Stiehl Behavioral Consulting, LLC

There are many situations where collaboration between the clinician overseeing a client’s ABA services and other professionals can result in improved treatment outcomes. For example, the overseeing BCBA may consult with the client’s school team to learn about critical skill deficits or maladaptive behaviors at school that could be targeted more intensively during ABA. Similarly, a BCBA and SLP (Speech-Language Pathologist) may partner to ensure the progress of a client learni...ng to request their wants and needs. Care coordination also takes a central role as a client transitions to a less restrictive environment, such as school or adult services. At this time, the client’s ABA team supports stakeholders in ensuring the client’s successful transition and generalization of acquired skills to the new setting. These communications among the client’s professional team, when appropriate, can harness the expertise of various professionals and significantly influence the client’s success across their routines.

#selfcaresunday A great hashtag to remind us to take care of ourselves, especially during the tough times.

Last Saturday, Autism Society - The Heartland hosted a presentation about dental considerations for folks with ASD. Here were a few of our takeaways: - If you're only going to brush once per day, do it before bed. - Flossing is (still) important. Floss picks or Waterpiks are good alternatives. - A visual timer can be helpful to let your loved one know when they're done. ... - You can interview dentists ahead of time to see if they have experience serving individuals with disabilities and if they can meet the needs of your loved one. Want to watch the whole presentation? Find it here: https://www.asaheartland.org/Saturday-Seminars.php And a quick note from us! ABA services can focus on helping your loved one tolerate dental care, including dentist visits.

Behavior analysts are bound by an ethics code that forbids discriminatory, harassing, and demeaning behaviors towards individuals based on cultural variables such as race, culture, ethnicity, religion, and language. Additionally, behavior analysts must ensure that are culturally competent to support their specific clients. If not, they must seek additional support or refer the client to another provider (BACB, 2014). Similar to compassionate care, cultural competency impacts... rapport, treatment goals, and intervention procedures, all of which contribute to meaningful treatment outcomes (Beaulieu et al., 2019). If a caregiver is uncomfortable with music as a reinforcer, the behavior analyst must partner with the caregiver to find an acceptable reinforcer. If a clients’ caregivers only speak Mandarin, they have a right to training in Mandarin. If a client requests support participating in bible study, the behavior analyst must support this goal regardless of their personal opinions. Most behavior analysts receive little direct training in cultural competency (Beaulieu et al., 2019) but this does not mean that they are not obligated to seek out the training and support necessary to provide effective services. Identifying and incorporating a client’s cultural variables should begin during intake and continue as an ongoing conversation between the behavior analyst, client, and stakeholders throughout treatment. This is the client’s right and a critical component of effective intervention. Beaulieu, L., Addington, J., & Almeida, D. (2019). Behavior analysts’ training and practices regarding cultural diversity: The case for culturally competent care. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 12(3), 557-575. Behavior Analyst Certification Board. (2014). Professional and ethical compliance code for behavior analysts. Littleton, CO: Author. Specific code referenced: 1.05 Professional and Scientific Relationships

Looking for a crash course or refresher on Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)? Look no further than this presentation by Linda Heitzman-Powell, PhD and Alice Zhang, PhD with Kansas Center for Autism Research and Training at KU Medical Center.