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The How to ABA Podcast
We are Shira and Shayna and we are so excited to bring you our first podcast episode of How to ABA! We are both BCBAs with over twenty years of experience, and as you can imagine, we have created and gathered so many resources in that time. We want to share them with you! That’s why we are here, and that’s why we created this podcast. If you are new to the world of ABA, are looking for new resources, or just looking for a fresh perspective, you’re in the right place!
Episodes
199 episodes
Teaching Kids About Emotions: The Foundation of Regulation
For many children, understanding and expressing emotions can be a challenge. They may struggle with recognizing their own feelings, reading emotions in others, or knowing how to respond appropriately in different situations. The good news is th...
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Episode 199
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11:31
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Parenting, ABA, and Emotional Regulation with Leanne Page
Leanne Page is a mom, a BCBA, and the founder of Parenting with ABA. When she became a mother, Leanne realized how her training and education in behavior analysis gave her a leg up on discipline issues. She’s worked as a special education teach...
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Episode 198
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29:59
Building a Regulation Toolbox: Calming Strategies for Children and Adults
Self-regulation is a challenge for many of our learners. Having a personalized regulation toolbox makes a huge difference in a child's ability to navigate their emotions and daily challenges. This toolbox is made up of a set of calming strategi...
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Episode 197
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15:18
What Is Emotional Regulation? Why It's Crucial for Development and Well-being
Emotional regulation is a foundational skill that influences how we manage stress, handle challenges, and connect with others. Here, we define emotional regulation and dive into all the reasons why it’s so important for our development and well...
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Episode 196
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17:39
Bridging the Gap Between BCBAs and Educators with Amanda Wilson
Amanda Wilson is a school psychologist, BCBA, and the founder of Navigating Behavior Change. She has over 18 years of experience within the public school setting, and as a military wife, she has had the opportunity to work in various regions ac...
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Episode 195
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27:06
How Multiple Diagnoses Affect Treatment (Can’t Do vs Won’t Do)
When a learner has multiple diagnoses, it has a significant influence on treatment approaches, behavioral changes, and intervention planning. Therefore, it’s essential to determine whether a skill is a “can’t do” or a “won’t do” when we’re deve...
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Episode 194
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15:18
Common Comorbidities (Including Health) in Autism and the Behavioral Implications
Autism rarely occurs in isolation, and many individuals face additional health challenges. Understanding these challenges can help us provide more compassion and effective support. Here, we discuss the common comorbidities we may encounter with...
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Episode 193
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18:39
Supporting Kids with Anxiety and ADHD
Comorbidities or multiple diagnoses like anxiety and ADHD are common in our learners. These overlapping challenges on top of ASD can make day-to-day life overwhelming for both the children and the adults supporting them. Kids with ADHD may be i...
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Episode 192
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13:18
FCT within Skills-Based Treatment
Many of our learners struggle with being unable to communicate their basic wants and needs. In some cases, this can cause challenging behavior. Functional communication training, or FCT, is an effective way to build those important communicatio...
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Episode 191
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16:48
Teaching Social Flexibility
When our learners lose a game or have to share a toy, they can become extremely frustrated. To help them adapt to new routines and expectations, we teach them social flexibility. When we’re socially flexible, we can adjust our behavior and comm...
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Episode 190
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12:09
Teaching Self-Advocacy
When our learners are faced with an uncomfortable situation or presented with something they don’t want, they don’t always have someone there to advocate for them. Because of this, it’s critical for us to teach them how to advocate for themselv...
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Episode 189
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11:10
Teaching Tolerance and Communication
When things don’t go as planned or we experience sudden schedule changes, we become disappointed or frustrated. For children with autism, unexpected disruptions in routine or a person’s actions often lead to them demonstrating challenging behav...
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Episode 188
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14:21
Incorporating Mindfulness and Present Moment Awareness
Whenever we feel on edge, frustrated, or exhausted, taking time out for a moment of mindfulness helps us hit the pause button and relax. Incorporating mindfulness and relaxation techniques in our programs can help our learners do the same. Here...
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Episode 187
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16:02
How to Create a Sensitive Sleep Program with Emily Varon
Emily Varon is a BCBA, a sleep educator, and the founder of Ready Set Sleep. Ready Set Sleep is also home to the Sleep Collective, the first sleep certification program for BCBAs. Emily returns to the podcast to share more of her passion for sl...
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Episode 186
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41:11
Incorporating Trauma-Informed Care In ABA
Individuals with trauma histories often feel on edge or misunderstood. As practitioners, it’s important to take trauma into account when designing behavior interventions for our learners. It’s our job to ensure we’re not only shaping behavior b...
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Episode 185
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14:23
The Role of Trauma and Behavior in ABA with Dr. Camille Kolu
Dr. Camille Kolu is a behavioral scientist from Cusp Emergence in Colorado. Dr. Kolu has about 20 years of autism treatment experience and has collaborated with or worked for nonprofits, families, diverse educational facilities, and groups in T...
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Episode 184
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34:44
2024 Year in Review
Can you believe we’re wrapping up another year? As we approach the end of 2025, we wanted to reflect on some of the highlights of 2024 in a How To ABA year in review. We share some major personal and professional wins and look back on some of t...
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Episode 183
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18:35
How to Teach Inferencing
After our students learn to answer WH questions, the next step is to teach them inferencing skills. Students need to learn how to make inferences, or to predict future events and what will happen next. However, understanding the hidden meaning ...
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Episode 182
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14:02
Requesting and Gaining Attention
Attention-seeking behavior is quite common; however, our learners often don’t know how to wait to receive attention. They also may not know how to properly seek attention, and it’s our job to teach them. Here, we discuss the value of attention ...
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Episode 181
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19:15
Sequencing Program Tips and Strategies
Sequencing is an intermediate language skill, and it can be found in just about everything we do. In ABA, you’ll find sequencing skills on lots of different assessments, including the ABLES. Sequencing also helps learners with other skills, inc...
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Episode 180
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15:53
Manding with WH Questions
Many of our students struggle with initiating language and conversation. Because of this, we usually place a strong emphasis on teaching requesting, or manding, in an ABA program. Here, we discuss how we can teach more advanced manding skills u...
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Episode 179
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18:04
Precision-Based Teaching with Chris Topham
Chris Topham is a behavior scientist and the owner of Celeration ABA. Along with his wife, who is also a BCBA, Chris founded Celeration ABA in 2020. At first, they mostly focused on supporting families through the COVID-19 pandemic by providing...
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Episode 178
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31:38
Teaching Intraverbals
Intraverbals are one of the most challenging concepts for our learners. They can also be the hardest to teach. Here, we cover some of the best ways to teach intraverbals so we can set our learners up for success. Ideally, we want our learners t...
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Episode 177
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17:49
Creating Programs to Foster Independence with Dr. Peter Gerhardt and Dr. Shanna Bahry
Dr. Peter Gerhardt is the Executive Director of Epic Programs in New Jersey. Dr. Shanna Bahry is the founder and executive director of Meaningful Hope. Dr. Gerhardt and Dr. Bahry us to discuss their experiences in the field and the gaps they se...
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Episode 176
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34:47