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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
205 episodes
Independent Activity Schedules
An independent activity schedule (IAS) is a tool made up of pictures or written cues that guides a child through a series of tasks on their own. It promotes independence and reduces the need for constant supervision, making it a valuable strate...
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Episode 205
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24:42
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What Drives Challenging Behaviors? The Role of Antecedents, Triggers, and Functions
When it comes to successful interventions, knowing the “why” behind behaviors is key. As practitioners, we may have learned in school that there are four functions of behavior: escape, attention, tangible, and sensory. However, in practice, thi...
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Episode 204
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17:30
Balancing Safety and Compassion in Interventions
As BCBAs, each day we walk a fine line between keeping children safe while ensuring our interventions are compassionate, ethical, and effective. Prioritizing safety in behavior management is a non-negotiable and it doesn't have to come at the e...
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Episode 203
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16:14
Proactive and Reactive Strategies for Challenging Behaviors
Challenging behaviors don't just happen out of nowhere. They have patterns, triggers, and underlying causes. The key to success is all about preventing them in the first place instead of reacting to the behaviors when they occur. Here, we discu...
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Episode 202
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17:38
Skills-Based Treatment for Challenging Behavior
When managing challenging behavior, our goal as behavior therapists is to reduce these behaviors and teach new skills. Here, we discuss how to do so without using strategies like extinction and planned ignoring. Through skill-based treatment, w...
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Episode 201
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15:33
What Is Co-Regulation?
Before our learners can independently manage their emotions, they need to first master co-regulation. For children, this looks like a trusted adult helping them to navigate big feelings by offering calm, supportive guidance. Here, we discuss ho...
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Episode 200
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14:14
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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12:35
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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15:17
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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27:05
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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15:17
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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13:17
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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16:47
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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12:08
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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14:20
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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16:01
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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41:10
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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34:43
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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14:01
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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19:14