.

Matt Cicoria is my absolute favorite podcaster. He has a variety of topics and variety of interviewees which all support behavior analysis.

The apparently revelatory information shared by Caio Miguel is old hat to any SLP. Have you never listened to one? Typically a BCBA walks into a speech session and tells SLPs how to do their jobs and tells them what they’re doing wrong. This episode is just another example of you don’t know what you don’t know and you don’t ask, listen and learn, you just overpower and assume to possess all skills and knowledge in whatever field you find yourselves working in. The work of BCBAs has not only been psychologically damaging but they do damage by ignoring what an 18-month-old brain needs in terms pre-linguistic development and forces them to engage in silly behaviors that don’t hold meaning for that child. Kids don’t get to be that age again and might not ever develop sufficient prelinguistic capacities because BCBAs stole their valuable time and filled it with observable, countable nonsense. I get that the guest is trying to fix this. Please start with learning all the prerequisites to joint attention—don’t start with joint attention. But mostly, start listening to people who already know this information and how to apply it; stop stomping on them. I would like to say I was shocked that BCBAs didn’t already know the information in this podcast, but I’m not shocked. I am a little surprised about how humbly boastful this man was when sharing freshman-year, page one of the textbook about 50 years too late. Go to your conference and wow the crowd of behavior analysts with your revolutionary findings while the SLPs are at work trying to undo damage and buy back time for children.

As a new student in ABA, I found episode 34 of the Behavioral Observations Podcast with Dr. Megan Miller, insightful and informative. In the episode Dr. Miller talks about how to get learners to follow instructions in a way that feels supportive rather than forceful. She explains it in a way that new students in the field, as well as people outside the field can easily understand. Dr. Miller outlines a strategic seven step process to be successful in implementing instructional control and alternatives to escape extinction. The seven steps allow balance with effective teaching and relationship building with the learner. She emphasizes building trust and working together to achieve results. I’m excited to learn more about the seven steps and implementing them.